Isak Enquist & Cohort

Late Nights

Photo:

Isak Enquist is a dance artist, Teacher, Choreographer and Sound Designer based on occupied and unceded territories of the Səl̓ílwətaʔ, Skwxwú7mesh, and xʷməθkwəy̓əm nations (what is known as Vancouver, BC).

Raised in the Kootenays/Ktunaxa of Canada, Isak began formal training in Shotokan Karate-Do before enrolling in dance education at Simon Fraser University and later the Modus Operandi Contemporary Training Program.

As an emerging dance artist, Isak has performed with Out Innerspace Dance Theatre, Compagnie Vision Impure, Mahaila Patterson-O’Brien, the response. (Amber Funk Barton), Mascall Dance, Generous Mess, Corporeal Imago and Shay Kuebler Radical System Art. He is also a founding member of CAMP, contributing as a dancer and choreographer on various projects. Touring with these companies have included performances across Canada, USA, Europe and Israel.

His sound work has been presented with dance performances at L’École de Danse de Québec, Dance Café (the response.), Dancing On the Edge (DOTE) and Vancouver International Dance Festival (VIDF).

Late Nights

This project is a cohort of Vancouver dance artists working to develop new pathways of floor-based movement, operating as a translucent company (where participants vary depending on availability).

The training method is the foundation of the project: Building a language of movement within a class structure, this project intends to create a ‘project-based’ response to the ‘dance company’ template. Dance artists in project-based work are consistently attempting to create dance work together without a morning practice/class or unified warm up, and yet project-dance often follows the same product expectations of a traditional institutional company.

The goals of this project is to empower artist's continued development within the margins of a gig economy, striving for consistency in a volatile industry. Furthermore, this project seeks to be developing a “Company Class” for a generation of artists outside of the formal institutions of dance.

As a cohort, we are looking toward the potential to share workshops/classes with other communities; coming together to share dance other communities, as well as informal studio showings of the repertoire.

Performance History

The first rendition of this work was shared at Dancing On The Edge July 2021, at the Firehall Arts Centre. This was a work-in-progress showing for intimate audiences titled “(There Will Be) No Recordings”.

This work will continue and develop, and working excerpts will be shown throughout this project.

Isak Enquist was a founding member of CAMP Collective, where he choreographed work that was presented at Dancing On The Edge and Vancouver International Dance Festival.

Project Details

Project created by: Isak Enquist

Key Collaborators: Marco Daniel Escalante Cervantes, Sabine Zoe Raskin, Ysadora Dias, Katherine Robidoux, Nasiv Sall, Eowynn Enquist, Anya Saugstad, Justin Calvadores, Sarah Hutton, Yee Wing Michelle Chan, Daria Mikhaylyk, Aiden Cass, Kaia Shukin, Brianne Chan, Marissa Wong

Audience: Family Friendly

Length in minutes: Workshops range between 1 and 5 hours. Final studio showings range between 30 minutes to 1 hour.

Space required: A large indoor space is the required venue for this project, either a stage, gymnasium or community space.
Preferably marley or wood floor. (Carpet is not preferred)

Preparation required:

General technical requirements: Good amplification is required (We may be able to rent portable speakers if necessary)
Ability to clean floor before and after use.

Availability: Winter - Spring of 2023/24 and all of the 2024/25 season

Number of performers on tour, including choreographer: Minumum of 3 artists, up to 12.

Number of support staff on tour: 0

Community Engagement Activities

An emphasis in this kind of work is to enjoy dancing alongside one another, building momentum and energy as an essential part of dancing as a community (either socially or in performance).

In longer duration workshops, we can offer an intensive platform for local community members to learn choreography, in which they may perform alongside the rest of the cohort at the informal showing. This gives a taste of what professional work might look like, and get to experience dancing alongside a cohort of professional dancers.

As well, this work is heavily informed by the teachings of Shotokan Karate-Do, therefore a component of self defence can be included as a part of the workshops offered. This is taught through methods of rooting and stabilizing through the ground, and how to create space and protect oneself in emergency situations. Enquist believes this to be a beneficial knowledge for all folks to have an awareness in self defence, especially who are statistically marginalized and oppressed. This can be included in a movement workshop, or offered as a separate workshop.

Classes and workshops generally require 1-2 hours, and a minimum fee of $65/hr, with the ability to include fees for other artists to join and support the workshop (We can discuss ways of offsetting this cost through funding bodies).

Fee range scaling between $1,000 - $7,000 (one-day masterclass, workshop with 1-3 artists to a multi-day progressive masterclass, workshop and informal presentation along with 4-8 company artists to support and facilitate a larger community event).

Having a group of artists on tour facilitating a workshop together means that participants are ‘joining’ a class rather than being subjected to a workshop — Its about taking the fear out of a dance class, and part of that means getting to be one of the herd rather than having the workshop directed at you.

Contact: Isak Enquist, Isakenquist@gmail.com

Instagram: isakenquist