Katie Cassady
II
Photo credits: Cara Tench
Katie Cassady
Katie Cassady is a dancer and choreographer based in Vancouver BC, the unceded territories of the Squamish, Musqueam and Tsleil-Waututh Nations. Katie completed her training at the San Francisco Conservatory of Dance, Simon Fraser University, and holds a BA in Art History from the University of British Columbia. Katie has had the honour of performing with Kokoro Dance, Amber Funk Barton/the response., Future Leisure, and TWObigsteps Collective. Her choreographic work, which seeks to explore interconnectedness and relationship, has been presented at the Dance Centre, Vancouver’s Contemporary Art Gallery (Dance Week 2019), the Shooting Gallery Performance Series, and Vines Art Festival. Katie was selected as a participating artist in Made BC’s Re-centering/Margins 2020 residency.
II
II is a contemporary dance duet which focuses on a relationship between two women, exploring themes of friendship, peer intimacy, and care. It depicts a relationship in its early stages of courtship and development, exploring elements of admiration, rivalry, and play. It seeks to reflect the diverse ways women connect and support each other and the complexity of relationships of care.
Photo credits: Cara Tench
Performance History of II
Premiere Date: April 1-2, 2021, Made in BC Re-centering/Margins 2020 Online residency showing, presented by Made in BC-Dance on Tour, filmed at the Fei and Milton Wong Theatre in Vancouver, BC, shown online.
Note: Due to COVID-19 restrictions at the time of presentations, the photo and video documentation include the performers wearing face masks, these will not be included in future performances.
Project Details
Project created by: Katie Cassady
Key Collaborators: Performers: Sophie Mueller-Langer, Sarah Wong
Music by: Stefan Nazarevich, H. Takahashi
Lighting Designer: Chengyan Boon
Mentor: Julianne Chapple
Audience: General Audience
Length in minutes: 20 minutes - Mixed program
Space required: Created for a stage/black box, this piece can be altered to different performance contexts and adapted to spaces with low technical capacity through the elimination of lighting design elements.
Preparation required: 4 hours
General technical requirements: Simple lighting, Sound/Amplification, Marley Floor
Availabilities: after May 2022, Fall 2022, Winter 2023, Spring 2023, Summer 2023, Fall 2023, Winter 2024, Spring 2024, Summer 2024
Number of performers on tour: 3
Number of support staff on tour: 1
Community Engagement Activities
Community engagement activities could include: master classes, artist talks, pre-show discussions, post-show talk-backs, student/school matinees, and choreographic workshops. The choreographic workshop would explore phrase building techniques through collaborative processes and explorations after a warm-up class, which could be adapted to any age group.
II was created through choreographic collaboration which involved phrase building based on conversations, memories, and prompts. Through a similar collaborative process with a consistent community group, we could create a piece together through a longer format workshop (a week), which would include daily contemporary classes.
Contact: Katie Cassady, kcassady21@gmail.com
Website: katiecassady