LURCH
MascallDance
Project Description
LURCH (working title) is a work of ephemeral public art that seeks galleries to partner with for residencies, exhibitions, and performances. The title is a nickname affectionately given by dancers to a large set built by British Columbian public artist Alan Storey for MascallDance’s The White Spider (2012, performed for two seasons and toured in BC). Now MascallDance reopens the conversation with this sculpture where we left off to see what ideas the set inspires eight years later. This new work looks at the approach to objects through gender. Four female choreographers (Sarah Chase, Ame Henderson, Justine Chambers, and Jennifer Mascall) work with five male performers (Ralph Escamillan, Bynh Ho, Benjamin Kamino, Nick Benz, and Chris Wright). They examine a body and an inanimate object; what does that density do for the perception of movement? How can a permanent object made for an impermanent dance be revitalized through further exploration? And what of dance’s use of objects in relation to the body? The collaborating artists are thoughtful, and the evolving ensemble has become remarkable. These choreographers are investigators, distinguished by mature work with big ideas. They are as articulate with words as with movement, and dialogues, interviews, and ideas weave through the evolving work. Their collaborating performance quintet spans four decades in age and steeps the works’ movement language in diverse origins – from ballet and contact improvisation to drag, street, contemporary dance, and vogue. The full-length work will be produced for both live and online presentations. We envision the completed creation having the potential to tour in galleries, large exhibition spaces, and outdoor public spaces.
Company Profile
MascallDance is a creation/production company with 30 seasons of works under our belts. Our works adapt and change to numerous situations and evolving conditions and have been seen in Canada, Scotland, Italy and India. We’re a research and discovery enterprise, investigating movement and its intersection with other mediums, employing improvisation, experimentation, and somatic practice. We offer residencies, intensives, and workshops, fostering movement and choreographic knowledge in anyone curious about the body. The catalyst for our work is Jennifer Mascall, founder and Artistic Director. MascallDance is a resident of Left of Main in Vancouver’s Chinatown.
https://www.facebook.com/MascallDance/
Choreographer and Key Collaborators
Choreography:
Sarah Chase, Justine Chambers, Ame Henderson, Jennifer Mascall;
Sculpture: Alan Storey
Performance: Chris Wright, Benjamin Kamino, Dario Dinuzzi / Bynh Ho, Ralph Escamillan and Nick Benz;
Production Management: Tobias Macfarlane.
Community Engagement
We seek partnerships with galleries for residencies, exhibitions, and performances. LURCH (working title) increasingly also shows potential as an outdoor presentation, perhaps a day-long process in a park, with each hour offering a choreographers’ process. It could be a family event set up in an art gallery or outside. As the work develops, we will make options available: community engagement activities appear a natural extension of LURCH (working title). We’ve just completed a week-long creation period held in David Lam Park and Malkin Bowl, Vancouver. Sites for upcoming creation units will be posted on our website and you are warmly welcomed to join us!
Outreach Activities
We plan the visit with you. We’re experienced in the flexibility and skills needed. Students, practitioners, and aficionados of art, dance, design, sculpture, architecture, and theatre seem to us likely to be particularly engaged by this work. Podcasts on the work’s development are available in advance. We offer workshops on interpretation with all-agers, a workshop in interpreting use of objects, and round table discussions. We can provide community-level somatic movement workshops, movement technique classes, performed lectures, and discussions of LURCH (working title) and the ideas surrounding it. To be prepared for COVID-19 restrictions, the work is being built with the option of on-line presentations and workshops. These can be customized to groups in your community, tailored to suit different levels and most needs, and will offer insight into thematic elements and hands-on experience of choreographic excerpts.
Past and
Upcoming performances
Upcoming: ON-LINE:
UPCOMING: new dates and plans for major productions (Lurch (working title), The Impossible has Already Happened, Privilege) events – The Shift Symposium for Somatic Creation, T3 (Teachers Teaching Teachers) a gathering for movement teachers, and choreographic residency program series BLOOM. Stay tuned at mascalldance.ca!
Premiere date and venue: LURCH (working title) Premiering Spring, 2022, venue TBA.
Past Performances:
JUST CLOSED: Holiday Season online BLOOM KIDS video Residency, Vancouver, BC 2021; Performance History – highlights: 2002 Brutal Telling Traces of E. Carr Highland and Island Scotland tour 2003; Heart of a Peacock Monte Carlo 2004; Brutal Telling Traces of E. Carr Winnipeg MB and Peterborough ON 2006-7; WhaT,? Edinburgh, Newfoundland and Victoria BC 2009; Brutal Telling Traces of E. Carr Made in BC Tour 2011-12; The White Spider Made in BC Tour 2004-12; Homewerk school performance series and Made in BC mainstage tour 2015; Graft Edmonton, Victoria, and Seattle 2016; Graft Canada Dance Festival, Ottawa 2016; The Outliner, Premiere, Vancouver BC 2017; The Outliner Tour – Saltspring, Vancouver, Edmonton, Regina, Winnipeg 2018; OW Premiere, Vancouver BC 2019; Zaum Premiere, Vancouver BC 2020;
Upcoming Performances:
Soon: The Impossible has Already Happened (international co-production), LURCH (working title), and Privilege. Also upcoming: The Shift Symposium for Somatic Creation, a Gathering for movement teachers entitled T3 (Teachers Teaching Teachers), and BLOOM, our choreographic residency program series. Stay tuned at mascalldance.ca!
FULL LENGTH
photos 1 + 2: Photo Andy Catsirelis
photo 3: Ash Mishra
Project Details
Performance Type:
CONTEMPORARY DANCE, EXHIBITION, SCULPTURE, EDGY, FAMILY/ YOUNG/ GENERAL AUDIENCE.
Please follow the work as it develops: https://www.mascalldance.ca/new-page-87 At this stage of development, we think that this work can be an afternoon outdoor event in the summer months. It will also work well as an exhibition, virtual or live. We will update as soon as possible. Intended for theatrical presentation, Lurch (working title) is being created through ZOOM interaction, rehearsals in park settings, and studio work, as COVID-19’s shifting limitations demand. Both theatrical presentation of the work and an alternative presentation model combining video and live-streamed exchange will be available.
Audience: Chidren/Student/Family/ General
Length in Minutes: This is a full-length work running over 55:00. It is possible that it could form part of a mixed program – we will update regarding this as the piece takes shape. As a public art installation, it could run throughout a day, in four, hour-long intervals.
Number of Performers: 6
Number of Support Staff: 3
Per-Performance Fee Rang: Negotiable
Fee Range with Outreach Activities: Negotiable
Available to Tour (Season): Summer 2022, Winter 2022, Spring 2022, Fall 2022, Winter 2023, Spring 2023, Summer 2023
Other performance information: please follow the work’s development at https://www.mascalldance.ca/new-page-87
Technical Residency Needed: 12 hours in advance of performance.
Tech Rider: Click here.
Contact Information":
Company/Artist Name: MASCALLDANCE
Location: Vancouver, BC
Contact Person: Chris Adams
Email / Courriel: chris@mascalldance.ca
operations@mascalldance.ca
Website: www.mascalldance.ca