Photo: Luciana D'Anunciacao
lossy
lossy is about an inability to take it all with us.
these are bodies at a loss, gathering together in a stream of movement. a state of recovery. seeking and sifting, grasping for an anchor. these are the bodies that were left behind, haunted by the ghostly traces of lost futures. a nostalgia for a world that never happened. it is at once real and science fiction, digital and embodied.
this liminal space holds a confrontation with the promise of future, and ever-present absences. a collision between our inexorable, ecstatic draw towards the limitless new, and a continuous loss — a perpetual state of mourning for what we are leaving behind. these are bodies compressed and incomplete. there is no answer. there is only the stream, and the blurring fragments of what we attempt to bring with us.
lossy is a warped ritual of transcendence. it is a carefree conjuring of a shiny new future “us”, and a collective grieving for what the future may no longer hold, once we finally arrive.
Photo: Luciana D'Anunciacao
Project Created by: Company 605
Key Artistic Collaborators:
Direction and Staging: Lisa Mariko Gelley & Josh Martin
Choreography: Company 605 in collaboration with Performers
Creative Collaborator / Dramaturgy: Marcus Youssef
Original Music and Sound Design: Matthew Tomkinson
Lighting Design: James Proudfoot
Wardrobe Design: Justine A. Chambers
Production Assistant: Jack Chipman
Set Design Support: danielle wensley
Technical Support: Wladimiro A. Woyno / The Precursor Lab
Audio Description / Access Supports: Andrea Cownden
Performers: Jade Chong, Kate Franklin, Lisa Mariko Gelley, Ruby Henderson, Josh Martin, Antonio Somera, Shana 愛 Wolfe
Managing Producer: Francesca Piscopo
Company 605 recognizes the support of the Canada Council for the Arts, BC Arts Council and Province of BC, and the City of Vancouver.
Special Thanks: Donna Spencer / DOTE, Michael Boucher and Janice Belay / SFU Woodwards, Wlad Woyno / Precursor Lab, SFU School for the Contemporary Arts, C-Space and Progress Lab 1422, Out Innerspace / Q7, and to all the additional artists who journeyed through the process including: Brandon Alley, Bynh Ho, Jamie Robinson, Avery Smith, Jessica Wilkie, Sophia Wolfe, and Zahra Shahab.
Performance type: This work is built for the theatre
How do you define this work: Contemporary dance
Length of performance: 55 minutes
Audience type: General Audience
General Technical Requirements: STAGE: A sprung stage surface with minimum playing space dimensions of 9.75m x 9.75m - (32’ x 32'). Entire stage must be covered with a black “Marley” style dance floor. Matching black vinyl dance floor tape must be used.
SOUND: Professional quality stereo sound system with subwoofer in good working order, providing clear, undistorted, evenly distributed sound proportionate to hall capacity. Professional quality audio console. Sound source is a 3.5mm aux stereo output from the company’s show laptop. 2-4 on-stage monitors for performers, position to be determined by the company as decided is most suitable for each specific venue. ClearCom (or similar) for communication at 3 positions (1 backstage, 1 lights, 1 sound)
SET PROPERTIES: The company will be bringing a number of flat pack furniture pieces and props to assemble to serve as a miniature set design.
LIGHTING: ETC Ion with Fader Wing. 8x Martin Mac Aura LED moving lights with necessary data cabling. Minimum 8x LED lekos (ETC Source4 LED2LS). 16x Astera Titan Tubes (two 8-light cases) and accompanying gear/attachments (eyebolts/stands/charging cables, etc.) Tubes will be used in various visible positions, both hung from Verlock / cabling from grid drop points, as well as independently on the floor as standing lights and floor lights. These tubes are handled and relocated by the performers mid-performance. 16x Astera PixelBrick units. 1x Astera DMX Transmitter Unit. A mix of conventional lighting instruments as selected from the Venue’s Full Inventory
HAZER
The performance utilizes haze effect throughout.
Required amount of time for tech set up: 1 day
Number of Performers on tour (including choreographer): 7
Number of Support Staff on Tour: 2
Availabilities: 2025/26 Season, 2026/27 Season
Company 605
Led by artistic co-directors Lisa Gelley and Josh Martin, Company 605 is an arts organization based in Vancouver, on the unceded Indigenous territories of the Musqueam, Squamish, and Tsleil-Waututh First Nations. Producing various dance projects and performances through shared creative process, the artists place emphasis on movement invention and physically demanding works, juxtaposing raw with precision, and highlighting effort, risk and interconnection. 605 is an ongoing exchange between separate people, bodies and ideas, recognizing and celebrating the unique possibilities created in their attempt to co-exist. Valuing collaboration as an essential tool for new directions in dance, Company 605 continues to awaken a fresh and ever-evolving aesthetic, together building a highly athletic art form derived from the human experience.
Performance History & Upcoming Performances
An excerpt of lossy was performed at Dancing on the Edge Festival on July 14 and 15, 2023.
Full length premiere June 12-14, 2024 at Dancing on the Edge. Presented by Dancing on the Edge Festival and SFU Woodward’s Cultural Programs.
Project Details
Outreach Activities
605 opens opportunities for communities to interact and experience artistic works. Often this takes the shape of multiple performances and showings of work-in-progress and open rehearsals, where the process is described and there is a Q&A period. Partnerships with many organizations locally and on tour has allowed the company to connect with young audiences and high schools. 605 works to connect the pre-professional and professional dance community locally and on tour, often through workshops and master classes.