MAINSTAGE 2025-2026
Fortress
Rebecca Margolick & Livona Ellis
Photo: Michael Slobodian
Fortress
In their debut collaborative piece, Ellis and Margolick explore their connection to their ever-evolving relationship to femininity, and the balance between their strength and vulnerability. Seeking both discomfort and safety, they draw inspiration from the matriarchs in their lives, building toward a deeper understanding of themselves.
Rebecca Margolick & Livona Ellis
Livona Ellis was born on the unceded territories of the xwməθkwəyə̓ m (Musqueam), Sḵwxwú7mesh (Squamish), and s ̱ əlilwətaɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) Nations. She has performed with Ballet BC (11 seasons), Buhnen Bern, and many others. Livona has created works for Dances for a Small Stage, Dance Deck, Public Salon 2019, CAG Gala 2018, Arts Umbrella Season Finale, Ballet BC Take Form, and most recently City Opera of Vancouver. In 2017 she received the Vancouver Mayor's Arts Award for Emerging Artist and in 2023
received the inaugural Louise Bentall Award for Emerging Choreographer.
Livona joined Kidd Pivot in June 2023 and is currently on faculty at Arts Umbrella.
Rebecca Margolick's dance creations have been presented in over ten countries, and her solo works have won multiple awards. She recently returned back to her hometown of Vancouver, B.C. after living in NYC for 15 years. She was named one of Dance Magazines Top 25 to Watch in 2021 and has received fellowships and residencies from Ailey’s New Directions Choreography Lab, Banff Centre, Derida Stage, Centro de las Artes San Luis Potosí, and more. She has been commissioned to create original works on Oregon Ballet Theater, La Universidad Nacional de Costa Rica, Arts Umbrella, NW Dance Project’s MOVE, and Ballet B.C.’s Annex. She has freelanced with many choreographers and was a company member of Sidra Bell Dance New York and UNA Productions. Alongside her projects, she is currently dancing with Company 605, Charles-Alexis Desgagnés, Jason Martin, and Andrea Peña & Artists. Rebecca is an artistic advisor for BC Movement Arts Society, bringing contemporary dance to rural B.C. communities. She graduated from New York University and trained at Arts Umbrella.
Performance History & Upcoming Performances
Premiere date: November 2024 The Dance Centre, Vancouver (presented by the Chutzpah! Festival)
Past work in progress performances:
2021 - BC Movement Arts Society (Sointula, and Campbell River)
2022 - The Dance Centre (Vancouver)
2024 - Left of Push at Left of Main (Vancouver)
Project Created by: Co-created by: Livona Ellis & Rebecca Margolick
Key Artistic Collaborators: Performers: Livona Ellis & Rebecca Margolick
Composer: Jonathan Goulet
Lighting Designer: Alan Brodie
Support from: Canada Council for the Arts, The Louise Bentall Award, Left of Main, BC Movement Arts Society, The Chutzpah! Festival, The Dance Centre.
Performance type: THIS WORK IS BUILT FOR THEATRE
How do you define this work: Contemporary Dance
Length of performance: 40 minutes
Audience type: Mature Content (18+ i.e. includes nudity, foul language)
General Technical Requirements: Marley or good wood floor
Small movable props that we will provide
Lighting (at minimum, black outs and dimming needed)
Required amount of time for tech set up: If we are doing the original lighting: 8 hours (one full tech and run through day)
Alternative Venues: If needed, an indoor alternative venue would work for this piece. We could work in a low tech environment. We would need a safe floor to dance on, the possibility to dim lights and achieve blackouts, and a "backstage" space to enter and exit from.
This work is not well suited to outdoors, though we could do sections of it, and adapt what's needed.
Number of Performers on tour (including choreographer): 2
Number of Support Staff on Tour: 1
Availabilities: 2026/27 Season
Project Details
Community Engagement
A possible collaborative community project that both Rebecca and Livona have done before is collaborating with a local musician and doing a short performance with them to open the show.
We have also previously invited a local visual artist/s or photographer/s into the studio to shoot or sketch/draw/paint, and then displayed those works as part of the show.
Age group of collaborators: 16 and up (flexible)
Timing: Anywhere from one full day (4-5 hours) to 3 full days together (15 hours).
Either of these possibilities could work for us.
Outreach Activities
Type: Masterclasses, and multi-day workshops
Content:
- Movement Improvisation (all levels)
- Choreographic Creation and Research
- Contemporary Dance Techniques (intermediate/advanced/professional dancers)
Communities:
- Dance trainees and non-trained dancers and people from the community
Ages:
- 16 and up