Delving into Indigenous arts with Santee Smith

October 24, 2018

Celebrated dancer, producer and choreographer at River Run Centre November 7

GUELPH, ON October 24, 2018 – Internationally recognized as a leader in Indigenous performing arts, Santee Smith is a celebrated dancer, producer and choreographer from Kahnyen’kehàka Nation, Six Nations of the Grand River. On Wednesday, November 7 at 8 p.m., In Conversation with Santee Smith explores her life in dance and performance, launching a new speaker series at River Run Centre. The Co-operators Hall event is presented as part of the Miijidaa Life Stories Series.

The new series features artists discussing their craft in an informal setting and opens the door to audience discussion, with a meet and greet to follow. In Conversation with Santee Smith also features video clips of her work spanning over a decade. The series of three events is organized and hosted by Cameron Smillie, founder of Live at the Hippo Pool Events Inc.

Smith staged her first self-produced work, Kaha:wi, at Toronto’s Harbourfront Centre in 2004. In 2005, she founded Kaha:wi Dance Theatre, which for more than a decade has served as a vehicle for her artistic work. Smith’s repertoire includes 13 full-length productions, seven short works, and choreography for film, including the recent National Arts Centre production, I Lost My Talk, a film based on a poem by Mi’kmaw elder Rita Joe.

Descendant from a long line of artists, Smith holds performance in a sacred space and maintains an Onkwehon:we understanding of performance. She sees the artist as storyteller, transformer and medicine person.

A graduate of Canada’s National Ballet School, Smith also holds a master’s degree in dance from York University and kinesiology and psychology degrees from McMaster University. Her life and work have been the topic of documentaries including CBC’s Moccasins and Concrete: An Urban Native Story and Shane Belcourt’s Kaha:wi – Cycle of Life.

“Santee Smith explores the intersection of Indigenous and new dance performance,” The Coast said in a review.

Tickets to see In Conversation with Santee Smith cost $35 for adults, $33 for seniors and students. $20 uGO tickets are available to university and college students with valid ID. $5 eyeGO tickets are available to high school students with valid ID. Tickets can be purchased at River Run Centre box office, 35 Woolwich St. in Guelph, by calling 519-763-3000, or online at riverrun.ca/in-conversation-with-santee-smith.

In Conversation with Santee Smith is presented by River Run Centre as part of the Miijidaa Life Stories Series. River Run Centre is funded in part by the Government of Canada and gratefully acknowledges our 2018-2019 season sponsor, The Co-operators.

FOR INFORMATION

Nicole Neufeld | Program Manager, Development and Marketing
City of Guelph
519-837-5662 ext. 2589
[email protected]

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