Oct 2023 – Jan 2024
In the interest of contributing to a legacy of Asian Canadian women and gender non-binary dance artists, Foray centred the authorship of three emerging creatives: Tomoyo Yamada, Tin Gamboa and Juolin Lee.
Gifts of space and cash within a roomy pocket of agency and time were augmented by fees for mentors and collaborators. Each lead artist had 90 studio hours, $6,000 and other resources to support residences that culminated in public showings.
“The Hug is inspired by an embrace I had with a U.S. veteran in 2015. This experience led to creating a performative poem that takes root in findings of intergenerational trauma, aftermath of war and conflicts, and the feeling of guilt inspired primarily by the aforementioned encounter with a war veteran from a historically belligerent enemy. I feel the urgency to conduct this research now because living in a multi-racial community here in Canada, we are all being challenged to face our historic past to seek ways to heal, to support the healing of those we wronged, and to improve as a society and coexist together.”
Nov 12, 2023, Morrow, Vancouver
Mentor Kay Huang Barnes
Collaborating Artist Jennifer Aoki
“During my Foray residency I researched breath, voice, body, agency, and space. I formally started this research in Koryolab 2023, at the Cultural Center of the Philippines with 2 Filipina dancers/collaborators and Philippine audiences. During Foray, with a culturally diverse team, I revisited old questions and found new ones around: where sound and movement meet, where movement and breath meet, where function and performance meet, where audience and performer meet, where embodiment and nervous system meet, where personal and collective meet.”
Dec 10, 2023, Morrow, Vancouver
Mentor Lee Su-Feh
Collaborating Artists Ashvini Sundaram, Alexandra Caprara, Ariane Vanessa
“I explored the space between forgetting and remembering, the space between the living and deceased. I was inspired by the story of Mong Po Tang, The Soup of Forgetfulness (孟婆湯), which i find deeply intriguing and romantic. The myth explains a process of reincarnation and how each spirit can get to their next journey free from past retribution and free from the bind of old relationships. Through Foray I worked on developing a shade to paint this story with, an access point to unpack the feelings that come up within me when reading the story of Mong Po Tang. I wonder if dance can hold and communicate the unspeakable, complex sensations that arise when we are moved by something beyond our understanding.”
Jan 5, 2024, Morrow, Vancouver
Mentor Natalie Tin Yin Gan 顏婷妍
Collaborating Artist Shion Skye Carter
