Review: 'More Than Dance, We Are A Movement' by Red Sky Performance

An Important Film to Begin an Understanding of Indigenous Culture

Upon completion of watching the 58-minute film of Red Sky Performance’s ‘More than Dance, We Are a Movement’, I was sorely wishing now that I had learned more about the Indigenous people of Canada in high school and my undergraduate years.  I have no regret acquiring a minor in French language at Western, but I regret that I did not avail myself of the opportunity to learn more about the rich culture of the Indigenous people.

I’ll re-state again that I hold no background or training in the study of dance and movement, but that also means that I can give credit and notice to the creation of art that is exciting and moving to see. ‘More than Dance, We Are A Movement’ does just that. It remarkably celebrates Red Sky Performance’s 20th anniversary as a leading company of contemporary indigenous performance in Canada and worldwide.  The film contains excerpts from two of Red Sky’s award-winning work ‘Trace’ and ‘Miigis’ and interviews with several of the collaborators involved in the staging of these two staged dance stories. I found these discussions in between both excerpts focused where my attention should lie in looking at the second excerpt and in attending future Indigenous dance and movement stories.

Now that I’m retired from teaching, I continue my life-long journey of learning about the performing arts culture of the Indigenous community.

Recently, I interviewed Sandra Laronde, Executive and Artistic Director of Red Sky Performance, and we both agreed how much we miss live performance and the live connection that audiences can make with the artists, and vice versa, on account of the current worldwide pandemic. Nevertheless, let me be clear that this experience in watching these two filmed excerpts from ‘Trace’ and ‘Miigis’ were decidedly transformational for me initially on both an emotional and reactional level. 

This is one of Laronde’s intents with Red Sky because she firmly avows that:

“If Indigenous stories can be told by the Indigenous peoples, that can also help us connect up to the natural world. This narrative change [of Red Sky] through truth telling can inspire, empower, lift and elevate and center story so that story can have a real impact in all of our futures, not just Indigenous, but people…in the consciousness of Canada, and in the narrative of Canada”

The two excerpts of ‘Trace’ and ‘Miigis’ featured in the film definitively inspired and empowered me to watch intently the breathtaking synchronicity of exciting and exacting movement and athleticism of the six and sometimes seven dancers I counted. For me, there is a trusting sensuality of connection between these artists that I held my breath periodically with anticipation; I was transfixed on wondering where these lithe and agile dancers would take me next in the brief story I was told at that moment in time.

There were moments where I felt that my breath and heartbeat were also keeping time to the majestic harmony of the striking visual images on the back scrim coupled with the passionate vocalists. The sound of periodic water and waves lapping against the shore reminded me of the healing power of water. At one point, I marvelled quietly at the interactive tracing of the body of one of the dancers against the back scrim upstage.

FINAL COMMENTS: At times, majestic and other times, mystical, ‘More than Dance, We Are a Movement’ bravely and boldly accomplishes what it sets out to do in sharing brief moments in engaging stories of divine creation and inspirational hope.

Visually stunning and auditorily alluring.

Harbourfront Centre in partnership with Digidance announces the Canadian digital broadcast of ‘More Than Dance, We Are A Movement’ streaming until April 20, 2021 through www.harbourfrontcentre.com.

Tickets from $15 + applicable taxes are available at the website.

Photo of the company of ‘Miigis’ by Wim Lanser.

To learn more about Red Sky performance, visit www.redskyperformance.com, Facebook: Red Sky Performance  Twitter and Instagram: @redskyconnect