DANCE ONTARIO presents the world premiere of a commissioned work from Octamerous in The Historic Distillery District as part of Scotiabank’s Nuit Blanche on October 4, 2008 from 7pm – 7am.
For Immediate Release – Following its success in 2007, Dance Ontario’s second dusk til dawn Nuit Blanche excursion will highlight the edgy, urban talents of Octamerous who have been commissioned to create an original site-specific movement and sound performance featuring the next wave of the city’s most innovative dancers and vocalists within a multi-channel soundscape created by Chris Willes.
The collective's performers Amanda Acorn, Masuyo Higashide, Emily Law, Julia Male, Brodie Stevenson, Robin Dann, Thom Gill, Charlotte Mundy, Alex Samaras and Willes will draw from the physical history of the Distillery District, in a riveting and revealing work that travels throughout the entire site.
Using creative material of all those involved, the 15-minute piece will incorporate a new soundscape, as well as vocalized sound and movement that explores aspects present in the restored Distillery, considered North America’s largest and best-preserved collection of industrial architecture of the Victorian era. Incorporating their signature athleticism, Octamerous will investigate physical themes of resistance and disintegration, channelling the subtlety of live sculpture and juxtaposing their living bodies with the physical surfaces and textures of the environment. Issues of time and scale will dissolve as travelling dances trace different paths across the site towards a central soundscape where explorations will merge the Distillery’s storied past with its present revitalization.
The multidisciplinary piece will be performed on October 4/5 as part of Scotiabank Nuit Blanche dusk 'til dawn "contemporary art thing."
DANCE ONTARIO Presents Octamerous
Part of Scotiabank’s Nuit Blanche
@ The Historic Distillery District, 55 Mill Street, Toronto
October 4, 2008 from 7pm – 7am
Information 416 204 1083 or 1 800 363 6087
ABOUT DANCE ONTARIO - founded in 1976, we are a membership-based service organization that has developed into a dynamic cross-section of all areas of the dance sector from internationally renowned artists and companies to those who teach, write or serve the performing arts behind the scenes. We publish an annual Directory - a "who's who" of dance in Ontario - and a quarterly newsletter ‘headlines’; provide marketing and promotion for members' productions and services through the DANCE ONTARIO hotline and website (1,500 visitors daily); commission dance artists; produce DanceWeekend annually; and tour dance artists' performances and workshops across Ontario. DANCE ONTARIO promotes and supports the advancement of dance in Canada and, in particular, the province of Ontario.
Dance Ontario Association
serving Ontario’s dance community
55 Mill St., Case Goods Bldg (74) #304
Toronto, ON M5A 3C4
T 416 204 1083 F 416 204 1085
www.danceontario.ca
Masuyo Higashide and Brodie Stevenson
Hannah Dorozio, Julia Male, Brodie Stevenson, Emily Law, 
photo by Claire Harvey
Masuyo Higashide, Jennifer Lecuyer and Amanda Acorn
Hannah Dorozio, Chris Willes, Jennifer Lecuyer and Masuyo Higashide
