Firehorse and Shadow
Two performers weave together passages of remembering and forgetting, inviting the audience into an intimate reanimation of familial memory.
May 4-6
Andrea Nann, Annie Katsura Rollins; by Henry Mak
Situated in Vancouver’s Historic Chinatown, Firehorse and Shadow is an autobiography charted in gesture, storytelling, ink painting and shadow puppetry. This dance memoir works against and alongside the hearsay of family stories, Chinese medicine cycles, and zodiac animal signs. Two performers weave together passages of re-membering and releasing, inviting the audience into an intimate reanimation of familial memory. The work unfolds the yin and yang elements expressed within the bodies, lives and choices of four generations of Chinese Canadian women.
choreographer, writer Andrea Nann
shadow artist, performer Annie Katsura Rollins
director Sarah Chase
dramaturgy Cindy Mochizuki
sound design, composition Ben Grossman
theatrical lighting designer Jennifer Lennon
production manager A.J. Morra
The creation of this work was generously supported by the Dance Artist in Residence program at Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity and by National Ballet of Canada’s CreativAction Open Space program. The original work was commissioned by CanAsian Dance for 2020 KickStart.
presented by plastic orchid factory in partnership with Vancouver Asian Heritage Month Festival (ExplorAsian) and Chinatown Storytelling Centre