re:research+design 2023
In partnership with Arts Orillia, adelheid is thrilled to be hosting a second iteration of re:research+design, a residency focused on providing a choreographer or collective of movement artists/performance makers with time, space, and facilitation in the area of design. It is specifically geared to artists who identify as Black, Indigenous, and/or artists of colour.
This year we are supporting Rachana Joshi and Moon Child, her work-in-development. Rachana will be accompanied by her dramaturg Atri Nundy and through re:research +design has the opportunity to collaborate with Melissa Joakim as a mentor in lighting design, with additional dramaturgical support from Dedra McDermott. The residency is facilitated by Heidi Strauss, and hosted by Kate Hilliard through Arts Orillia and a growing partnership with the Orillia Opera House. Jane-Alison McKinney is Creative Producer for this program
This research residency experience offers an opportunity to be outside of a regular working context and invites artists to slow down and engage with a curiosity that comes when a production deadline is removed - purely in a state of listening to the process and engaging with emergent possibility. It is one of adelheid's favourite programs for its depth of engagement, also for how it connects to the growing performing arts community in Orillia. Rachana's Moon Child will have an open rehearsal on Friday November 17th @ 1pm, at the Orillia Opera House. YOU ARE WELCOME. Reserve a spot!
Moon Child
The sun is often called the eternal observer, not affected by the trials and tribulations of the world it lights up. The moon though, waxes and wanes, is said to influence psychic energies, and there is a certain vulnerability about its nature. The moon has been an enigmatic force in my life. Growing up, I recognized that beyond its beauty, the moon has a quiet, deep strength. It governs the tides of the oceans, and is integral to maintaining the very rhythm of the Earth. This work explores the mythological, symbolic, and personal significance of the moon from the lens of my practice as a Bharatanatyam dancer. I examine the cycle of the moon and the cyclical nature of pain and pleasure: how without one the other cannot exist.
The sun is often called the eternal observer, not affected by the trials and tribulations of the world it lights up. The moon though, waxes and wanes, is said to influence psychic energies, and there is a certain vulnerability about its nature. The moon has been an enigmatic force in my life. Growing up, I recognized that beyond its beauty, the moon has a quiet, deep strength. It governs the tides of the oceans, and is integral to maintaining the very rhythm of the Earth. This work explores the mythological, symbolic, and personal significance of the moon from the lens of my practice as a Bharatanatyam dancer. I examine the cycle of the moon and the cyclical nature of pain and pleasure: how without one the other cannot exist.
Rachana Joshi is an emerging dance artist based in Toronto. She completed her Bharatanatyam arangetram in 2017 and is a dancer and teacher at Sampradaya Dance Center. In 2019, she graduated from York University's B.F.A program in Dance and received training in modern technique. Rachana is a company dancer with Nova Dance. She worked as Nova Bhattacharya’s Staging Assistant for Red & Yellow and most recently was a dancer in the company’s production Svaha! Rachana is focused on broadening her choreographic skills and building multidisciplinary collaborations. She is a co-founder of Kala Collective, an art collective of South Asian dancers.
Design Mentor: Melissa Joakim is a lighting and projection designer and scenographer. She is a recipient of a Dora Award in Scenic Design for Prophecy Fog (The Theatre Centre, Paper Canoe Projects and Nightswimming Theatre). She has recently collaborated with Outside the March, Ahuri Theatre, Bad New Days, Lucid Ludic, Theatre Why Not, Theatre Passe Muraille, Lemontree Creations, Soundstreams, Signal Theatre, ARC Stage Co, and Crow’s Theatre. She is the stage manager and touring lighting designer for Sea Sick (Theatre Centre, 2014) which has toured extensively around the world and recently had its USA premiere at The Kennedy Center.
The re:research+design residency offers space and resources to deeply investigate the creation process with specific mentorship focused on incorporating design and production elements. The elements of design that can be explored through this opportunity include, but are not limited to sound, costume, lighting, projection and set design.
This residency takes place in Orillia, Ontario from November 12-17, 2023.
The 2023 Curator of re:research+design is Dedra McDermott, in collaboration with re:research+design's selection committee.
This residency will take place in Orillia, Ontario from November 12 - 17, 2023.
Eligibility
Applications are open to self-identifying emerging independent artists or collectives with a movement-based practice. Applicants should identify as Black, Indigenous or Persons of Colour inclusive of those identifying as 2SLGBTQ+. Applications are open to individual artists or collectives based in Ontario.
1. Artists should apply with works-in-process (or in a late stage of development) with an interest in integrating design into the next stage of their process.
2. Proposed works can have a maximum cast of 4. Because of the nature of the investigation, applying with a solo work choreographed/performed by the applicant requires defining how this opportunity would be best used, given the program’s mentorship component.
What We Offer
re:research + design will provide the selected artist(s) with the following:
•$5500 residency fee.
•A design-specific mentor, selected in concert with the applicant.
•Access to 40 hours of space, tech and technical support (resources) at the Orillia Opera House. Details here.
•A chance to share the process with the community in Orillia, in a TBD format.
•Archival footage.
•Travel, per diem and accommodations to work and reside in Orillia during the duration of the residency period.
*re:research+design is accessible to those with mobility needs.
Application deadline: March 1, 2023; notification of results: mid-March 2023.
For additional information or application assistance, contact Jane-Alison McKinney.
Application deadline: March 1, 2023; notification of results: mid-March 2023.
For additional information or application assistance, contact Jane-Alison McKinney.
The 2023 selection committee:
Paul Chambers (lighting designer, Montreal)
Vanessa Lovell (dance artist, Ottawa)
Rachel Forbes (set and costume designer, Toronto)
Lucius Dechausay (filmmaker, illustrator & artist, Toronto)
Dedra McDermott (re:research+design curator, adelheid, dance artist & dramaturg, Toronto)
Vanessa Lovell (dance artist, Ottawa)
Rachel Forbes (set and costume designer, Toronto)
Lucius Dechausay (filmmaker, illustrator & artist, Toronto)
Dedra McDermott (re:research+design curator, adelheid, dance artist & dramaturg, Toronto)
re:research + design is made possible by:
