31 (TouchX + I am the Child of…)
31 years
2 world premieres
50 performers
4 AR experiences
Kaeja d’Dance celebrated its 31st Anniversary with 31 (TouchX + I am the Child of…). Grounded in memory, Karen Kaeja’s TouchX, and Allen Kaeja and Bruce Barton’s I am the Child of… (a collaboration between Kaeja d’Dance and Vertical City Performance), investigate the complexity of our lived experience. Community, perspective, and augmented reality technology created two evocative worlds in this double bill show. With over 25 artistic collaborators and 33 community participants, these works devised movement from deeply personal stories, examining the universal power of reflection, resilience, and touch. 31(TouchX + I am the Child of…) was presented by Harbourfront Centre November 11-13, 2022 as PART OF TORQUE International Contemporary Dance Series.
-
Karen Kaeja, an Ashkenazi white female with long grey hair gently embraces Nickeshia Garrick, a Queer, Afro-Caribbean Canadian artist with short kinky blonde hair. Karen has her eyes closed and holds Nickeshia’s upright fists. Below them, Mio Sakamoto, an East Asian woman in her mid-20s with long wavy dark hair pulled back in a ponytail lays on her side and tilts her head back with her eyes closed. A light blur appears above Mio, extending diagonally across the image and separating Mio from Karen and Nickeshia, who appear above the blur. Large bold white text on top of the blur reads “31”. Smaller orange text reads “I am the child of…” next to Karen and Nickeshia and “TouchX’ next to Mio.
31 Online Program
Click the button below to view the full 31 online program!
31 Press
PROFILE: Allen Kaeja – Our Theatre Voice
FEATURE: Kaeja d’Dance – SilverFox Magazine
REVIEWS: TouchX Reviews
TouchX
TouchX is a contemporary moving image of what has ‘touched’ us most over our lives - the thought, memory, fragility, ephemeral nature of touch. Directed and choreographed by Karen Kaeja, the dance work is a multi-sensory visual world of what remains in the body through wanted and unwanted touch, contrasted with when our hearts have been touched. An ensemble of dancers are joined by a brave collection of everyday community folk, who boldly take space in a complex world of protection, disassociation, fantasy, surrender and connection. TouchX holds a fertile immediacy and essentiality in a time when the human need for touch is unmistakable.
TouchX is supported by the Harbourfront Centre Technical Residency Program, and creative residency/development engagements with Decidedly Jazz Dance, Mukogawa Women’s University - Japan and Atlantic Ballet Canada.
TouchX Credits
World Premiere
Presented by – Harbourfront Centre
Concept, Direction & Choreography – Karen Kaeja
Created with and Performed by – Michael Caldwell, Brayden Cairns*, Nickeshia Garrick, Jessica Germano*, David Norsworthy, Mio Sakamoto, Yui Ugai**, Irma Villafuerte
Composer / Instrumentalist – Gregory Harrison
Lighting Design – Simon Rossiter
Set Design – Karen Kaeja with Sonja Rainey
Costume Design – Sonja Rainey
Dramaturgy – Pil Hansen, Shannon Litzenberger
Rehearsal Director & Project Coordinator – Jordana Deveau
Production Coordinator & Stage Manager – Taylor Young
Assistant Lighting Designer – Theo Belc
Community Participants – Kate Ayer***, Peter Bannister***, Pieter Biessels, Susan Brown, Nancy Christie, Rajvi Dedhia***, Jane Deluzio, Lori Eisler, Lori Endes, Anne Fleming, Abigail Hanson***, Christine Jackson, Beata Janiec, David Keshen, Juliana Klein, Leila Lessem, Ellen Moore***, Ella Parsons***, Mary Anne Quance, Camryn Reiksts***, Maya Santos O’Keefe***, Cari Shim, Margo Small, Brenda Somers, Harold Tausch, Patricia White, Phyllis Whyte, Angela Xu
Production Management Consultant – Simon Rossiter
ASM & Rehearsal Assistant – Briana Unger
Technical Coordinator – A.J. Morra
Vocalists – Frances Miller & Gregory Harrison
Lyricist – Frances Miller in collaboration with Karen Kaeja
Wardrobe Assistant – Marianne Alas
Outside Eye – Allen Kaeja
Photography – Drew Berry, Omer Yukseker, Zhenya Cerneacov
Scribe & Video Documentation – Drew Berry
* RBC Artistic Interns ** Understudy ***Courtesy of The School of Toronto Dance Theatre
The services of Theo Belc were made possible through the Associated Designers of Canada Assistant Designer Program funded by the Government of Canada.
Content warning
Partial nudity and use of stage fog
I am the Child of…
I am the Child of… accentuates and embodies personal experiences, bringing them forward in dance. This multi-media production features physical investigations of childhood memories, resulting in stories of resilience that are unflinchingly honest. I am the Child of… is ever-changing, with structured moments interlaced with a responsive immediacy of movement, creating an unpredictable experience within every performance. Allen Kaeja collaborates with Bruce Barton and Vertical City to create different perspectives and perceptions for the audience using augmented reality technology and multiple camera angles integrated with live performers. This is a show where mobile devices are welcome and part of the viewing experience!
I am the Child of… is supported by the Harbourfront Centre Technical Residency Program.
Experience Augmented Reality at home!
Try out an augmented reality (AR) experience similar to the technology used in I am the Child of… Just follow the instructions below to witness a dancer perform in AR!
AR Practice
-
Scan the QR code on the webpage below these instructions using a phone or tablet. To do so, open your camera app and point it at the QR Code, then click the link that pops up.
-
Click “Allow”.
-
Watch the augmented reality dancer perform across your desk, on your kitchen table, or even on the ceiling! You can move the dancer around or make them larger or smaller using your touchscreen.
World Premiere
Presented by – Harbourfront Centre
A co-creation by – Allen Kaeja and Bruce Barton
A collaboration between Kaeja d’Dance and Vertical City Performance
Concept, Choreographic Proposals and Co-Direction – Allen Kaeja
Dramaturgy, Textual Arrangement and Co-Direction – Bruce Barton
Created with and Performed by – Michael Caldwell, Rodney Diverlus, Aria Evans, Nickeshia Garrick, Karen Kaeja, Ethan Kim*, Geanderson Mello, Mio Sakamoto*
Augmented Reality and Digital Design – Allen Kaeja and ian Garrett
Composer – Edgardo Moreno
Lighting Design – Simon Rossiter
Costume Design – Cara Johnson
Production Coordinator & Stage Management – Taylor Young
Augmented Reality and Digital Content – Toasterlab (Ian Garrett, Justine Garrett, Andrew Sempre, with support of Raechel Kula)
Assistant Lighting Designer – Theo Belc
Assistant Stage Manager – Hunter Kennedy-Rullo
Green Screen Videographer – Allen Kaeja
Video Trailer – Olya Glotka
Photography – Kevin Jones, Zhenya Cerneacov
Producers – Vertical City Performance & Kaeja d’Dance
*RBC Artistic Interns
The services of Theo Belc were made possible through the Associated Designers of Canada Assistant Designer Program funded by the Government of Canada.
I am the Child of… Credits
Funders
Partners
Thank you to the artists, collaborators, staff, board members, and advisors who have contributed to Kaeja over the past 31 years.
Trigger warning
Mature themes, homophobia, abuse, injury, child abandonment, mention of the Holocaust