Harbourfront Centre 2005 summer festival
Multiple venues (including the CIBC Stage)
235 Queens Quay West, Toronto, Canada
Friday August 26 to Sunday August 28, 2005
Info: 416-973-4000 or www.harbourfrontcentre.com

Kick Up Your Heels: Your Chance to Dance! presents some of the most exciting and innovative performers from Canada and around the world, demonstrating both traditional and contemporary dance! Running from Friday August 26 to Sunday August 28, each day comes with its own theme: Friday is dedicated to Urban Dance, Saturday to African (African-derived) and Latin-American dance, and Sunday to Social Dance Traditions.

Audiences get to learn from the masters, watch dazzling performances and enjoy the sounds of global music! Experience Eastern Belly Dancing with Roula Said or Hip Hop with Corrie Daniels from the legendary group Bag of Trix! Audiences can learn Samba dance moves with Guiomar Campbell and the Samba Squad, or experience the film-dance combination presentation He/She.  Other highlights include Salsa band Café Cubano, Canadian fiddling sensation Pierre Schryer and Columbia’s 34% Visible, a project that combines dancers, choreographers and artists! All events are free admission!

DANCE: Experience any number of dance styles from the pros as various leading dancers teach workshops throughout the festival. Saturday’s theme of African and Latin-American dancing kicks off with contemporary dance classes with John Hunte, followed by belly-dancing classes by leading Canadian dancer Roula Said. Next up is Afro-Columbian dance styles with 34% Visible and Márcio Méndes with Capoeira, a dance style originating from the streets of Brazil! Or try a different route and go for Tango with Sandra Rochas and the Argentinean Los Milogueros! Round out your knowledge of Latin dancing with Flamenco lessons with professional dancer Esmerelda Enrique or Brazilian-style Samba Dance classes with Guiomar Campbell and Toronto’s hot Samba Squad. Dancing styles from the Ivory Coast are demonstrated and taught by Groupe des Arts Bassan, and professional dancer Betty Colón teaches Merengue and Salsa.

Sunday learn about the hip and funky urban social dance scene, starting with a ballet boot-camp with TBC’s Santee Smith, followed by Celtic Step dancing with Triple Dynomite and rounded out with Hip Hop lessons from Corrie Daniels, member of Toronto’s premiere break-dancing group Bag of Trix. For the adventurous, learn to dance Cajun-style with Toronto’s favourite Louisiana-style dance band Swamperella as they teach two-step Cajun Dance, or try out our Tango Dance Patio in partner ship with Los Milongueros, the Argentinean Cultural Association.

Workshops are only part of this dance extravaganza, as Kick Up Your Heels also presents numerous dance performances throughout the festival, each unique and bound to get you in that dancing mood. Toronto dance company Chimera Project kicks things off on Friday evening with their explosive, contemporary style, followed with The Honeycats. Saturday and Sunday continues with performances by Groupe des Arts Bassan and Hilda Panasuik Mexican Folkloric Dance Company—demonstrating Mexico’s dynamic dancing traditions. Kick Up Your Heels is also hosting the second presentation of HE, a commissioned solo dance series including works by Ronald A Taylor, Learie McNicolls and Barbadian contemporary dance artist John Hunte. 

FILM: The flip side of HE is SHE, a dance and film programme celebrating contemporary ideals and ideas of femininity. She is a combination of dance and film, the film curated by the Moving Pictures Festival of Dance on Film and Video and is presented in conjunction with the work of dancer and choreographer Rocío Flores Cia. Each dance performance is followed by a Q & A session with the artists.

MUSIC: An incredible array of artists and musical styles, many incorporating dance into their performances! Join world-renowned Toronto rapper Kardinal Offishall as he performs his high-energy, dancehall-reggae fusion raps and previews tunes from his long-awaited CD “Fire & Glory!” Salsa band Café Cubano heats things up with a live performance of Cuban rhythms and Canadian Pierre Schryer delights audiences with his music that ranges in style from Irish to American Swing. Afterwards join one of Ontario’s favourite big bands, Swing Shift Big Band, as they perform big band favourites by Glenn Miller, Tommy Dorsey and more! Toronto’s top choreographers showcase the varied styles of urban dance in Blaze: The Urban Dance Showcase, curated by Blaze Entertainment and featuring the winners of the BBC—Pop, Lock and Load break dance contest! Also enjoy Toronto’s top Latino, reggaeton and urban artists with Reggaeton & Latin Urban showcase, featuring DJs performers playing the best in Latin Urban music!

VISUAL ARTS: The dancing theme continues with Take It To The Floor, an exhibit chronicling the magnetism of dance and the feelings associated with it—excitement, fragility and defiance. Beverley Abramson is an award-winning photographer of dance and has several books all based on the theme of motion. Complementing Abramson’s exhibit is work by Che Kothari from his Hold Up—Breakin’ It Down In Toronto series, photography that showcases the wealth of the breakdancing talent in Toronto.

KIDS/ Families: Kids get to show their creativity designing Pre -Columbian Carnivale Masks with artist Liliana De Irisarri.

For more summer info and festival releases go to http://www.harbourfrontcentre.com/summerfestivals/media.php

Media Contact:
Shane Gerard, 416-973-4655, sgerard@harbourfrontcentre.com
Rebecca Webster, 416-973-4518, rwebster@harbourfrontcentre.com
Bill Bobek, 416-973-4428, wbobek@harbourfrontcentre.com