“Do you see the buzzing potential and love that pours through every breath!?”
— Xia (Summer) Chu, performer
The stage is home to the York Dance Ensemble (YDE), a group of artists within the university’s dance department. From Feb. 4–6, the ensemble brought visions of the human experience to the Sandra Faire & Ivan Fecan Theatre. The show exhibited four pieces: “Beast à la Mode” (Syreeta Hector), “Sumner Beach” (Jessica Runge), “Rue Sainte-Catherine” (Clara Chemtov), and “Pale Blue Dot” (Syreeta Hector).
Since 1988, YDE has brought together dancers, choreographers, musicians, and production crew to provide experience in creation, production, and performance. Syreeta Hector, the current artistic director of YDE, describes the spirit of this year’s showcase as a “vibrant collaboration.”
“The ensemble has grown physically and artistically so much over this past year,” Hector notes. “The way that they work in the studio and outside of the classroom keeps me curious and pushes me to go further.”
The process of creating the pieces was marked by connection and vulnerability. “[YDE] really feels warm and safe for members to share their vulnerability,” affirms Christine Ng, who performed an animalistic solo in “Beast à la Mode.” “Because [of this] we were able to have a personal connection to the work.”
Jessica Runge, choreographer of “Sumner Beach,” emphasizes the creative role of dancers as “interpreters,” remarking, “I love the way the dance can become an opportunity to connect with these performers in a way that feels honest and moving.” She continues, “For example, in one section of this piece, the dancers created small movement studies of their own…In another section, I asked them to work together to lift each other up in certain shapes that I had made. Eventually, they created a number of beautiful unique lifts, which I also really love.”
This year’s showcase also explored themes of identity and social context, appreciation for nature, connection as a tool of protest, and the struggle for genuine connection amidst the rise of technology and AI.
“I hope that there was something in the show that left a lasting impression,” remarks performer Xia (Summer) Chu, alluding to the deeper meanings embedded within the pieces. “Maybe the beasts in [“Beast à la Mode”] made you uncomfortable — now think about what made you uncomfortable.”
Performer Christine Ng describes “Pale Blue Dot” as an activism piece. “It is an invitation [to see] how different our lives would be if we didn’t have our phones glued to us 24/7,” Ng explains. “I think art and dance in itself has that power to give people an outlet to reflect.”
Syreeta Hector, artistic director, echoes this sentiment. “I hope that within this program we can connect to the power of dance and recognize how useful it is to have movement be a tool for story and hard conversations. Even within the opening Olympic ceremony, we see how powerful dance can be at telling [a] story. Dance can provide us with an immediate feeling or emotion like no other art form.”
YDE continues to train dancers who are artists, professionals, and storytellers, stimulating conversations both difficult and ordinary. Learn more about the ensemble here.
