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Dance company with Tr’ondëk Hwëch’in roots closes annual Adäka Cultural Festival

Thursday, 6 July 2023 15:53

THFN citizen Michelle Olsen is the co-artistic director with Raven Spirit Dance

The eleventh annual Adäka Cultural Festival's closing performance pulled its audience in to an ethereal and feminine world. The somatic dance troupe relied sparsely on the accompaniment of traditional drumming and the voicework of Kluane First Nation's own Dyet and the Love Soldiers.

Among the five female dancers telling the story of 'Confluence', was artistic lead Michelle Olson, a Tr’ondëk Hwëch’in citizen and the co-director of Raven Spirit Dance company, based in Vancouver, was. Olsen said her company was inspired by the strength of Indigenous women and their unique relationship to the natural world.

Confluence at times held its Yukon Arts Centre audience in utter silence, except for the gentle brushing of the dancers bare feet across the stage. Olson said the deep silences embody the space Indigenous women hold as they carve their way between the spiritual and natural worlds. The original sound score was composed by another Yukoner, Scott Maynard. The show plays tonight in Nanaimo, BC.

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