She is an artist who truly believes that the beauty of her craft lies in the learning. Growing up she trained in multiple disciplines and spent summers attending Quinte Ballet school, Joffrey Ballet school and in more recent years studying Ohad Naharin’s gaga technique in Barcelona, Spain and New York. She is also certified as a Pilates and Barre fitness instructor. Kelly is constantly researching and educating herself on the complexities of the moving body.

Anyone that knows Kelly, knows she is one of the few freelance dancers in this city that is always working, and deservingly at that. Recently she has had the pleasure of working and collaborating with ProArte Danza, Human Body Expression, Helix Dance Project, Gadfly, Alysa Pires Dance Projects, TOES for Dance, Transcendance Project and Hit and Run Productions. As well as performing at such festivals as Dance Ontario Weekend, Festival International de DansEncore, Festival des Arts de Saint-Sauveur, Toronto Fringe Festival, Capezio ACE awards (New York), Dance Matters.

Kelly’s talents have received many accolades. She is the most recent recipient of the 2018 Jack Mcallister award awarded by Ryerson University for accomplishment in dance and was nominated for a 2018 Dora Mavor Moore award for her ensemble work in Human Body Expression’s “Chasing the Path”

Kelly has been performing all fall and is looking forward to bringing ‘Mina’ back to life for the third time this January in Transcendance Project’s “Eve of St. George”. She will also be creating a new work on the Ryerson dance program’s second year class later this winter, as well as travelling to Korea this upcoming June to perform Human Body Expression’s “Chasing the Path” once again.

Needless to say Kelly’s talent is undeniable. Her ability to transcend an audience is unlike any other. We are lucky to have such a beautiful, modest and hardworking artist in our city.

– Written by Julia Cratchley, Artistic Director of Transcendance Project

What ‘hood are you in?

I currently live in City Place, Bathurst and Fort York.

What do you do?

I am a freelance contemporary dance artist, choreographer and Barre fitness instructor.

What are you currently working on? 

I am currently in rehearsals for the third iteration of Eve of St. George, presented by Transcendance project. This show is Toronto’s very first voyeuristic and immersive dance theatre experience, and I am grateful to have been a part of the show since 2015. The piece is a reimagining of Bram Stoker’s chilling tale “Dracula” — concept inspired by New York City’s smash-hit theatrical dance experience Sleep No More.

I’m  so excited to be working on this project for the third time, being given the opportunity to unpack and research a character/piece three times is quite the luxury and not common in Toronto contemporary dance. The show is so unique, equal parts disturbing and seductive, the audience is masked and set free to roam four levels of The Great Hall as the story unfolds around and interacts with the characters. The show is evocative and unnerving and each guest experience is different. They can choose to follow a character, explore uncharted spaces, and rifle through private effects of 16 characters. I feel grateful for this experience as an artist, as it teaches and challenges me so much each time we perform.

Where can we find your work?

Transcendance Project presents “Eve of St. George” at The Great Hall 

January 17, 18, 19, 20
January 24, 25, 26, 27

The post “A Day in the Life” with contemporary dance artist Kelly Shaw appeared first on Toronto Guardian.

I should preface this review by saying that I have seen Sleep No More, the Punchdrunk production that The Eve of St. George was inspired by, three times and this is not the same, but it is a damn good start.

Immersed into the dark twisted world of Count Dracula and his associates, audience members are free to roam over four spaces and floors in the innerbelly of the building. Like Sleep No More, The Eve of St. George is an immersive experience and a choose your own adventure style performance, meaning you can follow different characters for different elements of the story. One qualm; the performance was repeated twice over the course of the evening, meaning I didn’t miss much, which is great, although I saw a few pieces twice and it somewhat spoiled the impulsive gratification of following one particular story. The repetition really wasn’t necessary at all.

There was some incredible talent on display from the Transcen|Dance Project, a contemporary dance troupe based in the city. The company moved with elegance as they carried out Julia Cratchley’s choreography; I especially enjoyed the fabric dance from the Brides of Dracula.

Interaction is the aim of the game in an immersive show, so feel free to closely inspect set pieces and props. Don’t be surprised if an actor whispers something in your ear, too…just go with it!

The Great Hall is the perfect space for a gothic retelling of Bram Stoker’s 1897 horror, and honestly, it is a shame that The Eve of St. George didn’t have a longer run. Also a bonus, audience members can walk around with a drink, if they so wish and nothing compliments beautiful dark twisted fantasies like a glass of red!

I could see so many people around me excited to be interacting with theatre, which was truly heartening, as this experience is still pretty new to Toronto. Sure, The Eve of St. George doesn’t quite have the Sleep No More budget to fill the somewhat epic space, it is a very, very good start.

The Eve of St. George was a quick flash in the Toronto theatre pan, however I suspect it will be back. If you want to know more about Transcen|Dance’s work, check out their website here.

The post Count Dracula and The Eve of St George at The Great Hall in Toronto appeared first on Toronto Guardian.

Originally built in 1889 it was home to Toronto’s YMCA West End chapter. The land was purchased for $10,000 and the architectural design firm Gordon & Helliwell erected a Victorian style three-storey building with signature details from the Queen Anne Revival style that was popular at the time.

In 1912, the YMCA relocated and The Great Hall soon found a new tenant with the Royal Templars of Temperance, a fraternal organization that was active in the  prohibition of alcohol, renamed the building to the Royal Templar Hall. It was the “place to be” as a venue for lectures, entertainment, and a “well-baby” clinic that was established during the post WWI flu epidemic. It was also host to a gathering of psychic and spiritualists in 1920 and later home to the Independent Order of Foresters. In the 1940s, it became the home to the Polish National Union where it held offices and printing presses for the local Polish newspaper. During the second world war, the building welcomed immigrants from Europe and served as temporary housing.

In 1973, the City of Toronto designated The Great Hall is a heritage site. Then in the 1980s, the building became a hub for artists in performance, music, visual arts and experimental arts. It continues today to be a venue for community, arts & culture, and  creative minds.

On the exterior, restorations have included the peaked roof, 19th century decoration around the window frames, as well as the original mullion windows — a unique Victorian design where the rounded upper portion drops down to open.

The interior has also seen plenty of restoration over recent years of original detailing including a hidden second floor staircase corridor coffered ceiling that was damaged and covered up for decades. In addition to the restorations, a new elevator installation is making the building more accessible which must have been a challenge in the 1800’s structure.

Much of the footprint remains today. The main entrance from the stairs led to the Main Hall – an elegant auditorium concert-hall style space that had a second level gallery overlooking the stage. The gymnasium accessible from inside or the side street entrance has been restored and updated but remains nostalgic in feel. Designers have cleverly left a few original markings on the walls of the YMCA days that were discovered during the restoration. Some of the earliest basketball games were played here and several world famous athletes have come through these doors. The gymnasium is now named after Tom Longboat, a famous long distance runner who set a new record here in 1907. It has had restorations of its original, hand-built, curved wooden running track and now serves as a balcony with its own bar overlooking the basketball court. The venue’s walls have also been restored back to its original red and yellow brickwork. We were told that the cavity of the swimming pool still exists on the premises but not currently accessible to the public (darn!) and no restoration has been slated for that to date.

The top floors of the building have also been restored and ideal for hosting events. The “Conversation Room” and the “Drawing Room”  are bright contrasts to the deep set spaces in the building. Cheery bay windows overlook the city streets and bring in beams of natural light. The detailing of these nooks are so inviting and breathtakingly beautiful.

The Great Hall is located at 1087 Queen Street West, Toronto. Visit their website for more info.

The post A journey through time inside Toronto’s historical ‘The Great Hall’ appeared first on Toronto Guardian.

Mbongwana Star’s roots are in the streets of Kinshasa, the capital of the Democratic Republic of Congo. Star came out of another legendary group of street musicians, Staff Benda Bilili. The lead singers and founders of Mbongwana Star, Coco Ngambali and Theo Nzonza, who are both wheelchair enabled due to polio in their youth, connected with music producer Liam Farrell (aka Doctor L) and some younger musicians and voila! a fresh new African sound emerged. If you missed the show you are recommended to YouTube or stream Mbongwana Star’s first CD From Kinshasa – named one of the albums of the year in 2015 by the Guardian, Globe and Mail and Toronto Star. The band have also performed at Coachella to rave reviews.

Wednesday’s band lineup included: lead vocals, Coco Yakala Ngambali and Théo Nsituvuidi Nzonza; vocals, Rodrick Matuzolele Dialungana; electric guitar, Jean Claude Kamina Mulodi; electric bass, Cubain Kabeya Tshimpanglia ; and on drums, Randy Makana Kalambay. Presented by the Small World Music Society, the Mbongwana Star show took place on July 19 at The Great Hall, in association with Batuki Music Society, Wavelength Music Series and Music Africa.

Also have to add, the recent renovation to the historic Great Hall is fantastic! The Toronto event space still feels retro, but looks much sharper and more modern: http://www.thegreathall.ca/the-main-hall/

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Upcoming for Small World Music is their annual Fall music festival – September 14 to 17, 2017 – at various Toronto venues. This music festival will coincide with the inaugural presentation of the POLYPHONIC GROUND double bill series.

POLYPHONIC GROUND is a new Small World Music Society initiative to strengthen Toronto’s culturally-diverse music industry.

Polyphonic Ground will launch with a series of double-bill concerts on the second Thursday of every month at Revival Bar, 783 College Street. Two distinct partner organizations will be paired together to collaboratively program a night of musical discovery. The inaugural concert on September 14 pairs Ashkenaz Foundation and Small World Music Society. A fresh juxtaposition will be on stage with Batuki Music and Uma Nota presenting October 12, Link Music Lab and Good Kind Productions offering November 9, and Lula Music & Arts and Music Africa co-presenting December 14. For more information on artists, and to sign up for the newsletter, please visit: http://polyphonicground.com

Also follow Small World Music Society on Twitter for concert and event updates: https://twitter.com/smallworldnotes

The post First Toronto Show For Africa’s Mbongwana Star! appeared first on Toronto Guardian.