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THIS IS MY MATH DANCE
photo by Kendra Epik
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"I loved math in high school.
Before I did dance, I did math.
I found it comforting.
I loved how you could prove things to be true. Beyond a shadow of a doubt.
All you had to do was
​
(1) find the form
(2) follow the steps, and
(3) you’d come out with
the
​
Perfect Answer
(perfect dancer)."
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When I began university as a bio-chemistry major, I studied calculus through my first year. I worked hard and loved its clarity. But I didn't last the year, transferring out of science into liberal arts and then into theatre.
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My first theatre project was to create a one-minute performance rendition of a play. I chose the French playwright Ionesco's already absurdist The Rhinoceros. The absurdist bug has never let me go...
"In Math – everything happens in a space delineated by
the X + the Y axis.
The horizontal axis is your “ex”
... ex-lover...
... ecstatic...
... ex chromosome...
... X marks the spot (oh, yeah...the spot!)"
photo by Kendra Epik
photo by Kendra Epik
This is my Math Dance grew through the development of “Getting to know your Fruit,” a memoir-based show that investigates the roots and fruits of my family tree. It’s about navigating identity, queerness, and the tender flesh of our physical selves. I discovered several books with numbered instructions on how many steps it took to write a memoir. I decided to try the mathematical approach to see if it worked and concocted a mathematical formula to prove the existence of my fantasy alter-ego, named "Naranja". Thus, the Math Dance was born.
Sound - Phil Strong
Creative Consultant - Katherine Duncanson
Costume - Sara Porter​
Set construction - James Kendall
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“This is my Math Dance” premiered at Dance Matters (2020). Its next presentation at Winnipeg Contemporary Dancers was cancelled due to CoVid and re-envisioned as a film by Vicky Fagan.
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FILM
Vicky Fagan
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CREATION + PERFORMANCE
Sara Porter
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SOUND DESIGNER
Phil Strong
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MUSICIAN
Laurel MacDonald
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Commissioned by
Winnipeg Contemporary Dancers (2021)
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