DUSK DANCES ON TOUR IN ONTARIO

Dusk Dances, the hugely popular summer event that has brought contemporary and traditional dance to public parks across Canada for ten years, will soon visit six regional Ontario cities from July 1 ­ August 8, 2004.

The brainchild of acclaimed dancer/choreographer, Sylvie Bouchard, Dusk Dances debuted in 1993 using the natural beauty of Toronto¹s Trinity-Bellwoods Park. It has been an annual event since 1996, produced by Bouchard and artistic partner David Danzon, under their company CORPUS.

A curated dance event, Dusk Dances features an array of choreographic works presented nightly at sunset. Choreographers from various backgrounds are programmed to present ten-minute pieces inspired by the park¹s natural environment. As dusk descends, host Diana Tso leads the audience to five eclectic dance pieces that unfold in different areas of the park.

Funded by Ontario¹s Trillium Foundation and the Touring and Collaborations program of the Ontario Arts Council, the Dusk Dances Tour 2004 will perform in:

€ Ottawa¹s Strathcona Park from July 1 ­4 , co-produced with the Grasshoppa Dance Exchange;

€ Kingston¹s City Park from July 8 ­ 11, co-produced with Rising Sun Productions;

€ Guelph¹s Exhibition Park from July 15 ­ 18, co-produced with the Guelph Contemporary Dance Festival;

€ Chatham¹s Tecumseh Park from July 22 ­ 25, co-produced with the Chatham Cultural Centre;

€ Deep River¹s Cedar Park from July 29 ­ August 1, co-produced with Deep River SummerFest; and

€ Peterborough¹s Nichols Oval Park from August 5 ­ 8, co-produced with Peterborough New Dance.

Presenting works in the Dusk Dances Tour 2004 are Jenn Goodwin and Sarah Doucet with their street smart Sneaker; Julia Aplin, who pairs a dynamic duo of synchronized swimmers with a couple of wading pools in Inner City Sirens Pt II; Nova Bhattacharya performing classical Indian Bharata Natyam in Ma; Jenn Goodwin and her dancers performing Stink, suspended with bungee cords from a tree; and finally CORPUS with a new version of their hilarious, award winning work, A Flock of Flyers.

Designed to promote dance in the community, Bouchard explains her approach to producing Dusk Dances: ³Our aim is to make dance accessible for everyone. Our venues are public parks where everyone is welcome, admission is pay-what-you-can so the ticket price is within everyone¹s budget, and our programming is diverse, for all tastes and ages.²

The Dusk Dances Tour 2004 is presented in addition to a two-week Dusk Dances season in Toronto, which will feature a retrospective program in Withrow Park in the east end and Dufferin Grove Park in the west end from June 22 ­ July 4.

FOR MORE INFORMATION VISIT www.corpus.ca