Toronto Dance Theatre (TDT) presents welcome, we’ve been waiting, a new work by multi-hyphenate artist, performance maker, activist, and Black Lives Matter – Canada co-founder Rodney Diverlus.
welcome, we’ve been waiting invites audiences into a world of whimsical play, spontaneous discoveries, magnetic dancing and on a journey of home and place, of fantasy, and finding your tribe. Performed by Jordan Alleyne, Yuichiro Inoue, Peter Kelly, Megumi Kokuba, Erin Poole, Devon Snell, Margarita Soria, and Roberto Soria, and featuring music composed by 2022 Canadian Screen Award winner TiKA in collaboration with Dillon Baldasserro. This new work features choreography that draws upon and deconstructs disparate styles including lindy hop, kizomba, hand performance, jazz, rhythm and groove, and contemporary queer performance.
About welcome, we’ve been waiting, Diverlus shares, “Developing this work throughout many lockdowns and phases of the pandemic has been an experience unlike any other. It is very much a post-pandemic offering; musings on the many radical possibilities for communities and interdependence. We look at themes of home and belonging, the democratization of space, of zealots, and traversing the boundaries of fantasy and reality. For this process, I was as much interested in how we work versus what we work on; creating flexibility and possibility within a creative process rooted in play, collaboration, and non-judgemental exploration.”
Rodney Diverlus is a Haitian Canadian multi-hyphenate artist and artivist who uses the body and voice as sites to host movement, text, and protest. Their work samples from the realms of contemporary and afrikanic movement and dance practices, physical theatre, mass mobilization, and public arts-based interventions.
Beyond artistic practice, Diverlus moonlights as a community activator, writer, and is the co-founder of Black Lives Matter – Canada as well as co-creator of Wildseed Centre for Art & Activism.
welcome, we’ve been waiting runs May 19-21 & 25-28 at the Winchester Street Theatre, with performances at 7:30pm. Tickets ($20- $30) must be booked in advance and are now available at tdt.org.
Not able to attend in person? TDT will be offering $10 tickets for a livestream performance of welcome, we’ve been waiting on May 20. Ticket holders will be able to watch in real-time or on-demand for 14 days following the performance.
