Kickstart Disability Arts in Vancouver, concurrent with the Paralympics

Kickstart Festival
March 2010

Vancouver-based Kickstart Disability Arts and Culture is thrilled to present an inspiring array of artistic expression and performance in this very special year, during the Paralympics. Based in Vancouver, Canada, Kickstart (formerly the Society for Disability Arts and Culture) presents and produces works by artists with disabilities, and promotes artistic excellence among artists with disabilities working in a variety of disciplines.

Kickstart and UBC present She Laughed! She Cried! at Telus Theatre at the UBC Chan Centre on March 12 at 8pm. Fado singer Sara Marreiros and her band open the evening. Dark and brooding or gloriously ethereal, Sara’s sultry, sexy vocals are steeped in the passion of yearning of Portuguese saudade. Funny in the Head, a one-woman show by Jan Derbyshire, is the rollicking story of a bipolar comedian’s fight to stay funny. She ultimately finds an answer to the pressing question, “Is appearing normal a mental health act?”

With the Vancouver 2010 Cultural Olympiad and Vancouver International Dance Festival, Kickstart presents Configurations, March 20 & 21 at the Roundhouse Community Arts and Recreation Centre. Bill Shannon is the “CrutchMaster”, influenced by house and hip hop dance forms, silent film acting and skateboard culture. A multimedia show in four acts, Spatial Theory integrates Shannon’s unique hybrid movements. Watch his Life flows better with Visa ad for a taste!

On the same bill is Geometry of the Circle, a remount of the critically acclaimed duet choreographed by Canadian modern dance legend Peggy Baker, performed by Alison Denham and Mark Brose. Baker created this duet for dancer and musician in 1993 with composer Ahmed Hassan, who uses a wheelchair. The piece incorporates body, voice, and sculpture in an intimate and whimsical celebration of the power of love and creativity.

March 21 Configurations is a Gala performance, which also includes Peggy Baker performing her solo work earthling, a reception and silent auction. Tickets $75 and beginning at 6:30.

Acclaimed at its premiere at the Royal Ontario Museum, Out From Under: Disability History and Things to Remember is presented by Kickstart, UBC and the Vancouver 2010 Cultural Olympiad at UBC Robson Square, March 9 to 21. Curated by Kathryn Church, Catherine Frazee and Melanie Panitch, it is a groundbreaking exhibit that pays tribute to the resilience, creativity, and the civic and cultural contributions of Canadians with disabilities. Award-winning as “both informative and luminous… elegant, functional and respectful of the theme– the way it’s designed lends a whole new layer of depth to the topic of disability.”

Opening March 8 through 27 at the Pendulum Gallery, Heroes is co-curated by Sima Elizabeth Shefrin and Bernadine Fox. Twenty participating artists from across the country have been asked to engage with notions of The Heroic, as it applies to the disability community. This may suggest able-bodied people’s perception of the disabled in their day to day functioning as courageous, or heroic, or the expectation that every disabled person should be another Rick Hanson or Terry Fox, and reveal the value of real role models for youth with disabilities.

COSTS:

The exhibits are free.

Tickets:

She Laughed She Cried - Tickets $22/$16. ticketmaster.ca, 604.280.3311

Configurations -  Tickets $25-35 March 20; $75 March 21 Gala also includes Peggy Baker performing earthling.

Tickets at 604.662.4966, and boxoffice[at]vidf.ca

Join us in celebrating and sharing this wonderful work in March 2010.
www.kickstart-arts.ca

All information and photos courtesy and copyright of Kickstart Festival