We are 37 days away from Dance Ontario’s 25th Anniversary Edition of DanceWeekend!
Today we would like to feature commissioned artist Riley Sims and his company Social Growl! He will be presenting Old New Borrowed Blue at the following dates and times:
Friday January 19 – 8:40pm
Saturday January 20 – 3:45pm
Sunday January 21 – 3:15pm
Find out more about his work:
1. Can you tell us a little bit about your company/collective/school?
Social Growl is a Toronto-based, emerging contemporary dance company established in 2012 by Artistic
Director and Choreographer Riley Sims. Although primarily a dance company, Social Growl’s work is
also heavily rooted in theatre and text. Our philosophy is centred around the fact that human beings are
fundamentally complex animals. We are predators and prey. We are admirable and disgusting. We are
genuine and fake. In fact, that’s how the name for the company was chosen. ‘Social’ because of the
impact of larger society with its codes, norms, etiquette and expectations; and ‘Growl’ because of our
baser animalistic sides, our instincts for survival from food to shelter to sex. This contrasting duality
exists in all humans and that’s the energy we harness in our performances.
Fundamentally, we believe dance can and should provoke emotion and trigger audiences to think more
profoundly about the world. Our work tries to be a form of social commentary. It explores what people
are really like…both alone and in groups. Through dance, we peel away the layers of human nature,
exposing what separates us and what unites us.
As a result, Social Growl’s work challenges audiences. We want them to leave the theatre affected, both
questioning what they saw and what it triggered in them. Our dance is not always easy or comfortable to
watch. But we firmly believe that performances that challenge are just as valid as pure spectacle or simple
entertainment. Similar to when we watch films that are emotionally difficult, contemporary dance can and
should also be hard to digest. At its best, it can even be a vehicle to contemplate what it means to be
human.
2. What will you be showing at DanceWeekend?
Old New Borrowed Blue is a visceral, emotionally stirring, dark, and eccentric quartet made with four
women: Clarke Blair, Wing Chan, Ana Groppler, Molly Johnson.
3. Do you have any other up-coming performances/events you would like to share?
Social Growl is currently in the studio creating our third full length work Amorous Playlist which
premiere’s in October 2018.
4. What is one thing you love most about your dance community?
The relentlessness to continue to fight to make things happen for ourselves.
5. What does performing at the 25th Annual DanceWeekend mean to you?
It’s an incredible opportunity to share my work with an audience that normally wouldn’t see it. Also to
make a work for a space like the fleck is very exciting. I’m also working with three new collaborators
who I haven’t yet worked with professionally. There are many elements to this process that are different
from the ways I’m used to working.
6. What is one surprising/interesting fact about your company/collective/school?
While proudly based in Toronto, Social Growl has a unique connection to dance beyond provincial borders. Several
of the company dancers are francophone from Montreal and Quebec City. Artistic Director Riley Sims firmly
believes that a cross-provincial pollination of artistic ideas from different cities and cultures have a positive benefit
on the creative process. It also allows Social Growl to be an ambassador for Toronto dance and gives us a footprint
in Quebec’s vibrant dance community.
Photo by: Merik Williams