Kaeja d’Dance Presents 12th Annual Porch View Dances: ‘Real People Dancing In Real Spaces’

Team of Indigenous and POC creators intentionally and joyfully blur the lines between ‘Art’ and daily life in revered and award-winning community dance event 

August 9 – 12 at 7pm  and August 13 at 2pm 
Pay What You Wish 
Seaton Village, Toronto (located between Bathurst and Christie, from Bloor to Dupont) 

Kaeja d’Dance’s revered and award-winning Porch View Dances (PVD): ‘Real People Dancing In Real Spaces’ returns to the tree-lined intimacy and multiple outdoor spaces of Toronto’s historic Seaton Village from August 9 to 13, 2023. Now in its 12th year, the beloved site-specific community dance event offers audiences and participants an extraordinary mingling of everyday lives and artistic expression through dance – intentionally and joyfully blurring the lines between ‘Art’ and daily life.

Returning to the village in full ‘in-person’ glory, the festival features a full roster of POC and Indigenous creators. Jim and Owen Adams, an Indigenous father and son team who are resident performers at PVD over a 4-year journey, will complete their expression of the Medicine Wheel – closing a cycle of honouring the four directions, elements, and colours. Drag queen Mary Moonshine (Jake Runeckles) leads the 90-minute walking/wheeling tour through streets and lanes to experience four new dance works created by choreographers Victoria Mata, and Irma Villafuerte, Heryka Miranda, Ashima Suri, and Kinaj – Kin Nguien and AJ Velasco. These works will be performed on porches and front yards by families and friends, many who have never danced before. Along the way, audiences will also discover three dance vignettes in unexpected places choreographed by Matthew “Snoopy” Cuff. The event culminates with the always popular Flock Landing, a participatory, site-specific activation at Vermont Square Park. Audience members of all ages and mobility levels are invited to join the inclusive group movement ensemble, led by Mio Sakamoto, together with dancers Brayden Cairns, Yui Ugai, and Rajvi Dedhia. Bikes, strollers, and wheelchairs are welcome at this pay-what-you-wish event.

Kaeja d’Dance is driven by a commitment to innovation in the performing arts through the expression of dance and gesture. They explore identity, personal stories and the complexity of the human experience by integrating the interconnected mediums of live performance, dance film, and community engagement. Kaeja provides platforms for and fosters the creation of new Canadian professional dance works which are featured locally and internationally that inspire connections between professional artists and the broader community.

More info at kaeja.org