Zata Omm Dance Projects is next our countdown. #DanceWeekend19 is 37 days away! Don’t miss Zata Omm Saturday January 26th at 3:00pm!
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/zataommdance
Vimeo: https://www.vimeo.com/zataomm
Twitter: https://twitter.com/zataommdance
Can you tell us little bit about your company/collective/school?
Zata Omm is ‘Zen And The Actualization Of Modern Movement’. Zata Omm is a contemporary dance company based in Toronto, Canada. It is a not-for-profit charitable dance organization.
The company is in a state of constant development with on-going artistic research to explore the artistic climate, reflect contemporary culture and lead the emerging artistic trends. Zata Omm’s objective is to create multidisciplinary contemporary dance works using meaningful integration of dance, technology and other art forms on stage in order to provide an alternative way of seeing our world which facilitates our exploration and understanding of the human condition.
Zata Omm is a forward-thinking dance company with a unique and compelling style of aesthetic and is renowned for its ability to humanize technical and technological elements in dance to create a deep impact and connection with the audiences. Our creations are thought-provoking, often express profound messages or revelations and are valuable contributions to our artistic discipline.
Zata Omm is committed to the creation of novel works, the development of a repertoire of choreographic works, and the dissemination of the products of our labours through performance, research, media and education. The company’s commitment is to promote contemporary dance and to advance the Canadian dance scene. It is devoted to collaborating with top-quality artists and artistic disciplines locally and internationally.
What are showing at DanceWeekend’19?
An except of full-length solo SKOW
SKOW is an acronym derived from ‘Some Kinds Of Wonder’. This choreographic work is inspired by those things in Johanna Bergfelt‘s life that define a sense of wonderment and fascination. It is an imaginative, theatrical and visually intense choreographic work creatively exploring these fascinating and wonderful aspects of life.
Who are the performers/collaborators in this piece(s)?
Choreographer: William Yong / Zata Omm Dance Projects
Dancer: Johanna Bergfelt
Lighting Designer: Simon Rossiter
Video and Visual Designer: Elysha Poirier
Costume and Scenic Designer: William Yong
Technical Director & Stage Manager : James Kendal
Can you talk about your creative process? What inspires you?
SKOW is an acronym derived from ‘Some Kinds Of Wonder’. It is a full-length solo dance production on Johanna Bergfelt, an outstanding dance artist and teacher based in Toronto. This choreography is inspired by those things in Johanna’s life that inspire a sense of wonder in her and by my fascination and bewilderment by her. It is an imaginative, theatrical and visually intense choreographic work creatively exploring these fascinating and wonderful aspects of life. The title was chosen to be a meaningless acronym because we wanted to trigger bemusement and to spark a little curiosity in the seemingly insignificant.
Wonder, in the sense of ‘awe’, has long been both inspiration and goal for visual arts; when describing the sentiments produced by art, we often use words like unexpected, beautiful, awe-inspiring or otherworldly. Whether being drawn up into the great spiral of Correggio’s “The Assumption Of The Virgin” or a staring into a luminescent painting by Degas, we can immediately sense the wonder in the work. But the word ‘wonder’, functioning as a verb, also implies uncertainty and a questioning state of mind. It can break us out of pre-conceived notions or expectations, and bring us to a new comprehension of the way in which materials and presentation can reinvent what and how we see.
SKOW is not about a particular individual’s wonderment. The intent is to create a kind of soliloquy from personal experience without becoming self-indulgent. Rather, it is hoped that audiences will be inspired by the portrayal of this expression of inward musings and reflect on them in relation to their own experiences.
In this production, I want to take the audience through the looking-glass. We stumble over the profound or the ridiculous. We are bound to lose our way and getting lost to make us ask questions and be curious about the things we encounter. SKOW is intended to be very exploratory, imaginative and visually intense. This choreographic work will allow me to transform the familiar into something fresh and provocative, and take audiences on an emotional journey.
This is Johanna’s statement: ‘I dream of being able to work on SKOW again. The piece offers so many challenges for me as a performer and is extremely close to my heart!’
Please share your experience performing in a previous DanceWeekend and/or tell us what you are looking forward to at DanceWeekend’19?
Zata Omm last performed in DanceWeekend 2007 with commission ‘The Four Heavenly Kings’. Since then, we never able to apply again to perform for DanceWeekend before of timing and scheduling.
What is one surprising or interesting fact about your company/collective/school?
We are very excited to return to DanceWeekend after a12-years-break.
Do you have any up-coming performances/events you would like to share?
World Premiere of Zata Omm’s SKOW
Presented by Citadel + Compagnie through Bright Nights Series
January 30-February 2, 2019 at 8pm (Wed to Sat) – General Admission $25 to $30
Special Gala Performance 29 January 2019 at 8pm (Tues) – In fund-raising support of the production $100 per person. A portion of the ticket price ($100 minus catering food and drinks per person which is served after the show) will be issued as a charitable tax receipts for guests.
(To purchase Gala Night tickets please call 416-618-6689 or email: [email protected])
TICKETS
https://www.citadelcie.com/skow/
Location
The Citadel
304 Parliament Street
Toronto, ON M5A 4L2
Photo by WilliamYong