Our DanceWeekend’24 Artist Feature is Blue Ceiling Dance as a part of our live mainstage performances at The Fleck Dance Theatre, Harbourfront Centre.
Sunday, January 28th 2024 1pm – 6pm – IN-PERSON AND VIRTUAL
2:45pm Blue Ceiling Dance (Contemporary)
🔗 https://www.blueceilingdance.com/
About Blue Ceiling Dance:
Lucy Rupert is a dancer, choreographer, art-science researcher, and environmentalist. She is the founder of Blue Ceiling dance through which she creates, commissions and produces contemporary dance and multi-disciplinary performance inspired by science and philosophy. Blue Ceiling dance has been presented throughout Canada and in New York and Germany. As a freelance performer Lucy has worked Fujiwara Dance Inventions, Theatre Rusticle, Nova Dance and Chartier Danse, among many others. Lucy has a double BA in Dance and Music, an MA in History and is currently studying philosophy through Oxford University. Blue Ceiling dance celebrates its 20th anniversary in 2024.
Can you tell us a little bit about yourself/your company?
We’re celebrating 20 years in 2024. We are a small, primarily self-producing company working with intergenerational casts, and dancers from a range of backgrounds. We make intimate work that embodies theories and concepts from science and philosophy, not as a way to explain those theories and concepts, but to see what creatures and relationships it conjures up in the creative process. We’ve produced works based on a Henry Miller novel, on WWII era Yugoslavian poetry, on the behaviour of light in space, on the “third man” phenomenon, and on personal experiences with amnesia and injury.
What will you be sharing at DanceWeekend’24?
“heat death” — a 20 minute solo work created and danced by Lucy Rupert, and rooted in the heat death model of the end of the universe as described in Dr. Katie Mack’s book “The end of everything (astrophysically speaking)”. Like the universe itself, the dance is an improvised score, changing with each performance. Lucy has a goal of performing the work 50 times by the end of 2024.
How has the pandemic shifted your work as a professional dance artist?
Lucy: Almost 100% of my training is done at home and through online classes. This actually works well for me, as it saves time, but I do miss dancing with others. Truly the pandemic challenged me to admit and embrace my love of dancing. The idea that my career might be over haunted me, and I just couldn’t and still can’t accept that as true. I love it too much and there’s too much left to do. Having that taken away from me for a while really fired up the love.
Please share what you are most looking forward to at DanceWeekend?
Being part of performances bigger than my own company’s production. sharing the space with so many different and incredible artists has always been my favourite thing about DanceWeekend.
Do you have any up-coming performances/workshops/events you would like to share?
Teaching workshops at Dance Arts Institute Jan 20 and 27 11am-1pm. More info will be coming for them about the details. But this workshop invites movers of all levels of experience (you don’t have to be “dancer”) to explore the imagery and ideas behind the “heat death” solo.
In 1 or 2 sentences, what does dance mean to you?
Dance to me is exertion, transformation, translation and a ridiculously deep love.
Stay Up to Date with Blue Ceiling Dance at their social media links below:
📸 Photo Credits: Kendra Epik Photography