Retrospective — Lara Kramer

Lara Kramer‘s work originates from intergenerational transmission and the repercussions of Canada’s Indigenous residential schools, being the first generation in her family not to attend them. Playing with the strength and vulnerability of the body, her creations, often raw and direct, have been showcased across Canada and have traveled to Australia, Norway, New Zealand, France, the United States, and the United Kingdom.

Following her appearance at Espace Libre during the 2022 FTA, the Anishinaabe choreographer of mixed Oji-Cree and settler descent returns with a striking double program.

Windigo

Fierce and visceral, Windigo resonates like a scream, a vibrant echo of a long history of human devastation, violation of the land and culture. Returning to her grandmother’s territory, Lara Kramer challenges the Canadian narrative of the colonial project of reconciliation and uses storytelling as a form of resistance. With the air of a post-apocalyptic ballad, Windigo confronts the violence perpetrated against Indigenous lands and bodies.

Them Voices

Past and future generations come together, their stories converge and manifest in a multitude of voices and images in the body, mind, and dreams of Lara Kramer. Them Voices explores the relationship between body and memory, drawing on notions of performance, social critique, and cultural resistance to better assess the consequences of our actions on future generations.

WINDIGO

PRODUCTION: Lara Kramer CHOREOGRAPHY, SET DESIGN, SOUND DESIGN, AND COSTUMES: Lara Kramer COLLABORATION AND PERFORMANCE: Jassem Hindi and Peter James SOUND EDITING: Lara Kramer and Marc Meriläinen EXTERNAL EYES: Ida Baptiste, Stefan Petersen, and Jacob Wren LIGHTING: Paul Chambers CULTURAL ADVICE: Ida Baptiste

THEM VOICES

A PERFORMANCE BY: Lara Kramer Danse EXECUTIVE PRODUCTION: Centre de Création O Vertigo – CCOV CONCEPT, CREATION, SET DESIGN, AND PERFORMANCE: Lara Kramer SOUND DESIGN: Lara Kramer and Simon Riverin EXTERNAL EYES: Peter James and Ivanie Aubin-Malo ANISHINAABE KNOWLEDGE KEEPER: Ida Baptiste ELDER: Emerson Ninigishki’ing DOCUMENTATION: Ivanie Aubin-Malo and James Oscar LIGHTING DESIGN: Hugo Dalphond TECHNICAL DIRECTION: Joannie Vignola STAGE MANAGEMENT: Marie-Pier Jacques

Co-production Festival TransAmériques, CanDanse Creation Fund, National Arts Centre (Ottawa), Centre de Création O Vertigo – CCOV (Montreal), Dancing on the Edge (Vancouver), Usine C (Montreal)

Executive Producer Centre de Création O Vertigo – CCOV

Supported by The Cole Foundation, Canada Council for the Arts, Conseil des arts et des lettres du Québec Technical residencies at Usine C, Centre de Création O Vertigo Presented in collaboration with MAI, Espace Libre