A visionary World Premiere from Co.ERASGA, Eternal Gestures is a trilogy of evocative solo works commissioned from Indigenous Coast Salish-based choreographers Starr Muranko, Michelle Olson and Margaret Grenier, and performed by Artistic Director Alvin Erasga Tolentino. This poetic work uplifts the voices of Indigenous women, asserts our deep connection to the
land, and speaks to truth, healing, and the decolonization of art. Tolentino's captivating performance becomes both a spiritual journey and a vessel for knowledge-sharing. This milestone production celebrates Co.ERASGA’s 25th anniversary and reaffirms the company’s fierce commitment to cross-cultural, experimental dance which explores identity, ancestry, and
the environment.
An established choreographer, Tolentino is also renowned as a performer with a distinctive stage presence, and has created many solo works over the past three decades. This new
commission will see him focus on interpreting the works of three Indigenous female choreographers. “Through this project I hope to honour and celebrate the knowledge and legacies of Indigenous women as matriarchs, grandmothers, mothers and sisters - their care and nurturing of the world,” says Tolentino. “It is important to amplify their creative voices, to be danced and to be embodied for the world to see.” Eternal Gestures shares his reflections as a
mature artist, a migrant visitor, and a settler living on Coast Salish territories.
The Choreographers:
Margaret Grenier is of Gitxsan and Cree ancestry. She is the Executive and Artistic Director for the Dancers of Damelahamid. She has produced the Coastal Dance Festival since 2008.
Margaret’s multimedia choreographic works bridge Gitxsan and Cree dance forms with current expressions.
Dancer/choreographer and educator, Starr Muranko is of mixed Cree (Moose Cree First Nation), German and French ancestry, a mother, and Co-Artistic Director with Raven Spirit
Dance. As a choreographer she is most interested in the stories that we carry within our bodies and Ancestral connections to land that transcend time and space.
Michelle Olson is a member of the Tr’ondëk Hwëch’in First Nation (Yukon),the Artistic Director of Raven Spirit Dance, and instructor at Langara College’s Studio 58 Acting Program. Her work as a performer and creator embraces the arenas of dance, choreography, theatre, opera, dance education and community arts. Vancouver’s acclaimed dance company Co.ERASGA celebrates 25 years of dance making and presentations across the globe. Renowned for its cross cultural and experimental works, Co.ERASGA’s remarkable dance contributions to Vancouver include over 20 original full-length productions, community engagements and Asian voices advocacy. Led by acclaimed Filipino-Canadian Alvin Erasga Tolentino, the company's ongoing programming supports and contributes to the development and enhancement of contemporary dance and continues to seek new and challenging projects that provide opportunities and cross-cultural issues in today’s society.
Eternal Gestures is made possible and generously supported by the Canada Council for the Arts, BC Arts Council, BC Gaming Commission, City of Vancouver, Hamber Foundation and The Dance Centre/Global Dance Connections Series. Media Sponsors: Stir Vancouver, OMNI TV, City TV, and Georgia Straight.
A heartfelt thank you to Co.ERASGA’s individual members, donors and sponsors.
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