dance: made in canada and the intelligence of the body
26 Jun 2019.

Yvonne Ng is busy. She’s a teacher, a choreographer, and festival director for dance: made in canada, a major arts festival coming up in August. 

“Each program features two or three artists,” she explains. “Each one is very different from the other, often reflective of the personality of the curator.” It is such a large festival that Ng doesn’t even know all the dancers. “Some of these works have never even been seen in Toronto yet.” 

She tells me that some highlights include Parts+Labour_Dance’s La vie attend, in which choreographers David Albert-Toth and Emily Gualtieri “transpose political philosopher Thomas Hobbes’ social contract theory onto the movements of five male performers.” Hmmm. Then there’s Sashar Zarif’s Kismet: Opposing Destiny, “a work rated in shamanic transformation rituals,” and Molly Johnson’s dance dance, “an unsculpted performance made for the audience via shifting situations and music.” In addition, the festival also features interactive installations, special exhibitions, and film screenings. 

When I ask Ng what is the most beautiful part of dance, she does not hesitate. “The intelligence of the body,” she says. “Everything, even the fact that we stay upright. How much we control our bodies, even when we think we’re not. Mine keeps me stable and focused. It’s fascinating.” 
Her appreciation of the body’s ability to dance is not limited to age. Ng has developed a program that matches seniors with young dancers, allowing the seniors to keep nimble and trim. “It’s very surprising. One lady is 92, she can’t see or hear very well, but she has a great attitude and she goes for it.”

I tell Ng that my appreciation for dance came from understanding that it is a different way to tell a story, one using the body rather than words. Dance is narrative, but not in the way a play is - it accesses a different part of your brain. Ng agrees, and adds that each choreographer “is like an author. I look forward to what they are doing at different parts of their careers.” 

For Yvonne Ng, dance isn’t just a job, it’s something that permeates every aspect of life. Her love and enthusiasm for the discipline is contagious.