Tracey M Benson || Bytetime

This week I am in Toronto, exploring this fascinating city while also being able to see on of my TransArts Institute PhD researchers major works – Angela Vitovec’s layers of kin (https://tdt.org/angela-vitovecs-layers-of-kin/). Experiencing this work as Angela envisioned it as a choreographer was really important to witness as her creative research is so much about the work having in the body. Her deep commitment to plant communications and the importance of attuning the body to these plant resonances was evident in the 9 dancers featured from the Toronto Dance Theatre (TDT).

To convey in short the experience – we waited to enter the ballroom and entered in small groups into a lavish Rococco interior replete with chandeliers and a spring timber floor. Chairs and beanbags were available around the edges of the room, to make space for the performers in the centre of the room. I chose a beanbag as I love sitting close to the ground. This was a good decision.

For the next two hours we were transformed into the world of plant life and awakening. We enter to see figures in casual dance training clothes scattered across the ballroom. Gentle tapping on the floor from somewhere started the transmission – sending vibrations through the timber floor. Reminding me of the ancestry of this material and its resonance…

The dancers stayed close to the ground like seeds, many in child pose and foetal position. As the performance progress the dancers slowly, so slowly moving started sonifying the space. It is very difficult to describe in words as it was very much an embodied experience.

I stayed for two hours and snuck out just before it finished as I wanted the experience to linger somehow. During the performance, my sense of time seems to warp in and out – captivated by this liminal world. If I was to compare it to anything, anyone how has done journeying work will understand this trance like space.

It was a big decision to travel to Canada – I had been so indecisive about going too far from home – there has been a lot going on. Yet, here I am – also in a liminal zone. That said, it has been a good time for PhD as well with lots of reading, writing and thinking – sometimes distance is needed.

I am so very grateful to be here, as it is a beautiful city and very walkable. Also the parkland near where I am staying is gorgeous – Trinity Bellwoods Park. The image below is also the cover photo.

One thing I have found with this city, like so many cities is the loss of the creeks and streams – often buried deep beneath the city streets. As readers know, Cabbage Tree Creek in Aspley is one such place which has significance to me personally.

I was wondering about the topography of the park as it is quite hilly in a couple of spots and there is evidence of previous building structures which I will share in another post. What I learnt was there was a bridge here which is now buried underneath the park.

The water always tells a story…

I want to learn more than the recent layers of the city. I want to imagine stories of this place more deeply as it was an important meeting place and has a complicated colonial history. So while I am here I feel it is important to acknowledge land and people:

I acknowledge the land we are meeting on is the traditional territory of many nations including the Mississaugas of the Credit, the Anishnabeg, the Chippewa, the Haudenosaunee and the Wendat peoples and is now home to many diverse First Nations, Inuit and Métis peoples. We also acknowledge that Toronto is covered by Treaty 13 with the Mississaugas of the Credit. (source Land Acknowledgement: City of Toronto )

And now for another walk in the beautiful afternoon sun of Toronto in summer ❤