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Newsworthy

Habitats and Camouflage

Click to view Moth Transmissions Trailer

After a long creative break, we have been gearing up to continue collaborating with Winnipeg-based Visual Artist Sarah Fuller on an intriguing project and experiential new site work called ‘Habitats & Camouflage'.

This upcoming piece explores the camouflaging quality of moths in their natural landscapes. Large hooded capes with photo-transcribed images of moth markings are worn by Aeriosa dancers who blend and disappear into the trees and surrounding environment. The moth capes were created out of composite photographs designed by Sarah, which she based on the Sand Verbana Moth, an endangered coastal moth found in only three sites in BC and a few sites on Washington's NW Coast.

'Habitats & Camouflage' will feature an original soundscape by Winnipeg-based singer/songwriter/composer Keri Latimer. The collaboration between Sarah, Aeriosa artistic director Julia Taffe, and Keri began with Sarah's 'Moth Transmissions' video project which imagines a mysterious long-distance communication between a Sand Verbena Moth in the Pacific Northwest Coast and an Underwing Moth on the Prairies. Julia and Sarah shot footage simultaneously on the West Coast in Tofino and Birds Hill Park in Manitoba last May, when they had to postpone creating and producing the live Aeriosa performance of 'Habitats & Camouflage'. Keri's magical sonic environment weaves the fantastical settings and movements together in Sarah's video and we are thrilled that the work is now complete.

The 'Moth Transmissions' collaboration provided much needed energy and joy during the challenges these times present. On that note we are sad to announce we have to postpone the Tofino Tree Festival again this year, and with it the premiere of 'Habitats & Camouflage'. The pandemic is not over. We will head back into our cocoons for now, consoled to know that 'Moth Transmissions' will be lighting up screens in the very near future...so tune your dance antennae for an exciting premiere announcement soon...and in the meantime check out kerilatimer.com and sarahefuller.com to learn more about these amazing artists we are so fortunate to dream with!

Current/Dance Community
Aeriosa returns to rehearsals in the theatre

Click to watch a brief video of Aeriosa dancer Aly Fretz back in rehearsal at

The Scotiabank Dance Centre in Vancouver last week.

Last week Aeriosa dancers and crew returned to rehearsals in the theatre doing double duty developing new aerial dance skills while cautiously implementing Covid-19 safe workplace protocols and getting back into (new) harnesses after an extremely long break.

We spent four soul-affirming days at the Scotiabank Dance Centre in Vancouver practicing with a finely tuned rigging system that was new to most of the company. The dancers were rightfully jazzed to be flying high and working hard. We began creating material for 'Dance Me to the End of Love: The Leonard Cohen Project', a live stage show featuring a stellar roster of BC musical talent that we hope to premiere on stage at the Vancouver Playhouse in April 2022.

Of course, everything is subject to change these days depending on safety, so lets keep our fingers crossed that we can gain herd immunity and find ourselves shoulder to shoulder with kindred crowds in the theatre sooner than later!

Throw back to our workshop with HCMA Architecture + Design
in the Faris Theatre at The Scotiabank Dance Centre in March 2019.

Aeriosa is often inspired by nature. When dancing outdoors we regularly encounter other species. This next column is dedicated to learning about our friends in flight.

Featured Feathered Friend