Hands reach out of a giant pile of translucent blue and white weathered plastic and beach debris.
Event

Upcoming Audition: Sable Ocean Dance Project

posted 

Audition Date & Location: Thursday, Sept 12, 2024 | 12:00 - 2:00 pm
Halifax Dance, 1505 Barrington Street

Click here to register now through our online form

Deadline to register: Tuesday, Sept 10, 2024 | 5pm 

 

Mocean is hosting an audition, seeking performers to take part in the Sable Ocean Dance Project this fall. A collaboration between the Sable Island Institute (SII) and Mocean Dance, this dance-based project animates plastic debris collected from Sable Island’s shores, and focuses on themes of ocean plastic pollution and environmental education. 

Auditions will take the form of a workshop led by the project choreographers, exploring movement and working with samples of the ocean debris and will be 2 hours in length, 12:00-2:00pm. Selection will be made collaboratively by the project choreographers, listed below.

ELIGIBILITY:
Audition is open to experienced dance, movement and theatre artists with an active practice and based in Nova Scotia. We welcome and encourage people from all communities and intersecting identities to apply. This includes Indigenous people, LGBTQ+ & Two-Spirit people, Black people and people of colour.

Qualities we are seeking: Must have the ability to work with multiple choreographers and creative directors and be comfortable with audience interaction, experience with relational work is an asset. Must have the ability to work quickly, experience working with objects and be comfortable with structured improvisation, as well as tasked-based and set choreography.  

CONTRACT DETAILS:
Rehearsals:

  • Oct. 21 to Nov. 8, 9:30am-4:00pm (M, W, Th, F) and 12:30-4:30 (Tues. only)
  • Rehearsals take place at All Nation Church, 2535 Robie Street
  • Rehearsal rate $35/hr

Performances:

  • Performances take place at Halifax Central Library, 5440 Spring Garden Road
  • Saturday, November 9 (11:30 & 2pm), contract hrs 10am-4pm
  • Wednesday, November 13 (7pm), contract hrs 3-9pm
  • Performance rate: $250/day

REGISTRATION:
Fill out the registration form here, and attach a C.V. (max. 2 pages) or a short bio (150 words). C.V. optional for artists who have worked with Mocean in the past two years. A preview of the form questions is included below.
Deadline to register is Tuesday, September 10th at 5pm.

If you are not available to attend on September 12, an expression of interest indicating skills and qualities you may bring to the project may be sent to Project Manager Sara Coffin at saracoffin@moceandance.com by Tuesday, September 10th at 5pm, or fill out the form and indicate September 12 absence. If you miss the in-person registration deadline but still want to attend please email us to let us know. 

*** If you have any questions, or if the registration form  or any aspect of the in-person audition format presents a barrier for you, please connect with saracoffin@moceandance.com. Options for a scheduled informal chat can be made available. ***

About the work:

This free, family-friendly, interactive public performance animates debris washed up on Sable Island. The work explores themes of ocean plastic pollution and its impact on marine environments and humans, as well as the environmental grief held within. A collaboration between the fields of art and ecology, the project seeks to spark understanding, connection, and care for this important environmental issue. 

The creation team includes: Sara Coffin, Susanne Chui, Lisa Phinney Langley, Meredith Kalaman (choreographers), Francine Dulong (theatre), and Jackson Fairfax-Perry (composer).

This collaborative project has been in development since 2021 and has included creative input from Zoe Lucas (Sable Island Institute),  Hannah Martin and Anastasia Nevin (Mi’kmaw ecologists), Sarah Prosper and Julie Robert (dance artists), and Brian Riley and Lindsay Dobbin (composers). The process has also included workshops with elementary school students, whose perspectives have helped to shape the project. 

We look forward to inviting performers into the final presentation phase of this public-engaged art project.


About Sable Island Institute:

The Sable Island Institute is a multidisciplinary organization developing and conducting a wide range of Sable Island programs, including environmental monitoring, biodiversity surveys, arts and culture projects, and public outreach. 

The mandate of SII is to protect the natural and cultural heritage resources of Sable Island through programs of research and education, to support a well-informed, engaged, and active Sable Island community through collaboration with stakeholders and the public, and to encourage public understanding, appreciation and enjoyment of this heritage in ways that will ensure that it will remain unimpaired for future generations.

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