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In front of a very dark purple background are two dance artists, shirtless and facing towards the back. They are stretching out their arms in the space between them, with thin green slime that drips and stretches between each others hands. Erin Poole and Devon Snell. Photo by Marlowe Porter

TDT presents The Magic of Assembly


December 15, 2022


A new creation from Ashley “Colours” Perez, electronic music duo LAL, and Andrew Tay
Performed by members of the TDT company

(Toronto, ON) – Toronto Dance Theatre (TDT) is thrilled to announce the details of a new collaborative production from street dance artist Ashley Colours Perez and Toronto-based protest electronic music duo LAL, working in collaboration with TDT Artistic Director Andrew Tay. Bringing together three distinct artistic points of view and aesthetics, The Magic of Assembly is on stage at the Winchester Street Theatre February 2 – 4 and 9 – 11, 2023.

Taking on an experimental approach, this new work emerges from provocations between Tay and each of the invited artists, privileging the meeting of artistic practices towards a less linear way to collaborate. They will explore the magic created from the act of assembling with one another as artists, and the irreplaceable experience of gathering to witness performance in the current moment. The work is performed by TDT company members Yuichiro Inoue, Peter Kelly, Megumi Kokuba, Ryan Kostyniuk, Erin Poole, Devon Snell, Roberto Soria, and Siwar Soria, alongside LAL (Rosina Kazi and Nicholas Murray).

“The Magic of Assembly is an exciting collaborative work set on eight performers from the TDT ensemble,” shares Tay.Three distinct artistic points of view have been in conversation to shape this work: My conceptual and experimental approach meets the dynamic energy of street dance (Punking / Whacking) artist Ashley Colours Perez, with this all set to the emotional and political sounds of local electronic music duo LAL. Collectively, we have been seeking to unlock the body magic of the performers, working with their individual corporeal histories to create a truly unique, almost psychedelic physical world. Taking society’s need to assemble and be together as a starting point, we see The Magic of Assembly as a reflection on what it means for bodies to share space in ritual, in celebration and in performance.” 

Perez adds, “Working with the TDT company members, Artistic Director Andrew Tay, and LAL for the first time has been an uplifting experience. Intersecting each of our practices has offered many possibilities for embodying art making. With the courage to sing, dance, work and play, the magic is truly in the making.”

Ashley Colours Perez is a Teacher, Dancer, and Choreographer. She is the Co-Artistic Director of Mix Mix Dance Collective. Mix Mix has showcased work at Fall For Dance North (2017), Contemporaneity 3.0 (2019) and represented Canada at the Jeux de la Francophonie (2017) in Abidjan. Ashley’s talent was awarded the 2018 Dora Mavor Moore Award for Outstanding Performance, Ensemble in the Dance Division for Floor’d, presented by Holla Jazz in 2018. With training in funk styles and hip-hop, she later specialized in voguing, waacking and house. Ashley continues to teach street dances with her community classes, Class with Colours.

The Magic of Assembly runs February 2 – 4 and 9 – 11 at the Winchester Street Theatre. Performances are at 7:30pm, with the exception of the February 11 performance which will be at 3:00pm. Tickets are offered on a sliding scale, ranging from $10 to $45 and are available at tdt.org. Audiences can select whichever ticket price option that works best for them. A livestream is scheduled for February 4 (tickets $5-$15), and the recording will remain on demand to ticket holders for 14 days following initial airing. ASL interpretation will be available at the February 9 performance.

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Media contact:
Suzanne Cheriton, RedEye Media, suzanne@redeyemedia.ca, 416-805-6744

ABOUT The Magic of Assembly
February 2 – 4 and 9 – 11, 2023
7:30 p.m. performances, with exception of February 11 performance at 3:00pm
Livestream available for February 4 performance

Performed by: Yuichiro Inoue, Peter Kelly, Megumi Kokuba, Ryan Kostyniuk, LAL (Rosina Kazi and Nicholas Murray), Erin Poole, Devon Snell, Roberto Soria, Siwar Soria

Choreographer – Ashley Colours Perez
Artistic Director – Andrew Tay
Composers – LAL (Rosina Kazi and Nicholas Murray)
Lighting Designer – Gabriel Cropley
Costumer Designer – Angela Cabrera
Rehearsal Director – Rosemary James
Production Manager – Tanya Bregstein and Bryan Kling
Technical Director – Jasper Jacobs
Stage Manager – Nazerah Carlisle
Assistant Stage Manager – Jennifer Newnham
House Technician & Board Operator – Jasper Jacobs
Livestream Coordinator – Jordan Calcafuoco

Ashley Colours Perez
Ashley Colours Perez is a Teacher, Dancer, and Choreographer. She is the Co-Artistic Director of Mix Mix Dance Collective. Mix Mix has showcased work at Fall For Dance North (2017), Contemporaneity 3.0 (2019) and represented Canada at the Jeux de la Francophonie (2017) in Abidjan. Ashley’s talent was awarded the 2018 Dora Mavor Moore Award for Outstanding Performance, Ensemble in the Dance Division for Floor’d, presented by Holla Jazz in 2018. Ashley continues to teach street dances with her community classes, Class with Colours. Ashley has recently completed her MA in Dance at York University.

LAL
Rosina Kazi and Nicholas Murray are LAL, the Toronto-based protest electronic duo that has built a career out of daring audiences to be their best selves, loudly. Coming from the worlds of hip hop, punk, electronic and experimental music, LAL blends those influences into the smoothest, richest shake that will enliven the mind, body, and soul. Their beats and melodies can charm the most cynical club head, softening them up so that the lyrics of anger, sadness and possibility can worm their way deep inside. LAL celebrates their 25th anniversary this year.

Andrew Tay
Andrew Tay is a performer, choreographer, DJ, and performance curator. In 2005 he co-founded Wants&Needs danse with Sasha Kleinplatz, producing the wildly popular events Short & Sweet and Piss in the Pool which take place in non-traditional venues throughout Montreal. Tay was awarded the DanceWEB scholarship (Impulstanz, Vienna), and was nominated for a Quebec Notables award for Arts&Culture. In 2017, he was named the first Artistic Curator of the Centre de Création O Vertigo (CCOV) in Montreal and in August 2020 relocated to Toronto to become the Artistic Director of Toronto Dance Theatre. Tay actively thinks about community, irreverence, and resistance in both his performance and curatorial practices.

ABOUT TORONTO DANCE THEATRE

Toronto Dance Theatre (TDT) is an iconic name within the Canadian dance landscape. Founded in 1968, the company was instrumental in ushering in a new era of modern dance to Toronto and national audiences. Today, TDT is one of Canada’s leading innovators in dance while being one of the very few contemporary companies in the country with a full-time ensemble of dancers. Think of TDT as Toronto’s original dance provocateurs, bringing the city’s dance creativity to the world and the world to Toronto.

Under the artistic direction of Andrew Tay, TDT supports imaginative programming that places creative risk-taking and artistic development at the forefront. They create initiatives that address relevant issues within the field, stage high-calibre theatre productions and instigate thoughtful activations in the community. TDT’s home, the historic Winchester Street Theatre, sees 15,000 people through our doors annually, and is recognized as a hub for hundreds of independent artists and community groups.

Toronto Dance Theatre acknowledges the support of the Canada Council for the Arts, the Ontario Arts Council, Ontario Trillium Foundation, and the City of Toronto through the Toronto Arts Council.

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