April 21: Kaha:wi blends indigenous, contemporary dance

The Honouring

By Gail Siegel, WSU Performing Arts

PULLMAN, Wash. – Kaha:wi Dance Theatre, a First Nations company based in Toronto, will perform its signature mix of indigenous and contemporary dance at 7:30 p.m. Friday, April 21, in Washington State University’s Jones Theatre.

Kaha:wi Dance Theatre (http://kahawidance.org/) is internationally renowned for artistic excellence and innovation, electrifying audiences from Canada and abroad with meaningful, athletic and earthbound movement language and ravishing visual components.

The highlight of the performance will be “The Honouring,” a production paying homage to First Nations warriors of the War of 1812 who sacrificed to protect Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) sovereignty, culture and land. Scenes are performed around glowing fire pits against a continuous backdrop of images ranging from scenes of domestic life to the battle fields. See a trailer at https://vimeo.com/145465791.

Reserved seating costs $22 adults, $18 non-WSU students and $16 youth under 16. Tickets for the first 100 WSU students are free with valid ID and may be picked up in advance at WSU’s Beasley Coliseum ticket office, open 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Monday-Friday.

Tickets are on sale at TicketsWest outlets, including online at http://TicketsWest.com, by phone at 800-325-SEAT and in person at Beasley Coliseum and the Rosauers supermarket in Lewiston, Idaho. Convenience charges apply at all locations except Beasley. The Daggy Hall box office will open two hours before the performance for will-call and ticket sales, subject to availability.

The HonouringThe company will also perform an excerpt from the full-length production “Kaha:wi,” which celebrates traditional Iroquoian song, dance and symbolism through contemporary dance expression paired with award-winning original music.

Telling the story of life through three generations of women, “Kaha:wi” draws inspiration from Iroquoian social dances.

Convenient parking for the performance will be available without permits or fees in the Daggy Hall parking garage and in the Green 2 lot across the street from Daggy Hall.

Kaha:wi Dance Theatre is presented by WSU Performing Arts (http://performingarts.wsu.edu/) and Festival Dance & Performing Arts (http://festivaldance.org/), in residence at the University of Idaho, with generous support from the Residence Inn by Marriott, Pullman; Washington State Arts Commission; Idaho Commission on the Arts; National Endowment for the Arts; and WESTAF, the Western States Arts Federation.

 

News media contacts:
Gail Siegel, WSU Performing Arts, 509-335-8522, gsiegel@wsu.edu
Abby Glanville, Festival Dance & Performing Arts, 208-883-3267, abby@festivaldance.org