Presented by: Te Puna Hauora Ki Uta Ki Tai
Projected imagery, soundscape, and Coastal Indigenous masked dance, immersing the audience into the rich and diverse ecosystem of the mountains, rivers, and ocean of the Pacific Northwest Coast of Canada. Spirit and Tradition’s key themes are reciprocity and ecological sustainability, conveying important teachings on balance, interconnectedness, and community.
Spirit and Tradition has toured to the (2010) World Expo, Shanghai, China, the International Festival de Danzas, Cusco, Peru (2011), the Festival internacional de danza folklorica, Ambato, Ecuador (2014), the (2015) Pan American Games in Toronto, Ontario, the 2019 ASIA Pacific Festival, Hawaii, the 2019 Scottish International Storytelling Festival, Edinburgh, UK, Expo 2020 Dubai, UAE (2021), and the 2022 Vancouver International Children’s Festival.
Dancers of Damelahamid is an Indigenous dance company founded upon over five decades of extensive work of song and dance revitalization. For countless generations Indigenous dance played an integral part in defining art and culture. In response to the lifting of the Potlatch Ban (1884 – 1951), was the resurfacing of dance and the awakening of an art form that was outlawed for almost 70 years. The Dancers of Damelahamid emerged in the 1960s out of an urgency to ensure that these artistic practices were not lost.
