Événement

Sara Riel: The Long Journey

In partnership with Le Festival Du Voyageur, WCD is pleased to present the Manitoba Premiere of Sara Riel: The Long Journey as well as the Buffalo Pound Round Dance and a special presentation by the Norman Chief Memorial Dancers.
Inspired by stories of Sara Riel, sister of Louis, Sara Riel: the Long Journey is born of an on-going mentorship of Yvonne Chartrand by Robin Poitras. In 2011, Yvonne commissioned Robin to create a solo work for her.
The evolution of the work is collaboration by Edward and Robin Poitras. The writer and poet Tim Lilburn informed Robin's research for the project.
"As water and waves eroding rock, as a force in the shift from hunter-gather to sedentary and then back again with all of our evolutionary instincts intact, while struggling with the belief in creation. A road-trip back to the garden. The denial of death and the belief in life after that is the fuel for this journey into an unknown wilderness, in exile. Seeing an inevitable end with a sense of urgency, with memories of statues that were alive as people and are now gone but speak in the mind and in memory, with the smell of a well used church and the sound of squeaky wheels and incessant chirping and buzzing of insects unseen in the background. A trip in time only to die two years before her brother. Then silence."
-Edward Poitras, artist statement

Edward Poitras describes The Buffalo Pound Round Dance as: "A celebration of the memory of a time when the Buffalo roamed the prairies in such large numbers that you could feel the ground shake and their numbers looked like vast cloud shadows on the earth. It was truly a gift from the creator, and their loss marked an end to a way of life that we can only dream of as a possibility."
Sonny and Terri Delaronde in memory of the late Norman Chief, an Métis musician, singer, and entertainer, founded the Norman Chief Memorial Dancers in 2004. The Norman Chief Dancers' primary purpose is to promote and develop community spirit through traditional style Métis music and dance.
The show begins at 8:00 Pm. Tickets are $25 for adults, $20 for seniors and $15 for students and can be purchased at the door or by phone by calling 204 452 0229. Please notify us in advance if you require wheelchair seating.

Thank you to Canada Council for the Arts, Manitoba Arts Council, The Winnipeg Arts Council and Le Festival Du Voyageur for supporting the show.