TO Live brings theatrical premiere of SKéN:NEN to the Bluma Appel Theatre
iPhoto caption: Photo by Rita Taylor
This May, TO Live will collaborate with Kaha:wi Dance Theatre to present SKéN:NEN, an immersive dance performance with a narrative rooted in cultural knowledge. Through storytelling, choreography, and innovative design, the show explores Indigenous resilience in the self, community, and natural world.
Created by director-designer-performer Santee Smith, known for the Dora Award-winning dance show Homelands, SKéN:NEN is set after an imagined environmental catastrophe.
“The concept [of] skén:nen translates from Kanyenʼkéha to mean balance and peace. Easy to think and talk about, but much harder to action and embody, especially when living in an unbalanced environment,” said Smith, artistic director of Kaha:wi Dance Theatre, in a press release. “Climate change is affecting us all, and SKéN:NEN evokes an imaginary future where humanity is in the fallout from years of extracting from Mother Earth.”
The show centres on a young Kahnyen’kehàka girl named Niyoh, who works with other climate survivors to revitalize humanity’s connection with the environment. For Niyoh this means remembering her rites of passage, ancestral teachings, and treaties, as well as learning from the Earth.
SKéN:NEN stands at the forefront of technical innovation in theatre, making use of multimedia projections that blend cinematic footage of the Adirondacks and Six Nations with cutting-edge 3D animations.
Tickets range from $30 – $75.
Kaha:wi Dance Theatre’s SKéN:NEN runs at the Bluma Appel Theatre from May 10 to 11 Tickets are available here.
Liam Donovan
Liam is Intermission’s senior editor. His writing has appeared in publications like Maisonneuve, This, and NEXT. He loves the original Super Mario game very much.
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