Samantha Sutherland + Charo Foo Tai Wei

Double Bill

Few are fluent speakers of Ktunaxa. slip away, a contemporary dance solo created and performed by Samantha Sutherland, explores themes of loss and hope relating to the endangered state of this language. It is a family affair. Her brother composed music for electric guitar. Her mother stitched the fabric for the costume. And recordings of conversations with her grandmother underlie the piece. What happens when individuals are motivated by fear? What work needs to happen to develop a sense of hope? slip away shares accounts of the current efforts to preserve Ktunaxa and dreams of how it may continue enlivened in the future.

As an Asian immigrant who has experienced sexism, racism and domestic violence, Charo Foo Tai Wei must constantly deal with societal challenges. She has mastered the art of pretending it’s like water off a duck’s back. Yet she also dreams of finding a place she can take root in and call home. Yearning is a contemporary dance solo that magnifies Charo’s inner battles as, like a plant, she digs her way out toward the light. It invites audience members to explore the inner wounds they need to heal.