Saskatchewan performer finds inspiration in dance

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Michael Greyeyes has experienced success as an actor, a dancer and a choreographer, but it is the latter that is occupying his time these days.

Greyeyes has collaborated with fellow choreographer Albert David from Australia to put together a unique dance creation that is touring Canada this summer.

Gleaning its inspiration from the traditional dance of the two countries, Shimmer features an all-male Indigenous cast with live drummers, singers, and a didgeridoo player.

"This project came about because I wanted to capture the radiance of the natural world," said Sandra Laronde, founder and director of Red Sky Performance, the Toronto-based Aboriginal dance company that brought the idea behind Shimmer to fruition.

"I also wanted to look at Indigenous warrior forms in a positive way because warriors must also possess gentleness and grace and a natural radiance and dignity. This is not what we normally associate with the image of warriors," she said.

Shimmer finds its inspiration in the fire and beauty of Canadian and Australian Indigenous traditional dance, proving that Indigenous culture is alive in the here and now.

"Michael and I have worked together in the past, and I knew that he would be the right Canadian choreographer for the piece. He is a traditional as well as a contemporary dancer," said Laronde. Albert David has a similar background and is a very strong traditional dancer in mainland Australia and the Torres Strait Islands. He is also known for remarkable present-day renditions, she said.

Greyeyes was born in Qu'Appelle Valley, a Plains Cree whose parents were from Saskatchewan?s Muskeg Lake and Sweetgrass First Nations. He was accepted into the Canadian National Ballet School in Toronto at the age of 10, graduating in 1984. He completed a masters degree in fine arts at Kent State University and danced for three years with the Feld Ballet in New York before retiring in 1994.

After spending several years living in the U.S. Greyeyes is now back in Canada, living in Aurora, Ont. with his wife Nancy and their two young daughters, who are already following in their parents' footsteps.

"They love to dance, and they are such a joy to us both. Nancy was a classical ballet dancer so our lives are full of good things," he said.

Greyeyes was attracted to Shimmer by the collaboratory nature of the project and the concept of an all-male cast.

"I enjoyed the idea that we were including other Indigenous groups, as our dancers are from various places, including the U.S.A, Mexico and other locations in Canada," he said.

In addition to his role as co-choreographer, David also performs in Shimmer. Rounding out the cast are Carlos Rivera, Arthur Tamwoy, Earl Rosas, Matthew Pheasant and Nigel Schuyler.

"We have six very exciting male dancers, four singers, and our didgeridoo player, so it's an amazing performance," Greyeyes said.

He and David first taught each other their dances, then included the other cast members in the planning, realizing that the richness of combined traditional heritage was the starting point for the show. With over half of the performance featuring traditional dances from the participants? different heritage backgrounds, it is a truly inspirational piece of work, he said. ?This project will help to keep world Indigenous culture in front of audiences and I am grateful that I had a chance to be a part of it.?

One part of the dance features a powwow dancer in his full regalia, isolated briefly on stage, allowing audiences to fully appreciate the time-honoured tradition.

"At a powwow, he'd be one of 30 guys, so you lose some of the detail, especially if you are an audience member who is not familiar with our heritage," Greyeyes said. Contemporary dances, although based in their respective dance traditions, are still very different and subject to interpretation by the audience. "It's wonderful to see how the styles intersect and meld together."

The group gave its firtperformance in Ottawa on June 6, receiving a standing ovation from the largest audience ever at the Canada Dance Festival. Shimmer also played to audiences in Toronto and Vancouver in June and will be performed at the Banff Centre for the Arts as part of the centre?s annual Summer Arts Fest, which runs from July 14 to 16.