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DJD 50/50 - Decidedly Jazz
Celebrate Decidedly Jazz Danceworks 40th Anniversary by participating in our 50/50 raffle! Funds raised through this raffle will support DJD, allowing us to continuing creating original performances and enrich lives by engaging people in exploring and promoting the art of jazz dance. Ticket prices are: 1 for $10 5 for $20, 25 for $50 and 100 for $100 Tickets go on sale January 6, 2025! BUY 50/50 TICKETS Raffle licence...
Rhythmic Reflections: No Small Feets - Decidedly Jazz
Rhythmic Reflections takes a poignant turn this week as we look back at a moment that shaped DJD forever during the creation of No Small Feets (1992). In June 1992, DJD’s cast, and crew were nine days away from the opening of No Small Feets when the sudden loss of jazz and blues legend Clarence “Big” Miller rocked their world. As a mentor, a collaborator, and the subject of the...
Rhythmic Reflections: It’s About Time! & Rockin’ in Rhythm - Decidedly Jazz
We are back this week with another Rhythmic Reflection! In celebration of our 40th season, we’re taking a journey back in time each week, showcasing iconic moments from past seasons with photos from the archives. This week, we’re featuring two shows from the 1985/1986 season: It’s About Time! (1985) Featuring: Michèle Moss (Co-Founder), Hannah Stilwell (Co-Founder), Jill Currie, Donna Larson, and Christy Hayne Choreography by: Vicki Adams Willis & the...
Rhythmic Reflections: Peripheral Visions and Dancers & Other Musical Instruments - Decidedly Jazz
Stepping back in time once again! This week’s Rhythmic Reflection brings another glimpse into our vibrant history. Join us as we continue celebrating 40 seasons of iconic moments, sharing new archive gems each week! This week, we’re featuring two shows from the 1987/1988 season: Peripheral Visions (1987) Featuring Dancers: Michèle Moss (Co-Founder), Hannah Stilwell (Co-Founder), Donna Larson, Erin O’Connor, Jill Currie and Christy Hayne Guest Artist: Lana Skauge Choreography by:...
Rhythmic Reflections: Fast Forward & Summer Songs - Decidedly Jazz
We are back with another Rhythmic Reflection! This week we are spotlighting two shows from the 1989/1990 season: Fast Forward (1989) Featuring Dancers: Rhonda Cooper, Tamara Koebel, Jeffrey Maisonet, Michèle Moss (Co-Founder), Hannah Stilwell (Co-Founder), Erin O’Connor, Christy Hayne, Danny James Austin, Kimberley Cooper, Sherrie Sherger, Sherri-Lynne Carr and Christine Bandelow Choreography by: Vicki Adams Willis, Denise Clarke and the Dancers Summer Songs (1990) Featuring Dancers: Rhonda Cooper, Tamara Koebel,...
Rhythmic Reflections: Time Pieces - Decidedly Jazz
We’re diving back into Rhythmic Reflections! This week, we’re shining a spotlight on a standout show from our 1990 season: Time Pieces (1990) This production featured an incredible lineup of dancers, including Tamara Koebel, Jeffrey Maisonet, Robert Meilleur, Michèle Moss (Co-Founder), Hannah Stilwell (Co-Founder), Christy Hayne, Kimberley Cooper, Jill Currie, Brian Hansen, and Sherrie Scherger. Choreography by: Nicole Mion, Michèle Moss, and Vicki Adams Willis During the 1990/1991 season, DJD...
Rhythmic Reflections: Fifth Anniversary & On EdJE - Decidedly Jazz
We are back with another Rhythmic Reflection! This week we are spotlighting two standout shows from 1988 and 1989: Fifth Anniversary (1988) Featuring Dancers: Marc Berezowski, Stephanie Butler, Rhonda Cooper, Tamara Koebel, Jeffrey Maisonet, Robert Meilleur, Michèle Moss (Co-Founder), Hannah Stilwell (Co-Founder), Erin O’Connor, Christine Bandelow, Kim Dunlop, Kim Klimek, Randy Ulevog, Donna Larson, Anne Flynn, Laurie Montemurro, Grant Burns, Pete Estabrooks and Fred Holliss Choreography by: Vicki Adams Willis,...
Rhythmic Reflections: Body and Sole - Decidedly Jazz
Welcome to Rhythmic Reflections! In celebration of our 40th season, we’re taking a journey back in time every week, showcasing iconic moments from each season with photos from the archives. This week, we kick things off with DJD’s very first production from the 1984/1985 season: Body & Sole (1984) Featuring dancers shown in the photo: Michèle Moss (Co-Founder), Hannah Stilwell (Co-Founder), Jill Currie, and Sean Cheesman. Body and Sole was...
Message from the Artistic Director – 2024/2025 - Decidedly Jazz
Lordy Lordy WE are 40! Since our humble beginnings in 1984 we have had quite a time. 4 decades, 3 homes, over 100 dancers, countless collaborators, over 70 original performances… We are thrilled to celebrate our 40th season with you! We are currently working hard on a new piece entitled Call and Response that will be presented January 16-26th. featuring the Falling Bullets Jazz Band from New Orleans. I heard...
DJD On The Road - Summer 2024 - Decidedly Jazz
This summer DJD’s Artistic Director, Kimberley Cooper and two company dancers, Kaja Irwin and Sabrina Naz Comǎnescu were invited to perform and teach in Newport, RI at the inaugural year of Bridging The Gap Festival and the Newport Jazz Festival. Over the years DJD has built a strong relationship with Salve Regina University in Newport. Over the past year Kimberley has been creating a new piece of work on the...
Behind the Scenes with Party Time - A Follow-Up with Costume Designer Hannah Fisher - Decidedly Jazz
Now that Party Time is entering its final week at the DJD Dance Centre, we sat down with Costume Designer Hannah Fisher to learn more about the completed pieces that came were created by our wardrobe team, as well as get her thoughts on being a part of this wild performance. Check out the full interview below and click here to check out our first interview with Hannah.
DJD's Party Time gets the seats shaking in downtown Calgary - Decidedly Jazz
Decidedly Jazz Danceworks threw a pretty catchy party Saturday night. The Calgary dance company’s new show Party Time is a kind of celebration of springtime and it was hard not to watch the company’s dancers trace out the steps of a night on the town and feel a little spring in your step, no matter how close we are to the tax filing deadline (Tuesday!). In fact, at DJD’s gorgeous 12th Avenue...
Decidedly Jazz Danceworks discovers its inner party animal with new production - Decidedly Jazz
The image of a drunken party-dweller with a lampshade drunkenly perched on their head at a party may seem a bit old-fashioned. Nevertheless, it was one of the ideas — perhaps indirectly — that first inspired Decidedly Jazz Danceworks Kimberly Cooper when it came to choreographing the company’s newest production, Party Time. The piece, set to live music composed by Carsten Rubeling, has a simple premise on the surface: A...
Party Time, new show by Decidedly Jazz Danceworks, aims to be ‘a spectacular spectacle’ - Decidedly Jazz
Decidedly Jazz Danceworks wants Calgary to celebrate spring with Party Time. That’s not only a state of mind, it’s also the title of the dance company’s new show, which opens Thursday night. The company’s press release describes the show as “a spectacular spectacle about the life of a party with smokin’ hot dance and live music.” It all unfolds over the course of a single evening at a house party,...
Behind the Scenes with Party Time – Interview with Composer & Musical Director Carsten Rubeling - Decidedly Jazz
We spoke with Party Time Composer and Musical Director Carsten Rubeling about the inspiration for the song Party Robot as well the music behind this over-the-top performance choreographed by Kimberley Cooper. Carsten is one of Canada’s most active and dynamic trombonists and composers. Carsten has performed and/or recorded with such artists as Sean Jones, Ingrid Jensen, Seamus Blake, Gil Goldstein, Brian Lynch, Brad Turner, David Braid, Nick Fraser, Laila Biali, Jens Lindemann,...
Party Time – Artistic Director’s Message - Decidedly Jazz
Welcome. Joy and wonder are crucial to our existence. As I and many other people have said, it is the role of the artist to make us think, to lift us up and give us a chance to escape, to say things words can’t. William Parker, a brilliant and prolific jazz artist with whom we have collaborated with a couple of times, once said to me — artists are like...
Party Time - Musician Biographies - Decidedly Jazz
Carsten Rubeling – Musical Director, Keys, Trombone Carsten Rubeling is one of Canada’s most active and dynamic trombonists and composers. Originally from Rocky Mountain House Alberta, Carsten performs a wide array of styles from jazz and classical music to salsa, hip-hop and nearly everything in between. His recorded works as a leader include VOLK//PEOPLE (2019) and Headwaters (2022), both on Inner Ocean Records. After last year’s Nervous Systems, this is Carsten’s second...
Behind the Scenes with Party Time - Interview with Costume Designer Hannah Fisher - Decidedly Jazz
Party Time Costume Designer Hannah Fisher is a Prairie designer, visual storyteller and creator whose work spans performance mediums like dance, circus, drag and theatre. Heavily influenced by nature, memoir writing, the idea of smallness, “street” and the residual grit of body and memory, her work explores the sensibilities between colour, texture and form. Hannah’s artistic voice grew from a background of visual art at Emily Carr University of Art...
Malpaso Dance Company Ignites the Stage - Decidedly Jazz
The performing arts mean different things to different cultures. In Eastern Europe for decades, theatre was a medium that was feared by those in power, because of its ability to use metaphor to send a political message. For Cuban Fernando Suarez, one of the co-founders of Malpaso Dance Company, dance and live music mean a little more there than they do here. They’re tools of change. “We are an island,...
‘Phenomenal musicians working in concert with extraordinary dance artists’ - Decidedly Jazz
See Malpaso Dance Company with Arturo O’Farrill and the Afro-Latin Jazz Orchestra on March 7 at Arts Commons On March 7, Cuba’s Malpaso Dance Company will bring the rhythms of the “dancing island” to the Jack Singer Concert Hall at Arts Commons for an exclusive Canadian engagement. Accompanied live by the Afro-Latin Jazz Orchestra, led by multi-Grammy Award-winning composer Arturo O’Farrill, audiences can expect a night of sizzling energy. Established...
Meet the Teachers Behind the 2024 Black History Month Classes - Decidedly Jazz
Every February, Canadians are invited to participate in Black History Month to honour the legacy of Black Canadians and their communities. This year, the theme is “Black Excellence: A Heritage to Celebrate; a Future to Build”. The DJD organization owes gratitude and pays an abundance of respect to Black Culture and the African-American experience both of which are the architects of jazz dance. In the final weeks of Black History...
Behind the Scenes with Olio - Interview with Costume Designer Hannah Fisher - Decidedly Jazz
Olio Costume Designer Hannah Fisher is a Prairie designer, visual storyteller and creator whose work spans performance mediums like dance, circus, drag and theatre. Heavily influenced by nature, memoir writing, the idea of smallness, “street” and the residual grit of body and memory, her work explores the sensibilities between colour, texture and form. Hannah’s artistic voice grew from a background of visual art at Emily Carr University of Art and...
New DJD show Olio features dancer-choreographed performance - Decidedly Jazz
Decidedly Jazz Danceworks’ new show takes the people up front – the dancers – and transforms them into the architects of the show. Olio, which opens Thursday night at the DJD Dance Centre as part of the 2024 High Performance Rodeo, is even more of a collaborative effort than usual for the jazz dance company, which was founded in Calgary in 1984. Rather than being choreographed by a single individual, Olio is a...
Behind the Scenes with Olio - Interviews with Choreographers - Decidedly Jazz
We sat down with Olio choreographers Kaja Irwin, Sabrina Naz Comănescu, Catherine Hayward and Deanne Walsh to learn more about each of their pieces and what audiences can expect from this collection of dances and music for you to dig. Kaja Irwin Company Dancer and Show Choreographer Kaja is a Winnipeg-born dancer, choreographer, and dance educator. Deciding to pursue a career in dance after completing her B.A. in Political Science,...
Olio - Musician Biographies - Decidedly Jazz
Jonathan McCaslin – Musical Director, Composer, Drums Recognized as one of Western Canada’s leading jazz drummers and educators, Jon brings excitement, his passion for the jazz tradition and its future to the stage and to the classroom. Raised in Regina, Saskatchewan, and a graduate of McGill University he has also attended the Banff Centre as a resident artist. In 2012 he released his sophomore album Sunalta on the Cellar Live...
Olio – Artistic Director’s Message - Decidedly Jazz
Welcome! DJD is an interesting mix of firsts and traditions. As jazz artists, we celebrate the history and traditions of the form, and we are constantly innovating, which is also a jazz tradition. We are creation based, which means a lot of firsts, Olio is no exception. First, a little history: In 1993 Vicki Adams Willis, DJD’s founding Artistic Director and now Founder in Residence, began the tradition of the...
Learn More About Olio with Kimberley Cooper - Decidedly Jazz
For the past few months, we have been working on a new show called Olio. Olio has more than one meaning. It can be a stew or a collection of things, it means oil in Italian, oleo was a kind of margarine and the name of a tune by Sonny Rollins. In vaudeville, olio referred to a short number performed in front of an oilcloth curtain while the set was...
Jazz Roots Club Season of Events - 2023/24 - Decidedly Jazz
Season Launch Event Jazz Roots Club Exclusive Event November 22, 2023 | 6:30 – 8:30 p.m. Join us for an exclusive event to celebrate the launch of our 2023/24 season! Meet DJD’s dancers, hear about the upcoming season and enjoy a short performance of what’s to come. Family of Jazz at the Pillow on Demand December 4-31, 2023 | Online Streaming as part of the Pillow’s on-demand season. A...
Our Community - Serenella Sol - Decidedly Jazz
This month’s blog features the fantastic Serenella Sol! Serenella is a Calgary-based dancer, choreographer and the Artistic Director of Ballet Bodies YYC. She started dancing ballet at the age of three in Maracaibo, Venezuela. In 2007, she moved to Canada, where she studied ballet and contemporary in Vancouver and Calgary. In 2013, she graduated from the University of Calgary with a BA in Political Science and a Minor in Dance....
Message from the Artistic Director - 2023/2024 - Decidedly Jazz
39. As the world turns, and heats, with climate change and war and pestilence, art is more important than ever. We need to be inspired, we need escape, we need to be asked to think and see things in different ways, we need beauty. When we have nothing else, we have our bodies and our imagination. Please join us for our 39th season with your eyes, your ears, your minds....
DANCE REVIEW: At Jacob’s Pillow, Decidedly Jazz Danceworks moves with ‘rare confidence’ and ‘full-bodied pleasure’ on the Leir Stage - Decidedly Jazz
BECKET — Out under the trees they’re a wave of color — riding the tide of drums and keys and brass, the full company is dancing in shorts and open shirts and vivid prints. On this mountaintop it feels like a 1970s vibe is rocking the plaza mayor on a summer night. Decidedly Jazz Danceworks from Calgary, Alberta, are making their Jacob’s Pillow debut all this week on the Henry...
Our Community - Ashley Brodeur - Decidedly Jazz
This month’s Our Community blog features the delightful Ashley Brodeur. Manager of Performing Arts at the National accessArts Centre (NaAC) and Creator and Director of Maven Movement, providing professional level performance and training opportunities on an equitable scale has been Ashley’s focus for the past 8 years. With professional performance credits that include Culture Shock Washington, D.C., the Dubai Shopping Festival, The Fringe Festival, TIFF, BravoFact!, collaborations with brands such...
Jacob's Pillow On Demand - Post-Show Talk: Decidedly Jazz Danceworks - Decidedly Jazz
This Post-Show Talk features Kimberly Cooper, Artistic Director and Choreographer of Decidedly Jazz Danceworks, dancer Sabrina Comănescu, and Musical Director Rubim de Toledo, moderated by Scholar-in-Residence Melanie George. The talk took place on August 10, 2023 following a performance of Decidedly Jazz Danceworks at Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival in Becket, MA. 2023 Post-Show Talks are held at Jacob’s Pillow after each Friday performance in the Ted Shawn Theatre, offering an...
Artistic Director’s Message From the Road - Family of Jazz Tour #2 - Decidedly Jazz
It wasn’t supposed to go by this fast… It’s our last day of tour, two and a half hours until our last show at the magical, legendary Jacob’s Pillow. We have been here since August 7; we have done 4 shows and a dress rehearsal since August 9. We opened on the iconic Henry J. Leir stage on the 9th, had to move inside to the Perles Studio on the...
Calgary's DJD takes the stage at prestigious Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival in Massachusetts - Decidedly Jazz
Calgary’s Decidedly Jazz Danceworks is no secret to dance-loving Calgarians, but this week, the critically-acclaimed contemporary dancers are being showcased at one of the United States most prestigious dance festivals. The company were invited to perform at the Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival in Becket, Massachusetts. It’s the 91st season for Jacob’s Pillow, making it America’s longest-running dance festival. It’s been described as a “hub and mecca” of dancing by Time Magazine and “the...
Artistic Director’s Message From the Road - Family of Jazz Tour - Decidedly Jazz
It’s already Thursday, August 3! What a wild week it has been so far. It was only last Wednesday (July 26) the band joined us for two days of rehearsal before we hit the road on Saturday (July 29) for our 2023 Family of Jazz summer tour. We flew to Montréal and bussed straight away to Saint-Sauveur – about an hour away. A sweet little Québec town deeply engaged in...
Decidedly Jazz Danceworks Will Perform at Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival - Decidedly Jazz
Artistic Director Kimberley Cooper Discusses This Monumental Opportunity Calgary’s own Decidedly Jazz Danceworks (DJD) has been invited to perform at the prestigious, world-renowned Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival this summer. DJD will be joining an array of U.S. and international dance companies for the festival’s 91st season. Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival or “The Pillow,” as it’s fondly referred to, is a 220-acre National Historic Landmark located in the Berkshire Hills of Western...
Our Community - Wunmi Idowu - Decidedly Jazz
This month’s Our Community blog features the wonderful Wunmi Idowu. Wunmi is an award-winning dancer, choreographer, instructor, performer, and producer and the Founder and Director of Woezo Africa Music & Dance Theatre Inc. Since 2006, Woezo Africa has been passionately dedicated to bringing the history of African culture to the masses through traditional and modern modes of performing arts, including dance, music, theatre and storytelling. Her community outreach work with...
Family of Jazz Summer Tour - Learn About Our Tour Stops - Decidedly Jazz
As we prepare to embark on the Family of Jazz 2023 summer tour, we wanted to highlight the amazing festivals and organizations that will be welcoming us into their spaces. Festival des Arts de Saint-Sauveur Saint-Sauveur, Québec July 30, 2023 Festival des Arts de Saint-Sauveur (FASS) is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to the discovery and presentation of the best choreographers, dancers and musicians. Through its eclectic, inclusive, accessible and original...
Our Community - Nicole Andrea Pemberton - Decidedly Jazz
This month’s Our Community blog features the captivating Nicole Andrea Pemberton. Nicole is a dance artist, mentor, choreographer, health entrepreneur and educator who has performed professionally nationally in Canada, New York and Trinidad and Tobago. Her lineage comes from the islands of Antigua/Barbuda, St. Kitts and Nevis, and the countries of England and Canada. She has taught and facilitated movement experiences for over 100,000 kids and adults and counting. She...