Sandra Lamouche
Feb 22, 7 pm
An Evening with Raven Spirit Dance
Live performance
Scotiabank Dance Centre [map]
Tickets
ᓀᐦᐃᔭᐍᐏᐣ nehiyawewin is a performance inspired by the cree language in relation to my family and myself. I was first inspired while learning Cree with my mom and writing syllabics. I saw the movement within them as if they come to life as little spirits and dance across the page.
I asked my mom to translate some phrases that were related to my experiences of my mosom only speaking Cree, a dream I had where I could understand Cree.
I told her that my heart aches to speak Cree. She paused and thought for a moment. She said she wouldn’t say it that way. She would say, in my heart I love Cree. Tears welled up in my eyes. What a beautiful way to express this feeling. Turning loss into love and healing.
I am learning Cree.
emaci nehiyaweyan.
ᐁᒪᒋ ᓀᐦᐃᔭᐍᔭᐣ
choreographer, dancer Sandra Lamouche (Cree)
projection, mentor The late Troy Emery Twigg (Blackfoot)
sound designer Danielle LaRose (Metis)
lighting designer Jonathan Kim
language speaker, teacher Margaret Lamouche (Cree)
This project was supported through the Pakitinam Mentorship Program by Raven Spirit Dance
Sandra Lamouche is a member of the Bigstone Cree Nation in Northern Alberta. She is living and married in Blackfoot territory. She recently completed her M.A. thesis on Indigenous dance and well-being. She is a champion hoop dancer, award winning educational leader, two-time TEDx speaker, writer and researcher. She has been creating contemporary Indigenous dance pieces for over a decade which tie together land based practices, healing, and social and ecological justice. She has travelled internationally as an artist most recently to Art Basel, Switzerland and Birmingham, UK.