Live dance is coming back to the Haliburton Sculpture Forest.
Forest spokesperson Youkie Stagg said on Sept. 2 that the Throwdown Collective and five other dancers have devised and choreographed dances inspired by the art of the Sculpture Forest.
From Sept. 13-18, visitors will have a chance to see Brian Solomon, Noriko Yamamoto, Phylicia Browne-Charles, Madeline Friel, and Throwdown Collective’s Mairéad Filgate, Brodie Stevenson with Irvin Chow perform.
Stagg said, “these selected artists have been invited to take an existing work or idea perhaps halted by the pandemic and to re-engage, re-configure, and adapt it to the outdoor environment, exploring it through a new lens.”
The event has been dubbed Re-emergence and Re-engagement.
Stagg added it coincidentally occurs during the week of Hike Haliburton, so hikers taking a guided tour of the Sculpture Forest will be able to see the dancers at work.
The artists will be in the Sculpture Forest (weather permitting) from noon to 4 p.m. each day. Community members are welcome to come and see their work in progress. There will also be a community forum on Friday, Sept. 17 for people to talk with the artists about their process. In light of COVID-19 restrictions, organizers are asking the public to bring a mask for when social distancing is not possible.
Stagg said the dance event aims to bring back collaborative dance to Haliburton after a year and a half of lockdowns. The Sculpture Forest is working with Dance Happens Here Haliburton.
Stagg added there will be an event later this winter as well, called Re-connection. She said the dancers and choreographers will reconvene for a live event to discuss their work, sit in for a question-and-answer session and possibly perform their work live depending on pandemic restrictions.
She also encouraged the public to visit the Downtown Haliburton Sculpture Exhibition, an exhibit of six sculptures in downtown Haliburton. The sculptures are available for purchase until Oct. 28.
The Haliburton Sculpture Forest is home to 38 outdoor sculptures and six unique sculptural benches by indigenous, international, and Canadian artists.
People can find guides for both the Haliburton Sculpture Forest and downtown exhibit at the Haliburton Welcome Centre on York Street, at the entrance to the Sculpture Forest, or online at haliburtonsculptureforest.ca.
For more information on COVID19 guidelines and tours go to: haliburtonsculptureforest@gmail.com or call 705-457-3555.
