2019 Showcases

Conference Overview

CAPACOA’s 2019 conference will serve as a valuable platform to view performances by outstanding national artists who have been selected by a rigorous jury process. It also serves as a forum for networking and professional development in a friendly and intimate setting designed to foster business relationships with performing arts colleagues from across Canada.

November 14, 2019

16:00 – 17:00

4:00 – 5:00

Ecole de la Salle

RUBBERBAND

In 15 years, Victor Quijada and his RUBBERBAND have not only redefined breakdance codes within an institutional context and enlivened the Quebec dance scene but have opened the way for new creators fascinated by this dance form. Armed with a technique he conceived for dancers, the RUBBERBAND Method – an electrifying vocabulary combining the energy of Hip Hop, the refinement of classical ballet, and the angular quality of contemporary dance – and some 40 creations and collaborations in Canada and abroad behind him, Victor Quijada has always continued to evolve and innovate throughout his prolific career. In December 2017, Victor Quijada received the award for cultural diversity at the Prix de la danse de Montréal.

Contact: Élisabeth Comtois

November 14, 2019

17:30 – 21:00

5:30 – 9:00

Blacksheep Inn

 

Reeny Smith

Reeny Smith is a powerhouse on the stage and in the studio. A songwriter, musician and producer, Reeny delivers magic every time she hits the stage. Her extraordinary vocals, confident presence and energetic live show make for a truly unforgettable, entertainment experience.

Accolades for her talents are piling up. At this year’s East Coast Music Awards in Charlottetown, Reeny’s stunning performance at the Awards Show brought her a standing ovation topped off with two trips to the podium to take home a pair of trophies. She was also named to the Top 10 of CBC’s national Searchlight.

Her first full-length album, WWIII: Strength Courage Love was released in 2018 and her song-writing took her to Germany and Japan. She’s collaborated with artists like Quake Matthews and opened for Anderson Paak, but through it all, Smith says the thing she’s the proudest of is developing her craft as a songwriter and being recognized for the hard work she’s put into the depth and realism of her work.

She is currently working on a new Christmas album for release this fall.

Reeny has always been inspired and nurtured by her extensive musical family and friends growing up in North Preston, Nova Scotia.

Contact:Fiona Diamond

Boogàt

Boogát is a Canadian-Mexican musician from Montreal (Qc, Canada), blending hip-hop with Latin Music styles such as Cumbia and Reggaeton. He won the Juno Award and the Félix Award for ”World Music Album of the Year” for his album Neo-Reconquista, respectively, at the Juno Awards 2016 and the ADISQ 2016.

Of Paraguayan and Mexican descent, he was born in Québec City to immigrant parents and raised in the Beauport borough of the city, then moved to Montreal in 2001 where his career took off. Performing initially in French, Boogát switched to Spanish after playing with the Latin Music group Roberto Lopez Project and Electro producer Poirier; discovering a new world of possibilities that opened doors to collaborating with artists such as Frikstailers, Uproot Andy, El Hijo De La Cumbia, Radio Radio, Lido Pimienta, El Dusty, G-Flux, Sotomayor, Super San, Niña Dioz, Mati Zundel and El Remolon, amongst others.

He released his first full-length Spanish album El Dorado Sunset in 2013. The album won two Félix Awards for ”Best World Music Album” and ”Producer of the Year” at ADISQ 2013. He has been touring non-stop in Canada, USA, México, Argentina, UK, Germany, Netherlands, France, Czech Republic and Spain ever since. Neo-Reconquista, which includes collaborations with La Yegros, Sonido Pesa’o and Pierre Kwenders, was released in 2015.

Contact:Noémie Azoulay

Silla and Rise

Silla and Rise blend Inuit throat-singing and futuristic dancefloor beats. Silla are Cynthia Pitsiulak (Kimmirut, NU) and Charlotte Qamaniq (Iglulik, NU) their name comes from the Inuktitut word “Sila” meaning weather. Sila is what surrounds us; it is what connects us to our land, to the moon, sun and stars, the ocean and the air we breathe. In respecting and honouring the need to preserve Inuit culture and paying homage to our land and the strong connection to its spirituality, they experience and perform the sounds of traditional and contemporary throat songs. Rise is Ottawa’s Rise Ashen, a Juno Award nominated global-grooves producer, DJ and dancer who has spent his life pursuing the intersection of traditional and futuristic music.

Silla and Rise were nominated for a Juno for Indigenous Music Album of the Year in 2017 for their self-titled Debut: Silla + Rise, as well as an Indigenous Music Award for Best Inuit, Indigenous Language, or Francophone Album. They won the Stingray Award at Mundial Festival in Montreal in 2018 and they are currently working on a second album.

Contact:Eric Vani

Elle Márjà

Elle Márjà is a Sami multitalented artist who in recent years has distinguished herself as an artist at the major International industry festivals, as a film music composer and as a filmmaker. She is outstanding at the intersection of Yoik, electronics and indigenous music. Through her art she tells personal stories from her family background as reindeer herding. The concerts are always highly visual with an audio-visual landscape often referred to as poetic and otherworldly. Together with the producer Morten H. Pettersen they have together created a unique sound. It`s cool and Arctic colored by ancient and new Yoiks.

Elle Márjá recently collaborated musically with film composer Christophe Beck (Frozen, Hangover) in the feature film “The 12th Man” (2017) by Harald Zwart. She was named “Highlight” at the Folk Alliance International festival in Kansas City in 2017 (USA). She has experience from the Sami National Theater Beaivváš as a composer. She has also directed and produced several short films, music videos and art films. Elle Márjá has played a number of concerts and performances at festivals and events in the Nordic countries, and has experience from international scenes in the USA, Canada, Russia, Germany, Lithuania, Sweden, Guatemala, Brazil and France. Eira is current in the band Snoweye with world stars John Paul Jones and Lucy Parnell (UK / SÁ). This year she is showcasing at Womex.

Contact: MortenPettersen

November 15, 2019

 

Rea Beaumont

“A tremendous pianist” (CBC Radio), Dr. Rea Beaumont is “an internationally recognized interpreter” (The New Classical) specializing in 20C and virtuosic new music. Beaumont’s performances and recordings, reviewed as “beautiful” (MPR), are broadcast worldwide. She collaborates with leading composers such as R. Murray Schafer to premiere new works, in addition to those commissioned for her by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. Beaumont’s book on Barbara Pentland was short-listed for an international award and she recently received the Ontario Arts Council’s prestigious Chalmers Arts Fellowship. Additional awards include FACTOR, OAC SOCAN, Banff Centre, BC Arts Council, Canada Council.

Contact: Max Horowitz

Countermeasure

Since forming in 2010, the Toronto-based vocal band, Countermeasure, has earned standing ovations and critical acclaim worldwide. Led by award-winning composer/producer Aaron Jensen, the group has collaborated and recorded with artists including Randy Brecker, Ron Sexsmith, Alan Doyle, The Barenaked Ladies, and Evelyn Glennie; and has performed alongside the likes of Corey Hart, Alan Frew, The Swingle Singers, and Naturally 7.
Countermeasure features 13 of Canada’s top vocal talents, performing innovative a cappella covers, and award-winning original songs. Their diverse repertoire has equipped the group to headline international choral concerts, play the main stage at jazz festivals, or coax club-goers onto the dance floor. Incorporating innovative live looping, instrument imitation, and vocal percussion, Countermeasure has sold-out theatres across, Canada, the U.S., Italy, Scotland, Japan, and the U.K.

Contact:Genny DeMerchant

PITCH

Bombay Black

Rohit Chokhaniis aJessie Richardson Theatre Award-winning arts curator,as well as a director and cultural leader. Rohit was awarded the prestigious’Vancouver Now Representation and Inclusion Award’in 2018. He is also the recipient of the Jessie Richardson Theatre Award in the Large Theatre Category for’Significant Artistic Achievement’ (2017)andrecipient of the Shiamak Vancouver Community Award (by Bollywood star choreographer Shiamak Davar) in recognition of outstanding achievement in the field of Entertainment and Theatre Arts(2017).He will be presenting at the Showcase his project Bombay Black which is now available for national and international touring along with a few projects under development.

Poetic, mythic and brave, Indo-Canadian Anosh Irani’s multiple Dora Award-winning and Canadian Governor General nominated script Bombay Blackis a searing play set in the bitter reality of India. Funny, violent, humane, Bombay Black took the Vancouver Fringe Festival by storm in 2017 with its sold-out run. After strong critical reviews, it was remounted for a three-city, four week regional run in the province of British Columbia, Canada in 2018. It was fully developed through the support from BC Arts Council and Canada Council for the arts. It is confirmed for another week-long regional run in 2020 through support from City Of Surrey and presenting partnership with the Vancouver Fringe Festival.

Contact:Rohit Chokhani

GADFLY

GADFLY’s artistry sits where urban dance styles and other art forms collide and tune together. They merge art with entertainment through the authenticity, artistry, and athleticism found in Urban Dance Culture. Gadfly’s body of work includes full-evening works, performances at Ted Talks Toronto, Nuit Blanche, Luminato, Festival DansEncore, and contributions to 12 charitable organizations. With ‘Klorofyl’, GADFLY was the recipient of the Dora Mavor Moore Award for Outstanding Performance. GADFLY’s work reflects a distinct language that personifies innovation.

Contact:Apolonia Velasquez

Video Phase

Video Phase is the result of the collaboration between two musicians – creators,Julien Robert and Julien Compagne. Their common idea is to develop a new kind of art that equally combines music, video, and technology.Strongly influenced by Steve Reich’s music (the inspiration of their first show) but alsoby electronic music, they create a synesthesia between their musical and visual universes,one representing the other and vice versa. The visual component of theirshows is totally interactive; this gives them the freedom to improvise and preserves themagic of live performance. With the use of technology, they seek to provide theaudience with more than a regular concert – a real multi-sensory experience.

Contact:Eoin Ó Catháin

Pearle Harbour

Justin Miller is a queer, Toronto-based theatre artist and drag queen.Blending the aesthetics of drag, the ethos of bouffon clown, and a gonzo, participatory performance style, he creates uniquely theatrical spaces that celebrate the transformative power of collective experience. As his alter-ego Pearle Harbour— wartime wonder and tragicomedienne—he has been called “one of the most welcome additions to the Toronto performance scene… glamorous, poised, and devastatingly funny” (Xtra). His original works has been presented at the SummerWorks Performance Festival, Why Not Theatre’s RISER Project, Theatre Passe Muraille, The High Performance Rodeo, Rhubarb Festival, OUTstages, The Cultch, The Second City, the Toronto Sketch Comedy Festival, the University of Toronto, and countless other theatres, clubs, and cabarets across Canada. He is an artist-in-residence at Buddies In Bad Times Theatre. Accolades include the Audience Choice Award (SW17), Outstanding Solo Performance (My Entertainment World), Favourite Lead Performance (Hart House Subscriber’s Choice Award), and a Dora Mavor-Moore Award-nomination for Outstanding Male Performance, and Dora Mavor-Moore Award nominations for Outstanding Performance and Outstanding Costume Design.

Contact: Justin Miller