Zvuloon Dub System
In their 15th year of showcasing world-renowned artists in a vibrant celebration of the performing arts, the Chutzpah! Festival has unveiled another amazing the line-up of electrifying music, riveting theatre and breath-taking dance scheduled for presentation at various venues around Vancouver.
Maria Kong in their first North American appearance is set to open the first night of the Chutzpah Festival. Performing BACKSTAGE, a hip multiple art experience that combines dance, a live rock band, theatre, video and interactive media technology, this cutting-edge event is not to be missed.
BODYTRAFFIC
Dance continues throughout the festival with Vancouver’s own multi-faceted award-winning choreographer/dancer Shay Kuebler, (co-founder of the 605 Collective), with his new dance company and its world premiere of GLORY. Keeping with Chutzpah!’s tradition of giving dance artists multiple opportunities to expand their international profiles, Chutzpah’s multi-year international resident dance company, BODYTRAFFIC returns to the festival. This hot, LA based contemporary company featuring its ten company dancers will bring to the stage four Canadian premieres by renowned choreographers Victor Quijada, Kyle Abraham, Joshua L. Peugh and a new work by Chutzpah! favourite Richard Siegal.
Idan Sharabi & Dancers (Israel/Holland)
with Vanessa Goodman opening (BC)
The ‘Namgis T’sasala Cultural Group from Alert Bay bring their traditional Kwakwaka’wakw dances to the festival for the first time, sharing their dance, music and storytelling in a FREE daylong celebration, everyone is welcome. Idan Sharabi & Dancers (Israel) return to the festival, with a much anticipated sectional full-length work. Opening for Idan is Vancouver’s Vanessa Goodman with a world premiere featuring seven of the city’s most notable dancers. This year Chutzpah!PLUS dance co-presents, with The Dance Centre, the world premiere of BC choreographer, writer, painter Serge Bennathan’s new work, Monsieur Arbutun. Mr. Bennathan will be the key performer, and includes live music and text.
Les Yeux Noirs
Internationally-celebrated music gets underway with the exceptional, truly unique Ethiopian-fused Reggae band Zvuloon Dub System (Israel) with Brooklyn’s up-and-coming psych-rock fused R&B band Twin Wave opening; the eclectic Daniel Kahn & The Painted Bird with their matchless mix of punk cabaret, and radical Yiddish song (Germany); the world premiere of Paul Alexander’s Remembering Steel Skies Raining Tears featuring the Borealis String Quartet, Eric Wilson and Boris Sichon (BC); returning after their sold out performance at the 2010 Festival, the incomparable Les Yeux Noirs (France), co-presented with Caravan World Rhythms; and the distinctive Diwan Saz, a multicultural Jewish, Muslim, Beduin, Arab group of world musicians performing ancient music from Central Asia, Turkey, Persia, and the Holy Land – promoting peace and understanding through their music (Israel). Our 2015 Chutzpah!PLUS music concert will feature singer-songwriter, Ester Rada (Israel) whose music gracefully combines Ethiopian-Jazz, Urban-funk, Neo-Soul and R&B, with mixed undertones of black grooves all deeply reflecting her Israeli-Ethiopian heritage.
What You’re Missing
Chutzpah!’s comedy and theatre lineup is always at its best. Comedian, actor, writer Wendy Hammers, performs RIPE, her part stand-up confessional, part booty shakin’ biography – a funny and moving juicy new one woman show; You’re Funny, But You Don’t Look Jewish performed by three hilarious South Asian, Italian and Vietnamese American-Jewish comedians Samson Koletkar, Mike Capozzola and Joseph Nguyen (USA); Kafka and Son – adapted from Franz Kafka’s Letter to His Father by Mark Cassidy and Alon Nashman and performed by the remarkable Alon Nashman (ON); Sisypesan Theatre’s physical theatre in the round production of MARATHON, a soul-searching metaphor on the Israeli lifestyle (Israel); and a multi-show run of emerging Canadian playwright Tamara Micner’s What You’re Missing directed by John Cooper (BC).
Celebrating our 15th Anniversary Chutzpah!’s Artistic & Managing Director, Mary-Louise Albert says, “This is going to be a great anniversary year with a focus on world premieres by BC artists and the continuation of our established, excellent and well warranted reputation of bringing numerous outstanding international music, dance, theatre and comedy to our audiences!”
Single tickets for Chutzpah! are $20 to $36 and can be purchased online by phone at the Chutzpah! Box Office: 604-257-5145 or Tickets Tonight: 604-684-2787. Chutzi Packs are also available: see 4 different shows of your choice for only $85 (excluding Diwan Saz and Ester Rada concerts).
