Coming Out of Chaos: A Vancouver Dance Story
Lola Ryan, Savannah Walling, Jennifer Mascall, and Peter Bingham in Coming Out of Chaos. Performance Documentation. 1982. Courtesy of Karen Jamieson Dance. Photograph by Chris Randle.
2021-2024 – Coming Out of Chaos: A Vancouver Dance Story
Coming Out of Chaos: A Vancouver Dance Story is an archival research and oral history project that reflects on the collaborative performance work Coming Out of Chaos (1982) to unravel its influence and place in the emergence of contemporary dance in Vancouver, BC, Canada from the 1960s to the present day. I had the opportunity to interview 17 established and mid-career contemporary dancers, choreographers, administrators, costumer designers, dance historians, and critics, as well as 6 of the original Coming Out of Chaos collaborators. The final project takes the form of a website that hosts a story told in 4 chapters, 17 interview transcriptions, a historical timeline of contemporary dance, and 4 digital exhibitions of personal and institutional archival materials.
Coming Out of Chaos was curated and written by Emma Metcalfe Hurst (KJD Archivist / Creative Director), with assistance from Charlotte Leonard (KJD Archivist). It was supported and produced by Karen Jamieson Dance, with funding assistance from Canada Council for the Arts, BC Arts Council, and City of Vancouver.
Awards
City of Vancouver Heritage Award for Living Heritage
On May 15, 2023, Coming Out of Chaos: A Vancouver Dance Story received a City of Vancouver Heritage Award for Living Heritage! The award ceremony took place at the Hollywood Theatre in Kitsilano, Vancouver, BC.
Worldwide Books Award for Electronic Resources
On April 4, 2024, Coming Out of Chaos: A Vancouver Dance Story was awarded the Worldwide Books Award for Electronic Resources from the Art Libraries Society of North America (ARLIS/NA). The convocation ceremony took place at the 52nd Annual ARLIS/NA Conference in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. More information about the award can be found here.
Presentations
2022 – Coming Out of Chaos: Community Archives, Oral History, & Networks of Archival Support @ 50th Annual ARLIS/NA Annual Conference.
2023 – Coming Out of Chaos: Community Archives, Oral History, & Networks of Archival Support @ Annual ACA Conference
Click here for more information about my work at the Creative Director and Producer of Coming Out of Chaos: A Vancouver Dance Story.