Performance

In-Person | Live Music | All-Ages | World Premiere

Heirloom

Past Event

12pm

Note: This event has been rescheduled to Friday, Sep 23 due to the risk of inclement weather.

Join us for a magical outdoor performance at the Leacock Museum in Orillia for the world premiere of In Blue Rooms as part of the second season of FFDN’s outdoor series Heirloom. Featuring all-live music.

Heirloom artists Zack Martel, Santiago Rivera, Michael Bridge and Daniel Hamin Go. Video by Jeremy Mimnagh

Your invitation into the personal, colourful and surreal world of next generation choreographers Zack Martel and Santiago Rivera (Montréal), set to the tune of original new arrangements by musicians Daniel Hamin Go and Michael Bridge, of Toronto’s Royal Conversatory of Music.

After the great success of its inaugural season in 2021, our outdoor series Heirloom is returning with a new programmatic theme. We are thrilled to bring Heirloom to some of Ontario’s treasured green spaces in St. Catharines, Peterborough and Orillia as well as a performance at Toronto’s Evergreen Brick Works.

This year’s Heirloom performance is sure to delight the senses. Rivera and Martel’s whimsical choreography at once blurs the lines of juggling, contemporary circus, dance and object manipulation to tell the story of separation and the journey of coming together, performed by four accomplished jugglers and dancers from Montréal. Live music by a trio of musicians, including Daniel (cello), Michael (accordion) and Brad Cherwin (clarinet) accompanies the movement for this new full-length collaborative work, much like a witty repartee between music and physical storytelling.

In Blue Rooms is playful, curious and bursting with imagination. This presentation is truly a spark of magic for all ages in the beautiful outdoor spaces of our home province.

This is an in-person presentation taking place at Leacock Museum in Orilla (50 Museum Dr.) on Thursday Sep 22, 2022, at 12:00PM ET. In case of rain, the performance will be postponed to Friday Sep 23.

Tickets are Pay What You Can (suggested amount: $15 per audience member).
This event can be added to a Festival Package as an add-on.

Limited capacity*

*The presentation of Heirloom in Orillia is an education initiative of FFDN's presenting partner Arts Orillia. Large number of school groups are scheduled to be in attendance which limits the number of seats we can offer to the general public for this presentation.

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New full-length work
Duration: approximately 60 minutes - no intermission

There will be a Q&A with the artists immediately after the performance.

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You can catch an Heirloom performance also in St Catharines (Sep 17), Toronto (Sep 20) and Peterborough (Sep 25).

ABOUT THE ARTISTS

Choreographers

Santiago Rivera

Santiago Rivera Laugerud, born in Guatemala in 1997, is a Multidisciplinary Artist dedicated to the arts from an early age. Influenced by contemporary dance and physical theatre, he has specialized in juggling where he has been able to fuse these different art forms together. Santiago is the first Central American to be accepted into Montreal’s National Circus School in Canada. His work has been recognized by multiple organizations such as Guatecirko, Montréal Complètement Cirque, TOHU, Cirque Éloize, and Les 7 Doigts de la Main.

Zack Martel

Zack Martel is a multidisciplinary circus artist specializing primarily in juggling and movement. Born in Toronto, he was exposed to the world of art at a very young age by his art loving mother and musician father. Zack is strongly influenced by art forms outside of the world of circus including Film, Music, Painting, Writing, Dance, etc. He is inspired by bold colours, surreal concepts, and 80’s funk. His idols include Salvador Dali, Andy Warhol, David Lynch, Jim Carrey, and Bootsy Collins.

Musicians

Michael Bridge

Accordion

Michael Bridge is a musical maverick. He’s a virtuoso performer on both the acoustic accordion and its 21st Century cousin, the digital accordion. His concerts capture the energy and panache of stadium rock with the elegance and discipline of chamber music.

He’s won a slew of competitions in Canada and abroad and was named one of CBC’s 30 under 30 classical musicians. He is completing a doctorate in performance at the University of Toronto with Joseph Macerollo and became a Rebanks Fellow at the Glenn Gould School. He gives over 100 concerts a year as a soloist and as a member of Bridge & Wolak and Ladom Ensemble. He’s in high demand for masterclasses around the world.

Bridge embraces a musical aesthetic that is alternatively irreverent, deadly serious, meticulously prepared and completely in-the-moment. He’s at home with classical, contemporary, jazz and folk music and has premiered 53 new works.

Ultimately, he aims to make your world more bearable, beautiful and human—even if only for the length of a concert.

Daniel Hamin Go

Cello

Described as “authoritative, poised, and dripping with élan” (Jonathan Freeman-Atwood), 26 year-old South Korean cellist Daniel Hamin Go is recognised as a special emerging talent. Daniel has performed throughout North America and Europe collaborating with renowned musicians including Jonathan Biss, Miriam Fried, Rachel Podger, and Fazil Say; appearing in concert halls such as Berliner Philharmonie, Carnegie, Flagey Studios, and Konzerthaus Berlin.

Daniel studied at the Manhattan School of Music, Hochschule für Musik 'Hanns Eisler' Berlin, Royal Academy of Music, and the coveted Queen Elisabeth Music Chapel. From September, Daniel will join the Rebanks Family Fellowship and International Residency Program.

Daniel plays on a Francesco Rugeri, 1960, and a rare Joseph Henry bow, both generously on loan from private collections.

Brad Cherwin

Clarinet

Hailed for his “technical prowess [and] perfect conveyance of…wit, humor, and effect” (Sarasota Herald-Tribune), clarinetist Brad Cherwin is one of “Toronto’s best young chamber musicians” (Bachtrack). His playing has been lauded as “astounding” and “a total success … as flexible in tone as possible” (Calgary Herald).

Highlights of Cherwin’s most recent season include performances with Barbara Hannigan as an Equilibrium Young Artist at the Lunenburg Academy of Music Performance, and a sold-out European recital debut at Hamburg’s Tonali Saal with Ema Nikolovska, Hagar Sharvit, and Daniel Gerzenberg.

Cherwin is the co-founder, clarinetist, and graphic designer for Toronto’s West End Micro Music Festival. After a sold-out first season titled MOZART IS DEAD, the festival returns in 2022 with minMAX.

Cherwin is also the director of The Happenstancers, a Toronto-based ensemble that features "an obscene amount of talent" (The WholeNote). Their concerts have been praised as “superbly planned, with a rich banquet of textures and colours…Next time these people throw a recital, run, don’t walk” (Lydia Perovic, Definitely the Opera).

Performers

Basile Pucek

Juggler

Basile Pucek is a French Canadian young man who was born in Montreal, a charming and lively city that allows him to evolve over the years.

Basile's education was built with the help of his family and friends, as well as his studies at the National Circus School of Montreal, an institution that helped him discover his passion for the art of movement.

He forges his identity through the experiences he undertakes, his many decisive trips, but also with his sensitivity regarding the world, and the elements that surround him.

Analyzing, innovating and planning guide him during his time on earth.

Clémence Dinard

Dancer

Originally from Brive-la-Gaillarde (France), Clémence Dinard graduated from the Montreal School of Contemporary Dance in 2022.

She began dancing at the age of three with ballet, passionate about the universe and the imagination brought to her by classical music.

In search of perfecting her dance, she joined the regional conservatory of Boulogne-Billancourt (Paris, France) at the age of seventeen, which brought her maturity and experience. Clémence flew to the School of Contemporary Dance in Montreal in 2019. There followed three particularly rich years where she cultivated her sincerity, leading her to assume the sensitive being that drives her through her listening to herself and to the other. These enriching collaborations will only strengthen his imagination as well as his ability to appropriate movement in a more personal and more introspective way. Today, Clémence is overflowing with desire and curiosity, and aspires to feed on multiple choreographic universes in order to continue this search for movement that drives her so much.

Philippe Dupuis

Juggler

Philippe is a Quebec circus artist who graduated from the National Circus School of Montreal where he specialized in juggling and acrobatics. Philippe has had the opportunity to work with several internationally renowned companies. He has also had the opportunity to realize several artistic projects in self-production and in collaboration with other artists from the Quebec milieu.   In addition to his passion for the circus, Philippe is always looking for new projects. He is guided by his curiosity to discover and explore more. With his open-mindedness, perseverance and creativity, this enterprising artist is always ready to take on new challenges.

Daniel Stefek

Dancer/Acrobat

Early in life I found an interest in martial arts, namely capoeira. Later in life this
curious interest grew into something more as I studied every martial art I could try. Quickly
and unexpectedly, I found a passion and appreciation for all types of movement; expanding
from martial arts into dance, acrobatics, and even theater.

Capoeira offered a base to build upon and with this my interest in acrobatic research
began. Growing older the realization came that all this movement vocabulary is without
purpose if there is no application for it. So here I am continuing my search with those dear
to me.

You can often find me rolling or slamming my body into the ground (or Friends) trying
to learn something, forever curious.

Engage with the Artists

To gain more insight into the creative process of In Blue Rooms and get to know the choreographers better, check out episode one of the third season of FFDN's in-house podcast Mambo, available to stream on demand.

Stream on FFDN's website

Also available on these popular streaming platforms

Parking for the Heirloom performance will be located in the ‘Events’ parking space located on the grounds of Leacock Museum on the back lawn. Staff will be on site to guide guests as they arrive. Accessible spaces in the parking area are located near the path to the museum.

Accessible washrooms are available in the administration building across the main parking lot. These can be reached via ramp and hands free door.

Requests for accommodations and accessible seating can be made during the ticket purchasing process. For any general enquiries about festival accessibility, please contact FFDN at tickets@ffdnorth.com or phone 416-907-5933.

Directions

The Leacock Museum is easily accessible by car. It is located at 50 Museum Drive, Orillia, ON, L3V 7T9, and is bordered by Museum Dr to the south, Leacock Ln to the west, and Lake Ontario to the north and east.

Driving

Coming from the south, take Highway 400/ON-11 North to Mississaga St W in Orillia. Take exit 131A from ON-11 N, onto Highway 12 South, after approximately 4 kms turn left onto Forest Ave S, right onto Museum Dr, then left onto Leacock Ln, and right onto Museum Dr to reach the Leacock Museum.

Coming from the west, take highway 26 toward Wasaga Beach, at the roundabout take the second exit onto Highway 26 toward Stayner, turn left onto highway 26, left onto Horseshoe Valley Rd, and right onto Highway 12. Continue onto Coldwater Rd W, turn right onto Front St N, left onto Forest Ave N, right onto Museum Dr, left onto Leacock Ln, and right onto Museum Dr to reach the Leacock Museum.

Coming from the north, take Highway 11 S, take a slight right onto Laclie St toward Orillia, turn right onto Neywash St, left onto Front St, left onto Forest Ave S, right onto Museum Dr, then left onto Leacock Ln, and right onto Museum Dr to reach the Leacock Museum.

Coming from the east, take highway 7, or Country Rd 8 and 15 toward the west, take a slight right onto Highway 12, continue onto Atherley Rd, turn right onto Forest Ave S, right onto Museum Dr, then left onto Leacock Ln, and right onto Museum Dr to reach the Leacock Museum.

Transit

From Orillia Transit Terminal board the Orillia South A or South B bus, exit at Atherley Rd at Bayview Parkway, walk west to Leacock Lane, walk north along Leacock Lane to reach the Leacock Museum.

Parking

Parking for the Heirloom performance will be located in the ‘Events’ parking space located on the grounds of Leacock Museum on the back lawn. Staff will be on site to guide guests as they arrive. Accessible spaces in the ‘Events’ parking area are located near the path to the museum.