November 8, 2023 • 40 mins
Welcome back to The Dance Centre Podcast. Today Claire talks to dance artist, choreographer, and founder of Co.ERASGA, Alvin Tolentino.
Join them as they discuss Alvin's beginnings as an independent dance artist, the creation process and how that has changed over his long career, his collaboration with dance and interdisciplinary artists and the cultural shift happening in the dance world today.
Learn more about Co.ERASGA's and their new show Accumulation here: https://www.companyerasgadance.ca/
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Episode Transcript
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The Dance Centre Podcast Episode 26:
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Alvin Tolentino
SPEAKERS (00:02):
Claire French, Alvin Tolentino
Claire French 00:11
Hello, welcome to the Dance Centre podcast. I am your host Claire French, and I'm joining you from the
traditional unseeded territories of the Musqueam, Squamish and Tsleil-Waututh peoples also known as
Vancouver, Canada. I'll be talking to dancers, choreographers and other members of the dance world
here on the west coast to find out more about their creative work and practices, and to discuss what it
means to us to be dance professionals today. Thanks for joining us.
Claire French 00:43
Born in Manila, in the Philippines, Alvin Erasga Talentino immigrated to Canada in 1983. He is based in
the unseeded ancestral territories of the Coast Salish peoples at the Squamish, Musqueam and TsleilWaututh nations, also known as Vancouver. His professional arts and dance training includes the Royal
Winnipeg ballet, York University Toronto, SUNY Purchase, Limon Institute in the US. He continues to
grow with ongoing artistic collaboration relations and liaison with prominent dance artists and arts
educators across the nation and abroad. A sought after and established virtuoso dance interpreter,
Talentino has continued to receive critical praise as a dancer for his outstanding interpretations of his
own works, along with some of Canada's finest choreographers and dance companies. In 2000,
Talentino founded Company Erasga, a dance company dedicated to the research creation and
presentation of contemporary dance with an emphasis on exploration and collaboration with diverse
artists nationally and abroad. With extensive international tours and artistic collaborations, Talentino
has featured dance works across the world. In 2010, Alvin was awarded the Vancouver Mayors Arts
Award for dance in recognition of his contributions to the field and to Vancouver's cultural communities.
And in 2018, he received the ExploreAsian-Pan Asian Award for contribution in the arts and
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multiculturalism. You can find out more at companyerasgadance.ca.
Claire French 02:11
I'm joined by Alvin Erasga Tolentino, artistic director and co-founder of Company Erasga Dance or
Co.Erasga Dance. So much to talk about, I believe it's 20 years of the company. And that in itself is a
whole podcast or a whole series of podcasts. Sure, we could go there too. However, for today, and for
this particular podcast, I thought we could go pre Company Erasga and find out a little bit more about
the man behind the company. And also bring us right up to date with what the company is doing, what
Alvin is doing. And Alvin's perspectives and philosophies or principles for the company, but just around
art making, collaboration, interdisciplinary work, Indigenous influence, there's so much so I need to help
Alvin out here a little bit to start this. And welcome Alvin. Hello, and please say hello, if you would like to
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Alvin Talentino 03:13
Hello, Claire, lovely to be here with you.
Claire French 03:17
How did it all start for you? Like we could go as far back as your training and your early days. But I am
interested in some of your experiences pre company to start us off. So that's probably also a long time
period. But could you give us...
Alvin 03:31
If I still remember them!
Claire French 03:33
Or make it, I'll make it up for us.
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Alvin Talentino 03:34
I don't want to remember that. No, I mean, you know, I really started as an independent dance artist.
And most of my training really were back east at York University because I was a student of York
University. And I've done a lot of also studies; the Limon Institute and I was at SUNY Purchase also.
And spent a lot of time in Montreal because that's where a lot of the big names contemporary dance
artists at that time, you know, we're looking at really early 90s right and then I was also a student of the
Royal Winnipeg Ballet. So, I spent some time in the prairies, you know, for a couple of years in
Winnipeg, being part of the Royal Winnipeg Ballet so I'm somewhat of an alumni of the classic, the
classic institution. And then I went back to the west coast and done some training at SFU when SFU
dance school or faculty was still up in the mountain, Burnaby Mountain, yeah. And so they used to do
the summer school where they would bring all dance artists and teachers from across the lands and
you know, have a wonderful summer session and so that's really where things kind of sort of shifted for
me because I think Lola MacLaughlin saw me, and she approached me to possibly work with her and
do some research work. And I agreed to do that. And she invited me to basically be part of the creation
that she was doing. And so from then on, I just became a real Vancouver independent dance artist and
really started to work for all the big companies, you know, like Kokoro Dance, Kinesis Dance, Jennifer
Mascall, I was with Edam. And so, you know, all the big companies, I was really supporting and
dancing for them. And I did that for a good decade, you know, a good 10 years before I really decided
to shift into having a company. And I think the main reason for that was that I was really exhausted
being an interpreter for all these choreographers, which, of course, I honor and I love and I've learned
so much, but I think you can only take on so much as an independent dance artists, when you're
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moving from one choreographer to another in the course of a three day, like sometimes I would
rehearse for three companies. So that was, that was quite a strenuous for the mind and the body and
the soul, really so. And so, I decided that, you know, maybe I need to do something else. And also, at
that time, I was also making my own work already. And I think that was very important. That was really
a signifying idea for what might happen in the future, you know, and looking into that, but, you know, I
mean, nobody told me how to create a company, nobody told me about how to build a nonprofit. So,
none of that, none of that. You're not trained for that.
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Claire French 07:10
Yeah, what I love about this is I arrived in Vancouver in 1997. So, I was just at the tail end of the
summer school up on the hill in Burnaby Mountain, but I did my master's degree from the hill. So I was
up in Burnaby, to right so my experience of SFU. And the MFA, which is what I moved here for is all
Burnaby Mountain, those shacks, you know, the little kind of huts at the end of the world, at the end of
the world at the end of the world for me, coming from London. And I remember you being one of the
independent dancers of the city. And I knew a little bit about your history, but I knew you as a dancer,
and as a force, as a dancer, for all of these companies, because I saw you in all of the companies and
this happens, sometimes, it still happens, where the same dancers appear in works with all of, with the
same companies. And you can't, they can't help but become part of the aesthetic of a city, I believe. But
I also think what you're talking about, it doesn't surprise me that you created, started to create your own
work, or that you maybe always had that passion. And I think that also was a draw for choreographers
to work with you. Because there was a sense of how strongly you took the role of interpreter, because I
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think to be strong in the role of interpretation, you are also choreographing, and you are also creating,
and you are also giving so generously of your own ideas.
Alvin Talentino 08:44
Yeah.
Claire French 08:45
And so, I see that a lot. And there are, of course, there's burnout, if you're giving that to a lot of different
companies, you're having to adapt your own, you know, vision in each of these circumstances, but also
your own training all the time for the differences of the choreographers, so no wonder there's burnout.
But I'm also extremely happy to hear that, I think it would be lovely for lots of younger, up and coming
dancers who find themselves in the same position as you working for all of these people, three or four
people a day, that maybe there's an inkling there, a gut instinct to be dance makers, with their own
ideas, with their own setup. And as scary as that might sound you are testament to the fact that it can
be extremely successful. You're also an amazing model, I think in this city, especially for producing and
presenting other people's work and mentoring works or giving people an opportunity to show their work,
whatever stage it's at. So, was that something you just... Was that something you decided once you
had the organization umbrella that you wanted to offer? Like where? Is that something you've always
wanted to do or how that came about?
Alvin Talentino 09:56
I think that really came about with being an independent dance artist and a creator, because there's just
so much pathways towards creation, and sometimes I think what's overlooked is what's behind the
scenes. And what are the processes and what are the stages, which I found very interesting, as an
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interpreter and as an interpreter, and also as a creator. And those stages are so imperative to the final
creation, if there is such a thing as final creation or production, you know, what happens to the in
between spaces of the arts making, and also to the fact that you won't always have all the resources to
be able to dream big to put your productions. So, I thought about, well, you know, if I make a short solo,
then I should have the possibility to exercise to share that to my audience to the public. Right? So how
do you do that. And so the challenge is, I think, really provided me the kind of formula to make sure that
within the work that I'm doing, but also for the other works, of the people that I know, my peers and the
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artists that I work with, the different generation that I have encountered, because I realized that they're
in the same shoes as I am, you know, so many people want to make work, but some are not really fully
ready, some are in, you know, still in progress. But how do you go about that, but there's something
very important about sharing those progress those, those process, you know, because they're part of
the development, it is also very insightful, I think, for the artists to present those raw spaces of a
creation so that there's information that a creator cannot access to all the time by, by himself or herself,
right in the studio. So though, those are so important, and we don't often talk about those, and we don't
often integrate them into the practice. And I think more and more, there's a little bit of that. But back
then it's not really you know, so.
Claire French 12:18
No, it's relatively new, I think. But I also think that there's something about and I think you do this in
spades like and, like, you make sure there's a component of, it seems all of the projects you do, where
there's a sense of sharing with an audience, where artists can share with an audience, like you just
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said, to learn from, to garner information from people outside of the process that can then inform more
steps of the process. And I think what's really lovely about that is then when you talk about final, or if
you say like the final performance, or that when it's finally ready for an audience, there's something
about it, marking chapters or like stages of research, and not being afraid to share something that may
not be finished, you know, that the objective to have something to share with people is also about being
ready to articulate what it is you're interested in. And then you can refine your vision, right? It's all about
refining practice at the same time. And I know that you're really big on that. But I think the other thing
that I'd love to talk to you about is, how did you find such a strong thread for collaborating with
international artists and with interdisciplinary artists? Because I think that's, for 20 years, you've been
doing that. And I think that I think this is just wonderful, because again, it's another push for, you say,
you can always dream big, right? You can't always pull it off in terms of resources of funding, but you've
always found a way to maintain an idea outside of it being provincial, even or outside of it being you
know, there's always this international global sense of, of what you present. So, could you talk a little bit
about that maybe?
Alvin Talentino 14:03
Well, it's a question that's been asked before. And I think for me, the aspect of collaboration for me it's
really about the stage of learning. Like that's one of the keyways that I continue to kind of educate
myself about the practice. And that is from collaborating with other people and other artists that lives in
different culture, because that's so enriching, you know, people that come from South America or
Europe or Asia, they all bring something that's somewhat similar to where I am in my practice, but also
very different because they come from very different backgrounds. And so that really interests me. And
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I find that collaboration is so challenging, that I'm actually really drawn to that challenge. I know that's,
that's probably crazy to say, but there's something about when you have to really let go of your ego so
that the art can survive or can have a present, you know, and you do that through collaboration.
Because in collaboration, you really have to, you have to integrate together, that's just the, the real
human kind of connection that you have to do with people. And also, part of that, also, I think, is that my
believe, with the artists to artists network, I think there's a lot of ways to, to expand one's creativity by
working with not so much the big institution, but to other independent dance artists who's in the same
field as I am, who's trying to connect, so that they can find a space or another avenue, so that they can
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bring their work to another, you know, another place, you know, and that artists to artists network has
been there for the longest time beyond the aspect of touring, you know, beyond the aspect of
international exchanges, the artists to artists network, I think, is has always been there from the very
beginning, you know, our sense of wanting to work with other people, is, I think, part of the part of the
puzzle that's always been there. It's just that we don't, you know, we don't think of that so much in the
arts, but I think it's always there, helping, you know, helping other artists with the same vision as you
do. And I find that very helpful. Because, you know, I've had a lot of opportunities to also come to
bigger institutions, but it's such a different approach, you have to be business minded, you have to
have a product. And sometimes that's not really the pathways that you want, you just want to learn
something new. And sometimes the best way to do it is just to collaborate with another artist that you
don't know right?
Claire French 17:02
(02:50):
Yeah. And then you're practicing, right? The thing is that practicing your artmaking, being in process
with others is, is part of, and I think this is something maybe we've both learned from institutional
models, where you are in group creation processes quite often. So that there's just an innate
understanding that by being in the room, in a studio with other people, you are learning by osmosis
from those other bodies, those other minds, those other interpretations. And once you have that, and
once you have that in a positive manner, you don't want it to go out of your life, right? You, you need to
create opportunities.
Alvin Talentino 17:39
Yeah, it's like saying, I find it very life, I find it life changing. And it's very personal. And that's the kind of
learning and method that is not taught you really, you practice that through collaboration. It's just like
community; it's just like working in the community. It's really, it's very collaborative. And that's letting go
of the ego and really going deep into a personal level in order to understand the other culture the other
person.
Claire French 18:11
Yeah, so I think this is interesting, because there is a crossover there that you just alluded to, in terms
of collaborating on artistic works for performance. And then community collaboration, where you're
collaborating with community organizations, or community partners, or just members of a community
who are not, wouldn't necessarily call themselves artists, but from my experience of some of the things
you've done over the last two decades that I've come into, as an observer, if you like, are a loose
participant, like coming in to watch kind of a stage of a process or something with community partners,
I've always found that those community partners are artists, there's a sense of the way that you work in
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the way that you work with them is to bring out their artistry, or to bring out their sense of artists of
themselves. And I think that's also where they come. Because they know that you'll do that with them.
And I've always been taken by how you have done that personally. And your collaborators have done
that. And so, there is something in who you choose to work with and who you choose to bring that I
think is really important. Can you talk a little bit about that maybe how you've met these people that you
want to further connect with? Or whether it's an instinct for you?
Alvin Talentino 19:20
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Well, I think I think sometimes there are artists that I have just followed over time and really understand
how deep their work are in terms of their creativity, but also their positioning to the community. And that
really interests me because it gives me a perspective about where else this dance can be shared and
can breathe and how else beyond the aspect of staging or being in the studios. So, you know, there's
so many interesting artists across the world that are doing that and recently, an example of that is Santi
Smith, you know, whom I have followed for the longest time, and I just, I really just, you know, I thought
that the work that she does is so special, the concept of arts and land based practice, you know, and so
I've just observed it over time. But I don't really know, Santi, that well, I just know her as an artist. And
but, you know, I told her, and I told her that, you know, I want to have the courage to just tell you that I
want you to come to Vancouver and just share your work. I mean, she's been here before, she's been
presented to our community several times. But just to have that collaboration and get to know her
personally, gives me a kind of a clear, you know, a clear connection and to really understand, okay,
that's why I'm drawn to this artist is because of the kind of work that she that she does. Very specific,
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you know.
Claire French 21:00
I find it's great. I was just gonna say that what that allows for as well, if you're connecting on a deeper
level than watching a performance of somebody and actually being able to engage with them is also
you can address your own assumptions about that person's work. As well, you know,
Alvin Talentino 21:15
Thatâs right. Yeah. With them.
Claire French 21:16
Yeah. So Sorry, I interrupted you. But,
Alvin Talentino 21:20
Yeah, so I think there's something about knowing an artist and not knowing them at the same time but
having the interest and that kind of vision that they have for dance, and that's I get drawn by that I get
drawn by that by that possibility. Because that's part of the learning, you know, that's part of the
expansion of learning and education, educating myself, in terms of how else can you move dance to
something bigger, something that I've not encountered before?
Claire French 21:57
So how do you go about choosing your dancers for your productions? Like, do you audition for people?
Or do you? Or is it more a sense of? I know, because it's these, there are, like you said, in the
beginning, there are so many different pathways into creation. And I think in that same way, there are
so many, we have to be careful about who we cast and work for our visions, right. It's absolutely it's
complete is contingent upon performers, or our collaborators understanding the work in a way not
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necessarily understanding for you and me not necessarily understanding our perspective on the work
but having a deep sense of the work and a deep understanding for themselves. So, I mean, you've
probably had lots of different models, you've probably tried everything,
Alvin Talentino 22:45
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Well, I think I'm really an observer, like, I've watched dancers. And, you know, and occasionally I would,
I would come to school shows and just observe who's out there. So, I do watch who's upcoming. And,
and also, sometimes I just have an innate sense, and just an innate feeling about it, that this could be
the possible dancer to work with, you know, and sometimes I think it's not a set, it's not a quick. You
know, it's not a quick exchange, it could take a long time. You know, and I have had that, I mean, some
of the dancers that I worked with, had been with me for, I don't know, four or five years. So, there is a
kind of a developmental period of getting to know each other, the language, the vocabulary, the
aesthetic, the ideas, and how I work in the space. But no, it's hard. It's hard to, it's hard to find the
dancers to, to interpret the work, it's not easy.
Claire French 23:58
No, and I think it's important, I feel it's important for younger dancers, or maybe starting out dancers,
maybe they've danced already for 15 years in professional capacities in a certain context. But then
suddenly, to be in the contemporary dance making environment, it's also opportunity for dancers to get
to know choreographers and how they work. I think it's really important for that perspective to be in the
room. But I think it's also room for the dancer to get to know the choreographies,
Alvin Talentino 24:30
(04:14):
Absolutely,
Claire French 24:31
It's what they want, you know, in their own lives. Yeah. So, I think it's a beautiful thing to take the
pressure off it being a gig and you know, since I'm now a successful dancer, because I work for so and
so it's a time to learn.
Alvin Talentino 24:44
Yeah, and I have encouraged in the past to have apprentices to come in the space. Yeah, from early
on. We've had exchanges with young, much, much younger dancers that can just be in the space, learn
the vocabulary, learn the research, you know, and be there with us and whether they end up actually
performing it one day. There's something about that process. That's really important. Right. So.
Claire French 25:17
So, there's that level, and then your collaborators tend to be more mature artists who I would say are
your peers. Across the board, like across the board? Yeah. Flamenco Kassandra.
Alvin 25:28
Yeah. I mean the collaboration with Kassandra is the same thing. I mean, she's, I, we've known each
other for so long, you know, but I think it was the right timing, because Iâm just really interested in really
moving into the aspect of collaboration, but also, like, just really thinking about the possibility of
flamenco to move into this new hybrid practice, right? Expressions. Yeah,
Claire French 26:00
Yeah. And of course, you know, I'm, I'm actually working with the flamenco community quite a bit with
the International Flamenco Festival and Flamenco Rosario. Of course Flamenco is a contemporary art
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form. And as well as being in its traditional kind of cultural form, which remains, and separate to
Spanish classical dance. So, I wonder if we could bring that back around to your history and your
interest in? Do you have interest in Filipino dance traditions?
Alvin Talentino 26:35
Absolutely, yeah. I mean, I started, you know, I mean, I emigrated to Canada in 1983. And so, I already
had some training in Filipino cultural dances before I arrived to Canada. So that's really kind of my first
encounter with dance. And so that has remained quite an interest to me for the longest time. But not so
much, not so much about the classic of the Filipino cultural dances, but more so about, I think the
history of Indigenous practices that are integral to those dances and how they came about, how they're
rooted and related to the community, to the Indigenous community, and how then came about to form
into something that's for a dance, right? Because there's such deep history with Indigenous, and how
the relationship of dance and Indigenous practice and what that is, you know, because dance is a kind
of a ritual for Indigenous practices. And so, it's not that word dance is not really, it may not exist as
dance as we know it, it may be, it may be more than that, it may be a spiritual thing. And so that is
really the place that I am really very interested and continuing to learn and to understand what that is,
the mystery of that Indigenous relationship, to that kind of practice of body moving for something
greater than who we are, and this thing around us,
Claire French 28:29
and in appreciation of everything, that's aspects of the culture.
Alvin Talentino 28:35
(04:56):
Of everything, right, yeah, you know, of everything, of communion, community, people, you know, the
reset the reciprocity of what we receive from, from the land and how that's celebrated, you know, and,
and how people are, the idea of the gift and receiving it.
Claire French 28:57
What resonates with me is this idea of, there is no people audience necessary for that kind of
Alvin Talentino 29:05
practice,
Claire French 29:06
practice. It's actually an almost the practitioner is also the audience, the audience is also the, one who
is with, like you said, receiving, but also creating that moment with, you know, in relation with, that's
given me a lot of room and scope to continue to practice actually, as a dancer most recently, that's
been the thing that I've been like, oh, I value this and I am so grateful and appreciative that I can, and
that I have this knowledge and that, and I, it's so much part of me that I have to express it, and I have to
honor it. And so that's brought me to a different place as a dancer or as a dance artist, which I'm
extremely excited by at the moment because it just, it's thrilling. It's like I'm so grateful for that side. I'd
love to talk about what's coming up for you. Because, as usual you have an entire, you know how to do
seasons, like, you know how to have an annual program, like going back to this idea of not necessarily
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institution, but honoring the fact that you have Company Erasga, you do so much in a year in our kind
of season if you like.
Alvin Talentino 30:28
(05:17):
I know for a small company like us. Yes, I know. It's quite a hectic season. Yeah,
Claire French 30:34
Exactly. And it's but just concentrating on Company Erasga then already, I was able to enjoy one, only
one of Alvin Collantes classes, Artist in Residence for you. That was wonderful Gaga class, loved it
wish they could have gone to more. But you also have a world premiere of Accumulation coming up.
And you do have something coming up, I believe at Scotiabank Dance Centre, which is more of a
symposium. But first, let's talk a little bit about Accumulation, which I believe will be at Performance
Works in November on Granville Island.
Alvin Talentino 31:06
Yeah.
Claire French 31:07
Would you like to talk a little bit about that work?
Alvin Talentino 31:10
Well, this is a new creation for the company that's really a project that was postponed because of
COVID, as you know, so I'm still in the recovery phase. Because this is a project that should have been
completed in 2020. And should have been touring by now. But all of that got cancelled. And so here we
are three years after. And we're just ready to premiere a piece of work, basically, yeah. And so, this is
this is a Canada - France project with my longtime French composer and collaborator Emmanuel
Mailly. And then we're also working with the renowned French sculptor, Mark Gerenton. It's really, it's
an environmental arts project. It's really about responding to where we are right now, with what's going
on and the crucial time for our ecology, and with the many devastating things that's happening across
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the lands. And you know, this is not something this is not new for me. I mean, I've done work that's,
that's based on this since the beginning. But I think more than ever, this is so much more relevant. So
relevant right now. And so, just really asking the question that how can we as artists, and how can
dance move into that kind of expression and creation? How can dance be a kind of an ambassador for
nature? And the kind of crisis that we're facing? How can we face that as artists? You know, I love this
quote that is by Robin Wall Kimmerer. I don't know if you know her, she's the author of Braiding
Sweetgrass. And she asked the question of one of her lecture is, what doesn't the earth ask of us? You
know, so that's been a kind of a really poignant quote that that is kind of generating my relationship with
this word. And I'll just lead to that and let the audience kind of make a decision. Yeah, that question
what this weird ask of us?
Claire French 33:24
Yeah, I think I came across that quote, through you, though, via you on Facebook. I think you posted it,
I was like, that's familiar. But I think it's still through you. that is familiar to me. And I also think what's
wonderful is that this is again, back to the intergenerational aspect of and the, how important that is for
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you, because what also makes it contemporary and timely is that the dancers themselves are bringing
an understanding of what it means to be dancers, in this climate. In this environment, addressing those
very issues from their core at the time that they're starting their training, they, you know, it's so much an
issue of our time, that they are very much part of that decision making around it and choice making
Alvin Talentino 34:15
choice making
(05:59):
Claire French 34:15
Around how we handle it. Yeah. So, you also have a symposium coming?
Alvin Talentino 34:22
Yeah, this is, this is a symposium that will be in partnership with the Dance Centre and Raven Spirit
Dance and Company Erasga. So, it's a tri-organizing partners. This is a symposium that is built by Zab
Maboungou, Company Nyata Nyata from Montreal. This is a traveling symposium, entitled, Not Just
Dance. It's really just gathering artists, artists of colours, artists that we may not have had connection
with, but are really integral into the middle you into the development and into the fibers of what makes
dance. And what else is dance, not just dance, what else is dance? So, it's really for everyone to
commune together to have a discussion, to provoke ideas to question and ask people's practices and
to share it in a room. And the Dance Centre is really grateful to be hosting this. And we'll do that for
November 24 and 25th. So it's coming up. And then it'll be open to the public, of course, so it's
something to look forward to. So and as you know, this is such an important time for all of us, you
know, this, this context of cultural shifting, and really asking the question of what else is dance? Who
does dance belong to? Who does art belong to? Itâs so important, you know, if there's something that
COVID really brought us, is that reflection of what is our relationship to the practice? You know, what
does it mean? Right? What's the, how can we expand it? Or? Or what is it in our personal relationship?
Claire French 36:23
I think also, what have we, I think there's opportunity. What have we missed?
Alvin Talentino 36:29
What have we missed? Yeah.
(06:20):
Claire French 36:30
What have we missed about what it is? Or could be I'm thinking of like, there are books like Rewriting
History where the perspective on, you know, to think about not taking a Eurocentric Western, you know,
perspective on contemporary dance, and shifted and looking elsewhere, through history for what dance
is rewriting
Alvin Talentino 36:54
From the beginning of time
Claire French 36:55
- 10 -
from the beginning of time, it rewrites and then there's the other side, which is like, Yeah, but what is
your what is your perspective? What do you value about that issue? What is your, what's resonating
with you about that, and we have the opportunity as artists to delve into that. And I think that's a, it's a
privilege to have that, and to even recognize that we can do that with our lives is a wonderful thing.
Alvin Talentino 37:20
Yeah. And I think also in this context of open discussion, you know, and really the aspect of sharing
and opening and allowing the vulnerability to be shared, you know, that's something that I find really
special at this time, and to let people have a space and a voice I think that's something that we need to
really encourage, you know.
Claire French 37:44
Yeah. Because we might be like minded artists, but we're not. We don't think the same, you know, and
we don't create the same work. And it's very important that we don't. And so, and so I think there's a lot
(06:41):
around that, that, you know, that's what I think partly maybe what I mean by what, what's missing from
the dialogue around art making, like it goes back to what you were saying in the very beginning, but just
that whole thing about, you know, different pathways to creation, but there's also different actualizations
of the work and there's different stages of work that I think we sometimes don't talk about enough.
Okay, this has been wonderful, Alvin. There's a lot more we could perhaps talk about, but I think we'll
save it for another podcast, maybe the traveling symposium I love the idea of I've always had this vision
of
Alvin Talentino 38:34
Isn't that amazing? So really this is from the great minds of Zab, and she's done it first in Montreal, and
she's thrilled that it's moving to Vancouver, and her hope and goal is for it to travel across the globe. I
thought what a wonderful way to really go deep into another community.
Claire French 38:57
Did you say Zab?
Alvin Talentino 38:57
Yeah, Zab Maboungou
Claire French 39:00
Yeah. Well, this has been a pleasure. I'm so glad that your Accumulation is finally happening. So,
dates?
Alvin Talentino 39:07
November 9-10. And 11th. Thank you so much, Claire. Thank you so much. Yeah, wonderful to have all
of these podcasts happening.
(07:02):
Claire French 39:19
Yeah, isn't it great. I love it.
- 11 -
Alvin Talentino 39:20
It's great. It's great.
Claire French 39:24
See you soon!
Alvin Talentino 39:25
Okay, keep well.
Claire French 39:32
Thank you so much for listening. We would love for you to subscribe, rate and review wherever you get
your podcasts, as this will help other listeners find us and help us to grow our dance audience. We'll be
back next month. In the meantime, you can follow us on Facebook at the Dance Centre Twitter at
dancecentre, and Instagram at the dancecentrebc. And if you'd like to support our work, please
consider making a donation. Just go to our website at thedancecentre.ca where you will find extensive
information about our upcoming programs and events. The music for the Dance Centre Podcast was
composed by James B. Maxwell, always a pleasure to connect with you to dance. Until next time.
- 12 -
The Dance Centre Podcast Episode 26:
(00:01):
Alvin Tolentino
SPEAKERS (00:02):
Claire French, Alvin Tolentino
Claire French 00:11
Hello, welcome to the Dance Centre podcast. I am your host Claire French, and I'm joining you from the
traditional unseeded territories of the Musqueam, Squamish and Tsleil-Waututh peoples also known as
Vancouver, Canada. I'll be talking to dancers, choreographers and other members of the dance world
here on the west coast to find out more about their creative work and practices, and to discuss what it
means to us to be dance professionals today. Thanks for joining us.
Claire French 00:43
Born in Manila, in the Philippines, Alvin Erasga Talentino immigrated to Canada in 1983. He is based in
the unseeded ancestral territories of the Coast Salish peoples at the Squamish, Musqueam and TsleilWaututh nations, also known as Vancouver. His professional arts and dance training includes the Royal
Winnipeg ballet, York University Toronto, SUNY Purchase, Limon Institute in the US. He continues to
grow with ongoing artistic collaboration relations and liaison with prominent dance artists and arts
educators across the nation and abroad. A sought after and established virtuoso dance interpreter,
Talentino has continued to receive critical praise as a dancer for his outstanding interpretations of his
own works, along with some of Canada's finest choreographers and dance companies. In 2000,
Talentino founded Company Erasga, a dance company dedicated to the research creation and
presentation of contemporary dance with an emphasis on exploration and collaboration with diverse
artists nationally and abroad. With extensive international tours and artistic collaborations, Talentino
has featured dance works across the world. In 2010, Alvin was awarded the Vancouver Mayors Arts
Award for dance in recognition of his contributions to the field and to Vancouver's cultural communities.
And in 2018, he received the ExploreAsian-Pan Asian Award for contribution in the arts and
(00:23):
multiculturalism. You can find out more at companyerasgadance.ca.
Claire French 02:11
I'm joined by Alvin Erasga Tolentino, artistic director and co-founder of Company Erasga Dance or
Co.Erasga Dance. So much to talk about, I believe it's 20 years of the company. And that in itself is a
whole podcast or a whole series of podcasts. Sure, we could go there too. However, for today, and for
this particular podcast, I thought we could go pre Company Erasga and find out a little bit more about
the man behind the company. And also bring us right up to date with what the company is doing, what
Alvin is doing. And Alvin's perspectives and philosophies or principles for the company, but just around
art making, collaboration, interdisciplinary work, Indigenous influence, there's so much so I need to help
Alvin out here a little bit to start this. And welcome Alvin. Hello, and please say hello, if you would like to
-1-
Alvin Talentino 03:13
Hello, Claire, lovely to be here with you.
Claire French 03:17
How did it all start for you? Like we could go as far back as your training and your early days. But I am
interested in some of your experiences pre company to start us off. So that's probably also a long time
period. But could you give us...
Alvin 03:31
If I still remember them!
Claire French 03:33
Or make it, I'll make it up for us.
(00:44):
Alvin Talentino 03:34
I don't want to remember that. No, I mean, you know, I really started as an independent dance artist.
And most of my training really were back east at York University because I was a student of York
University. And I've done a lot of also studies; the Limon Institute and I was at SUNY Purchase also.
And spent a lot of time in Montreal because that's where a lot of the big names contemporary dance
artists at that time, you know, we're looking at really early 90s right and then I was also a student of the
Royal Winnipeg Ballet. So, I spent some time in the prairies, you know, for a couple of years in
Winnipeg, being part of the Royal Winnipeg Ballet so I'm somewhat of an alumni of the classic, the
classic institution. And then I went back to the west coast and done some training at SFU when SFU
dance school or faculty was still up in the mountain, Burnaby Mountain, yeah. And so they used to do
the summer school where they would bring all dance artists and teachers from across the lands and
you know, have a wonderful summer session and so that's really where things kind of sort of shifted for
me because I think Lola MacLaughlin saw me, and she approached me to possibly work with her and
do some research work. And I agreed to do that. And she invited me to basically be part of the creation
that she was doing. And so from then on, I just became a real Vancouver independent dance artist and
really started to work for all the big companies, you know, like Kokoro Dance, Kinesis Dance, Jennifer
Mascall, I was with Edam. And so, you know, all the big companies, I was really supporting and
dancing for them. And I did that for a good decade, you know, a good 10 years before I really decided
to shift into having a company. And I think the main reason for that was that I was really exhausted
being an interpreter for all these choreographers, which, of course, I honor and I love and I've learned
so much, but I think you can only take on so much as an independent dance artists, when you're
(01:05):
moving from one choreographer to another in the course of a three day, like sometimes I would
rehearse for three companies. So that was, that was quite a strenuous for the mind and the body and
the soul, really so. And so, I decided that, you know, maybe I need to do something else. And also, at
that time, I was also making my own work already. And I think that was very important. That was really
a signifying idea for what might happen in the future, you know, and looking into that, but, you know, I
mean, nobody told me how to create a company, nobody told me about how to build a nonprofit. So,
none of that, none of that. You're not trained for that.
-2-
Claire French 07:10
Yeah, what I love about this is I arrived in Vancouver in 1997. So, I was just at the tail end of the
summer school up on the hill in Burnaby Mountain, but I did my master's degree from the hill. So I was
up in Burnaby, to right so my experience of SFU. And the MFA, which is what I moved here for is all
Burnaby Mountain, those shacks, you know, the little kind of huts at the end of the world, at the end of
the world at the end of the world for me, coming from London. And I remember you being one of the
independent dancers of the city. And I knew a little bit about your history, but I knew you as a dancer,
and as a force, as a dancer, for all of these companies, because I saw you in all of the companies and
this happens, sometimes, it still happens, where the same dancers appear in works with all of, with the
same companies. And you can't, they can't help but become part of the aesthetic of a city, I believe. But
I also think what you're talking about, it doesn't surprise me that you created, started to create your own
work, or that you maybe always had that passion. And I think that also was a draw for choreographers
to work with you. Because there was a sense of how strongly you took the role of interpreter, because I
(01:26):
think to be strong in the role of interpretation, you are also choreographing, and you are also creating,
and you are also giving so generously of your own ideas.
Alvin Talentino 08:44
Yeah.
Claire French 08:45
And so, I see that a lot. And there are, of course, there's burnout, if you're giving that to a lot of different
companies, you're having to adapt your own, you know, vision in each of these circumstances, but also
your own training all the time for the differences of the choreographers, so no wonder there's burnout.
But I'm also extremely happy to hear that, I think it would be lovely for lots of younger, up and coming
dancers who find themselves in the same position as you working for all of these people, three or four
people a day, that maybe there's an inkling there, a gut instinct to be dance makers, with their own
ideas, with their own setup. And as scary as that might sound you are testament to the fact that it can
be extremely successful. You're also an amazing model, I think in this city, especially for producing and
presenting other people's work and mentoring works or giving people an opportunity to show their work,
whatever stage it's at. So, was that something you just... Was that something you decided once you
had the organization umbrella that you wanted to offer? Like where? Is that something you've always
wanted to do or how that came about?
Alvin Talentino 09:56
I think that really came about with being an independent dance artist and a creator, because there's just
so much pathways towards creation, and sometimes I think what's overlooked is what's behind the
scenes. And what are the processes and what are the stages, which I found very interesting, as an
(01:47):
interpreter and as an interpreter, and also as a creator. And those stages are so imperative to the final
creation, if there is such a thing as final creation or production, you know, what happens to the in
between spaces of the arts making, and also to the fact that you won't always have all the resources to
be able to dream big to put your productions. So, I thought about, well, you know, if I make a short solo,
then I should have the possibility to exercise to share that to my audience to the public. Right? So how
do you do that. And so the challenge is, I think, really provided me the kind of formula to make sure that
within the work that I'm doing, but also for the other works, of the people that I know, my peers and the
-3-
artists that I work with, the different generation that I have encountered, because I realized that they're
in the same shoes as I am, you know, so many people want to make work, but some are not really fully
ready, some are in, you know, still in progress. But how do you go about that, but there's something
very important about sharing those progress those, those process, you know, because they're part of
the development, it is also very insightful, I think, for the artists to present those raw spaces of a
creation so that there's information that a creator cannot access to all the time by, by himself or herself,
right in the studio. So though, those are so important, and we don't often talk about those, and we don't
often integrate them into the practice. And I think more and more, there's a little bit of that. But back
then it's not really you know, so.
Claire French 12:18
No, it's relatively new, I think. But I also think that there's something about and I think you do this in
spades like and, like, you make sure there's a component of, it seems all of the projects you do, where
there's a sense of sharing with an audience, where artists can share with an audience, like you just
(02:08):
said, to learn from, to garner information from people outside of the process that can then inform more
steps of the process. And I think what's really lovely about that is then when you talk about final, or if
you say like the final performance, or that when it's finally ready for an audience, there's something
about it, marking chapters or like stages of research, and not being afraid to share something that may
not be finished, you know, that the objective to have something to share with people is also about being
ready to articulate what it is you're interested in. And then you can refine your vision, right? It's all about
refining practice at the same time. And I know that you're really big on that. But I think the other thing
that I'd love to talk to you about is, how did you find such a strong thread for collaborating with
international artists and with interdisciplinary artists? Because I think that's, for 20 years, you've been
doing that. And I think that I think this is just wonderful, because again, it's another push for, you say,
you can always dream big, right? You can't always pull it off in terms of resources of funding, but you've
always found a way to maintain an idea outside of it being provincial, even or outside of it being you
know, there's always this international global sense of, of what you present. So, could you talk a little bit
about that maybe?
Alvin Talentino 14:03
Well, it's a question that's been asked before. And I think for me, the aspect of collaboration for me it's
really about the stage of learning. Like that's one of the keyways that I continue to kind of educate
myself about the practice. And that is from collaborating with other people and other artists that lives in
different culture, because that's so enriching, you know, people that come from South America or
Europe or Asia, they all bring something that's somewhat similar to where I am in my practice, but also
very different because they come from very different backgrounds. And so that really interests me. And
(02:29):
I find that collaboration is so challenging, that I'm actually really drawn to that challenge. I know that's,
that's probably crazy to say, but there's something about when you have to really let go of your ego so
that the art can survive or can have a present, you know, and you do that through collaboration.
Because in collaboration, you really have to, you have to integrate together, that's just the, the real
human kind of connection that you have to do with people. And also, part of that, also, I think, is that my
believe, with the artists to artists network, I think there's a lot of ways to, to expand one's creativity by
working with not so much the big institution, but to other independent dance artists who's in the same
field as I am, who's trying to connect, so that they can find a space or another avenue, so that they can
-4-
bring their work to another, you know, another place, you know, and that artists to artists network has
been there for the longest time beyond the aspect of touring, you know, beyond the aspect of
international exchanges, the artists to artists network, I think, is has always been there from the very
beginning, you know, our sense of wanting to work with other people, is, I think, part of the part of the
puzzle that's always been there. It's just that we don't, you know, we don't think of that so much in the
arts, but I think it's always there, helping, you know, helping other artists with the same vision as you
do. And I find that very helpful. Because, you know, I've had a lot of opportunities to also come to
bigger institutions, but it's such a different approach, you have to be business minded, you have to
have a product. And sometimes that's not really the pathways that you want, you just want to learn
something new. And sometimes the best way to do it is just to collaborate with another artist that you
don't know right?
Claire French 17:02
(02:50):
Yeah. And then you're practicing, right? The thing is that practicing your artmaking, being in process
with others is, is part of, and I think this is something maybe we've both learned from institutional
models, where you are in group creation processes quite often. So that there's just an innate
understanding that by being in the room, in a studio with other people, you are learning by osmosis
from those other bodies, those other minds, those other interpretations. And once you have that, and
once you have that in a positive manner, you don't want it to go out of your life, right? You, you need to
create opportunities.
Alvin Talentino 17:39
Yeah, it's like saying, I find it very life, I find it life changing. And it's very personal. And that's the kind of
learning and method that is not taught you really, you practice that through collaboration. It's just like
community; it's just like working in the community. It's really, it's very collaborative. And that's letting go
of the ego and really going deep into a personal level in order to understand the other culture the other
person.
Claire French 18:11
Yeah, so I think this is interesting, because there is a crossover there that you just alluded to, in terms
of collaborating on artistic works for performance. And then community collaboration, where you're
collaborating with community organizations, or community partners, or just members of a community
who are not, wouldn't necessarily call themselves artists, but from my experience of some of the things
you've done over the last two decades that I've come into, as an observer, if you like, are a loose
participant, like coming in to watch kind of a stage of a process or something with community partners,
I've always found that those community partners are artists, there's a sense of the way that you work in
(03:11):
the way that you work with them is to bring out their artistry, or to bring out their sense of artists of
themselves. And I think that's also where they come. Because they know that you'll do that with them.
And I've always been taken by how you have done that personally. And your collaborators have done
that. And so, there is something in who you choose to work with and who you choose to bring that I
think is really important. Can you talk a little bit about that maybe how you've met these people that you
want to further connect with? Or whether it's an instinct for you?
Alvin Talentino 19:20
-5-
Well, I think I think sometimes there are artists that I have just followed over time and really understand
how deep their work are in terms of their creativity, but also their positioning to the community. And that
really interests me because it gives me a perspective about where else this dance can be shared and
can breathe and how else beyond the aspect of staging or being in the studios. So, you know, there's
so many interesting artists across the world that are doing that and recently, an example of that is Santi
Smith, you know, whom I have followed for the longest time, and I just, I really just, you know, I thought
that the work that she does is so special, the concept of arts and land based practice, you know, and so
I've just observed it over time. But I don't really know, Santi, that well, I just know her as an artist. And
but, you know, I told her, and I told her that, you know, I want to have the courage to just tell you that I
want you to come to Vancouver and just share your work. I mean, she's been here before, she's been
presented to our community several times. But just to have that collaboration and get to know her
personally, gives me a kind of a clear, you know, a clear connection and to really understand, okay,
that's why I'm drawn to this artist is because of the kind of work that she that she does. Very specific,
(03:32):
you know.
Claire French 21:00
I find it's great. I was just gonna say that what that allows for as well, if you're connecting on a deeper
level than watching a performance of somebody and actually being able to engage with them is also
you can address your own assumptions about that person's work. As well, you know,
Alvin Talentino 21:15
Thatâs right. Yeah. With them.
Claire French 21:16
Yeah. So Sorry, I interrupted you. But,
Alvin Talentino 21:20
Yeah, so I think there's something about knowing an artist and not knowing them at the same time but
having the interest and that kind of vision that they have for dance, and that's I get drawn by that I get
drawn by that by that possibility. Because that's part of the learning, you know, that's part of the
expansion of learning and education, educating myself, in terms of how else can you move dance to
something bigger, something that I've not encountered before?
Claire French 21:57
So how do you go about choosing your dancers for your productions? Like, do you audition for people?
Or do you? Or is it more a sense of? I know, because it's these, there are, like you said, in the
beginning, there are so many different pathways into creation. And I think in that same way, there are
so many, we have to be careful about who we cast and work for our visions, right. It's absolutely it's
complete is contingent upon performers, or our collaborators understanding the work in a way not
(03:53):
necessarily understanding for you and me not necessarily understanding our perspective on the work
but having a deep sense of the work and a deep understanding for themselves. So, I mean, you've
probably had lots of different models, you've probably tried everything,
Alvin Talentino 22:45
-6-
Well, I think I'm really an observer, like, I've watched dancers. And, you know, and occasionally I would,
I would come to school shows and just observe who's out there. So, I do watch who's upcoming. And,
and also, sometimes I just have an innate sense, and just an innate feeling about it, that this could be
the possible dancer to work with, you know, and sometimes I think it's not a set, it's not a quick. You
know, it's not a quick exchange, it could take a long time. You know, and I have had that, I mean, some
of the dancers that I worked with, had been with me for, I don't know, four or five years. So, there is a
kind of a developmental period of getting to know each other, the language, the vocabulary, the
aesthetic, the ideas, and how I work in the space. But no, it's hard. It's hard to, it's hard to find the
dancers to, to interpret the work, it's not easy.
Claire French 23:58
No, and I think it's important, I feel it's important for younger dancers, or maybe starting out dancers,
maybe they've danced already for 15 years in professional capacities in a certain context. But then
suddenly, to be in the contemporary dance making environment, it's also opportunity for dancers to get
to know choreographers and how they work. I think it's really important for that perspective to be in the
room. But I think it's also room for the dancer to get to know the choreographies,
Alvin Talentino 24:30
(04:14):
Absolutely,
Claire French 24:31
It's what they want, you know, in their own lives. Yeah. So, I think it's a beautiful thing to take the
pressure off it being a gig and you know, since I'm now a successful dancer, because I work for so and
so it's a time to learn.
Alvin Talentino 24:44
Yeah, and I have encouraged in the past to have apprentices to come in the space. Yeah, from early
on. We've had exchanges with young, much, much younger dancers that can just be in the space, learn
the vocabulary, learn the research, you know, and be there with us and whether they end up actually
performing it one day. There's something about that process. That's really important. Right. So.
Claire French 25:17
So, there's that level, and then your collaborators tend to be more mature artists who I would say are
your peers. Across the board, like across the board? Yeah. Flamenco Kassandra.
Alvin 25:28
Yeah. I mean the collaboration with Kassandra is the same thing. I mean, she's, I, we've known each
other for so long, you know, but I think it was the right timing, because Iâm just really interested in really
moving into the aspect of collaboration, but also, like, just really thinking about the possibility of
flamenco to move into this new hybrid practice, right? Expressions. Yeah,
Claire French 26:00
Yeah. And of course, you know, I'm, I'm actually working with the flamenco community quite a bit with
the International Flamenco Festival and Flamenco Rosario. Of course Flamenco is a contemporary art
(04:35):
-7-
form. And as well as being in its traditional kind of cultural form, which remains, and separate to
Spanish classical dance. So, I wonder if we could bring that back around to your history and your
interest in? Do you have interest in Filipino dance traditions?
Alvin Talentino 26:35
Absolutely, yeah. I mean, I started, you know, I mean, I emigrated to Canada in 1983. And so, I already
had some training in Filipino cultural dances before I arrived to Canada. So that's really kind of my first
encounter with dance. And so that has remained quite an interest to me for the longest time. But not so
much, not so much about the classic of the Filipino cultural dances, but more so about, I think the
history of Indigenous practices that are integral to those dances and how they came about, how they're
rooted and related to the community, to the Indigenous community, and how then came about to form
into something that's for a dance, right? Because there's such deep history with Indigenous, and how
the relationship of dance and Indigenous practice and what that is, you know, because dance is a kind
of a ritual for Indigenous practices. And so, it's not that word dance is not really, it may not exist as
dance as we know it, it may be, it may be more than that, it may be a spiritual thing. And so that is
really the place that I am really very interested and continuing to learn and to understand what that is,
the mystery of that Indigenous relationship, to that kind of practice of body moving for something
greater than who we are, and this thing around us,
Claire French 28:29
and in appreciation of everything, that's aspects of the culture.
Alvin Talentino 28:35
(04:56):
Of everything, right, yeah, you know, of everything, of communion, community, people, you know, the
reset the reciprocity of what we receive from, from the land and how that's celebrated, you know, and,
and how people are, the idea of the gift and receiving it.
Claire French 28:57
What resonates with me is this idea of, there is no people audience necessary for that kind of
Alvin Talentino 29:05
practice,
Claire French 29:06
practice. It's actually an almost the practitioner is also the audience, the audience is also the, one who
is with, like you said, receiving, but also creating that moment with, you know, in relation with, that's
given me a lot of room and scope to continue to practice actually, as a dancer most recently, that's
been the thing that I've been like, oh, I value this and I am so grateful and appreciative that I can, and
that I have this knowledge and that, and I, it's so much part of me that I have to express it, and I have to
honor it. And so that's brought me to a different place as a dancer or as a dance artist, which I'm
extremely excited by at the moment because it just, it's thrilling. It's like I'm so grateful for that side. I'd
love to talk about what's coming up for you. Because, as usual you have an entire, you know how to do
seasons, like, you know how to have an annual program, like going back to this idea of not necessarily
-8-
institution, but honoring the fact that you have Company Erasga, you do so much in a year in our kind
of season if you like.
Alvin Talentino 30:28
(05:17):
I know for a small company like us. Yes, I know. It's quite a hectic season. Yeah,
Claire French 30:34
Exactly. And it's but just concentrating on Company Erasga then already, I was able to enjoy one, only
one of Alvin Collantes classes, Artist in Residence for you. That was wonderful Gaga class, loved it
wish they could have gone to more. But you also have a world premiere of Accumulation coming up.
And you do have something coming up, I believe at Scotiabank Dance Centre, which is more of a
symposium. But first, let's talk a little bit about Accumulation, which I believe will be at Performance
Works in November on Granville Island.
Alvin Talentino 31:06
Yeah.
Claire French 31:07
Would you like to talk a little bit about that work?
Alvin Talentino 31:10
Well, this is a new creation for the company that's really a project that was postponed because of
COVID, as you know, so I'm still in the recovery phase. Because this is a project that should have been
completed in 2020. And should have been touring by now. But all of that got cancelled. And so here we
are three years after. And we're just ready to premiere a piece of work, basically, yeah. And so, this is
this is a Canada - France project with my longtime French composer and collaborator Emmanuel
Mailly. And then we're also working with the renowned French sculptor, Mark Gerenton. It's really, it's
an environmental arts project. It's really about responding to where we are right now, with what's going
on and the crucial time for our ecology, and with the many devastating things that's happening across
(05:38):
the lands. And you know, this is not something this is not new for me. I mean, I've done work that's,
that's based on this since the beginning. But I think more than ever, this is so much more relevant. So
relevant right now. And so, just really asking the question that how can we as artists, and how can
dance move into that kind of expression and creation? How can dance be a kind of an ambassador for
nature? And the kind of crisis that we're facing? How can we face that as artists? You know, I love this
quote that is by Robin Wall Kimmerer. I don't know if you know her, she's the author of Braiding
Sweetgrass. And she asked the question of one of her lecture is, what doesn't the earth ask of us? You
know, so that's been a kind of a really poignant quote that that is kind of generating my relationship with
this word. And I'll just lead to that and let the audience kind of make a decision. Yeah, that question
what this weird ask of us?
Claire French 33:24
Yeah, I think I came across that quote, through you, though, via you on Facebook. I think you posted it,
I was like, that's familiar. But I think it's still through you. that is familiar to me. And I also think what's
wonderful is that this is again, back to the intergenerational aspect of and the, how important that is for
-9-
you, because what also makes it contemporary and timely is that the dancers themselves are bringing
an understanding of what it means to be dancers, in this climate. In this environment, addressing those
very issues from their core at the time that they're starting their training, they, you know, it's so much an
issue of our time, that they are very much part of that decision making around it and choice making
Alvin Talentino 34:15
choice making
(05:59):
Claire French 34:15
Around how we handle it. Yeah. So, you also have a symposium coming?
Alvin Talentino 34:22
Yeah, this is, this is a symposium that will be in partnership with the Dance Centre and Raven Spirit
Dance and Company Erasga. So, it's a tri-organizing partners. This is a symposium that is built by Zab
Maboungou, Company Nyata Nyata from Montreal. This is a traveling symposium, entitled, Not Just
Dance. It's really just gathering artists, artists of colours, artists that we may not have had connection
with, but are really integral into the middle you into the development and into the fibers of what makes
dance. And what else is dance, not just dance, what else is dance? So, it's really for everyone to
commune together to have a discussion, to provoke ideas to question and ask people's practices and
to share it in a room. And the Dance Centre is really grateful to be hosting this. And we'll do that for
November 24 and 25th. So it's coming up. And then it'll be open to the public, of course, so it's
something to look forward to. So and as you know, this is such an important time for all of us, you
know, this, this context of cultural shifting, and really asking the question of what else is dance? Who
does dance belong to? Who does art belong to? Itâs so important, you know, if there's something that
COVID really brought us, is that reflection of what is our relationship to the practice? You know, what
does it mean? Right? What's the, how can we expand it? Or? Or what is it in our personal relationship?
Claire French 36:23
I think also, what have we, I think there's opportunity. What have we missed?
Alvin Talentino 36:29
What have we missed? Yeah.
(06:20):
Claire French 36:30
What have we missed about what it is? Or could be I'm thinking of like, there are books like Rewriting
History where the perspective on, you know, to think about not taking a Eurocentric Western, you know,
perspective on contemporary dance, and shifted and looking elsewhere, through history for what dance
is rewriting
Alvin Talentino 36:54
From the beginning of time
Claire French 36:55
- 10 -
from the beginning of time, it rewrites and then there's the other side, which is like, Yeah, but what is
your what is your perspective? What do you value about that issue? What is your, what's resonating
with you about that, and we have the opportunity as artists to delve into that. And I think that's a, it's a
privilege to have that, and to even recognize that we can do that with our lives is a wonderful thing.
Alvin Talentino 37:20
Yeah. And I think also in this context of open discussion, you know, and really the aspect of sharing
and opening and allowing the vulnerability to be shared, you know, that's something that I find really
special at this time, and to let people have a space and a voice I think that's something that we need to
really encourage, you know.
Claire French 37:44
Yeah. Because we might be like minded artists, but we're not. We don't think the same, you know, and
we don't create the same work. And it's very important that we don't. And so, and so I think there's a lot
(06:41):
around that, that, you know, that's what I think partly maybe what I mean by what, what's missing from
the dialogue around art making, like it goes back to what you were saying in the very beginning, but just
that whole thing about, you know, different pathways to creation, but there's also different actualizations
of the work and there's different stages of work that I think we sometimes don't talk about enough.
Okay, this has been wonderful, Alvin. There's a lot more we could perhaps talk about, but I think we'll
save it for another podcast, maybe the traveling symposium I love the idea of I've always had this vision
of
Alvin Talentino 38:34
Isn't that amazing? So really this is from the great minds of Zab, and she's done it first in Montreal, and
she's thrilled that it's moving to Vancouver, and her hope and goal is for it to travel across the globe. I
thought what a wonderful way to really go deep into another community.
Claire French 38:57
Did you say Zab?
Alvin Talentino 38:57
Yeah, Zab Maboungou
Claire French 39:00
Yeah. Well, this has been a pleasure. I'm so glad that your Accumulation is finally happening. So,
dates?
Alvin Talentino 39:07
November 9-10. And 11th. Thank you so much, Claire. Thank you so much. Yeah, wonderful to have all
of these podcasts happening.
(07:02):
Claire French 39:19
Yeah, isn't it great. I love it.
- 11 -
Alvin Talentino 39:20
It's great. It's great.
Claire French 39:24
See you soon!
Alvin Talentino 39:25
Okay, keep well.
Claire French 39:32
Thank you so much for listening. We would love for you to subscribe, rate and review wherever you get
your podcasts, as this will help other listeners find us and help us to grow our dance audience. We'll be
back next month. In the meantime, you can follow us on Facebook at the Dance Centre Twitter at
dancecentre, and Instagram at the dancecentrebc. And if you'd like to support our work, please
consider making a donation. Just go to our website at thedancecentre.ca where you will find extensive
information about our upcoming programs and events. The music for the Dance Centre Podcast was
composed by James B. Maxwell, always a pleasure to connect with you to dance. Until next time.
- 12 -
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