Home / Arts / Kaejad’Dance Presents 12th Annual Porch View Dances: Real People Dancing In Real Spaces

Kaejad’Dance Presents 12th Annual Porch View Dances: Real People Dancing In Real Spaces

TORONTO, July 27, 2023 – Kaeja d’Dance’s revered and award-winning Porch View Dances (PVD): ‘Real People
Dancing In Real Spaces’ returns to the tree-lined intimacy and multiple outdoor spaces of Toronto’s historic
Seaton Village from August 9 to 13, 2023.

Now in its 12th year, the beloved site-specific community dance event offers audiences and participants an extraordinary mingling of everyday lives and artistic expression through dance – intentionally and joyfully blurring the lines between ‘Art’ and daily life.

“We believe wholeheartedly that art is for everyone, anywhere, and everywhere,” says Karen Kaeja, Co-Artistic
Director of Kaeja d’Dance and Founder of PVD. “Porch View Dances takes dance out of the theatre and literally
into the streets, offering brave new works by brilliant choreographers performed by everyday people with their
powerful, personal stories at the forefront.”

The idea for Porch View Dances came to Kaeja as she mused about the lives and stories behind closed doors
in neighbouring houses. She envisioned these stories flowing out of homes onto front porches, lawns, and into
the streets in a celebration of movement and community. Kaeja then considered how Toronto choreographers
could bring their artistic visions and care to the project by collaborating with residents and participants to craft
and share their unique life narratives through dance. This vision was further refined with Co-Artistic Director
and partner Allen Kaeja, and the festival was launched in 2012.

Kaeja d’Dance’s revered and award-winning Porch View Dances (PVD): ‘Real People
Dancing In Real Spaces’ returns to the tree-lined intimacy and multiple outdoor spaces of Toronto’s historic
Seaton Village **from August 9 to 13, 2023**.

PVD has since grown into a highly anticipated recurring event in Seaton Village and is considered “a poster
child for site-specific dance done right” (The Globe & Mail). The festival “gives a beautiful glimpse inside
different Toronto households, full of diversity, strength, and love, showcased through contemporary movement
in a way only site-specific dance works can” (The Dance Debrief). The City of Toronto recently honoured PVD
and its contribution to the social fabric of the neighbourhood by renaming a Seaton Village laneway – Porch
View Dances Lane.

“This year we’re thrilled to welcome Co-Curator and Artistic Producer Sofi Gudiño and Co-Curator Sid Ryan
Eilers to the PVD team. They join us as part of a pilot project created expressly to widen our PVD communities,
perspectives, and artistic offerings,” says Allen Kaeja, Co-Artistic Director of Kaeja d’Dance. “Sid and Sofi have
focused on works that feel connective and essential, purposefully centring on underrepresented voices in
dance and voices from previous iterations of our festival.”

Bringing back the spirit of Porch View Dances in its full ‘in-person’ glory, this immersive festival showcases a
captivating lineup of Racialized and Indigenous creators. Among them, Jim and Owen Adams, an Indigenous
father and son team, have been dedicated resident performers at PVD for the past six years. In their upcoming
performance, they will explore the concept of relationship, erasure and resilience, through honouring traditional
teachings, stories and ceremonies. The duo have been dedicated resident performers at PVD for the past six
years.

Drag queen Mary Moonshine (Jake Runeckles) leads the 90-minute walking/wheeling tour through streets and
lanes to experience four new dance works created by choreographers Victoria Mata and Irma Villafuerte,
Heryka Miranda, Ashima Suri, and KINAJ – Kin Nguien and AJ Velasco. These works will be performed on
porches and front yards by families and friends, many who have never danced before. Along the way,
audiences will also discover three dance vignettes in unexpected places choreographed by and danced by
Matthew “Snoopy” Cuff. The event culminates with the always popular Flock Landing, a participatory,
site-specific activation at Vermont Square Park. Audience members of all ages and mobility levels are invited to
join the inclusive group movement ensemble, led by Mio Sakamoto, together with dancers Kiah Francis, Yui
Ugai, and Rajvi Dedhia. Bikes, strollers, and wheelchairs are welcome at this pay-what-you-wish event.

Since its inception in 2012, PVD has taken place in-person across Ontario with events in Ottawa, Kitchener,
and with Lakeshore Arts in Long Branch, New Toronto, and Mimico in South Etobicoke. During the pandemic,
Porch View Dances went online for two consecutive years and reached people across Canada and
internationally. Kaeja d’Dance continues in its commitment to prioritize working with performers and
collaborators with racialized identities who are underrepresented in the dance community on this project. PVD
engages ‘real people dancing in real spaces’ and in this way sends the strong and powerful message that art is
for everyone.

For tickets and further information, visit: kaeja.org

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About Kaeja d’Dance (kaeja.org)

Kaeja d’Dance is driven by a commitment to innovation in the performing arts through the expression of dance
and gesture. They explore identity, personal stories and the complexity of the human experience by integrating
the interconnected mediums of live performance, dance film, and community engagement. Kaeja provides
platforms for and fosters the creation of new Canadian professional dance works which are featured locally and
internationally that inspire connections between professional artists and the broader community.