By Philip Szporer Daina Ashbee is a smart, powerful Montreal-based dance artist with Cree, Métis and Dutch heritage, gaining significant traction in her career. She’s been building a devoted following, international touring and accolades, like the 2019 Bessie (a New York Dance and Performance Award) for Outstanding Breakout Choreographer. This summer, the Festival Montpellier Danse
By Tessa Perkins Deneault In 2016, Daina Ashbee was awarded the Prix Découverte de la danse for her solo, Pour, which premiered in Montreal at La Chapelle. The following year, Paige Culley performed Pour at Festival TransAmériques and received the same award for her interpretation of Ashbee’s choreography. The awards, part of the annual Prix
By Kaija Pepper Three well-established theatrical festivals dominate the dance landscape at the beginning of every year in Vancouver, starting with PuSh International Performing Arts in mid-January. Two popular shows at PuSh were the one-woman solo, Pour, at Scotiabank Dance Centre’s black-box studio-theatre, and the group spectacle, The Eternal Tides, at the Queen Elizabeth Theatre.