Older & Reckless, MOonhORsE Dance Theatre’s acclaimed series curated by Artistic Director Claudia Moore, celebrates age on stage with the 42st edition, featuring remarkable Indigenous dance artists from across Canada including Barbara Kaneratonni Diabo, Christine Friday, JP Longboat and Byron Chief Moon. Canadian Indigenous writer Lee Maracle, shortlisted for the prestigious 2020 Neustadt International Prize for Literature, will perform with dance maverick Bill Coleman. Distinguished dance elder Elizabeth Langley (Montreal) completes the mixed program that runs Friday, November 15 and Saturday, November 16 for three shows only at Harbourfront Centre Theatre.

Older & Reckless #42 also features an exciting Community Performance Project with a new creation, featuring 30 amateur performers led by Montreal-based choreographer Barbara Kaneratonni Diabo.

Renowned Canadian artists includin g cultural practitioner and knowledge keeper, Karen J. Pheasant-Neganigwane (Anishinabe) of Wikwemikong First Nation on Manitoulin Island, host each performance. Karen also leads the Circle Dance Talk before the show on Saturday, November 16 at 6pm. The Circle Dance Talk is free with purchase of a ticket to Older & Reckless #42. Every Older & Reckless performance begins with an audience warm-up and ends with a party where audiences and artists have a chance to meet and discuss the work – enlightening for all!

About the Works:

Medicine Wheel Hoop Dance – by Barbara Kaneratonni Diabo

Barbara Kaneratonni Diabo performs an excerpt from a piece inspired by the medicine wheel. Many First Nations’ communities use this circle – red, yellow, white and black – as a teaching tool on respect and balance. Barbara brings her hoops to life with the strength of these colours and directions.

Maggie & Me – a healing dance by Christine Friday

This piece began with Christine Friday’s offering to be a jingle dress dancer and evolved into the creation of a contemporary healing dance allowing gifts and ancestral experiences to guide the choreographer in creation and manifestation. In this signature solo, Christine travels through dimensional realms of existence – spirit, dream and present – taking the audience on a journey through her life.

Out of the Longhouse – with Lee Maracle and Bill Coleman

Acclaimed author Lee Maracle, member of the Sto:loh Nation in British Columbia, and renowned Toronto-based dancer Bill Coleman retell the Salish Longhouse Flood Story. In a way that is powerful, personal and magical, these two master storytellers use words and movement to address issues of reconciliation – with each other, with our own bodies of experience, and with our times.


Triple Witching – by JP Longboat and Byron Chief Moon (excerpt of Greed).
This duet by JP Longboat ( Mohawk, Turtle Clan from Six Nations of the Grand River in Ontario) and Byron Chief Moon (Kainai Nation of the Blackfoot Confederacy in southern Alberta), is an excerpt of Greed, a full-length work that examines our exploitative stock market system and the crippling effects of corporate and personal greed, and the results of the false ego. The work juxtaposes traditional Indigenous harmony and the natural environment with the consequences of greed, causing personal and biospheric destruction.

Community Performance Project – led by Barbara Kaneratonni Diabo

This new work is performed by a cast of 30 comprised of 28 dance enthusiasts with 2 seasoned professionals:  Leslie McCue (Toronto), member of the Mississaugas of Curve Lake First Nation in Ontario and Emily Law (Toronto).

About the Artists:

Barbara Kaneratonni Diabo – Mohawk Nation, choreographer and performer
Originally from the Mohawk Nation of Kahnawake (Quebec), Barbara Kaneratonni Diabo now lives in Montreal. A professional dancer and choreographer, performing and creating in many genres for over 25 years, she currently specializes in merging traditional First Nations’ dance with contemporary styles. Barbara takes great pride in sharing her culture with audiences and has performed across Canada and internationally. She was one of only 8 hoop dancers invited to perform at the first Gathering of Nations Powwow hoop dance competition in 2015. Over the years, through dance, music, storytelling and interactive workshops, Barbara has brought her culture to all ages, from toddlers to elders.

Christine Friday- Temagami First Nation, choreographer and performer
Christine Friday is a proficient resilient Indigenous storyteller from Temagami First Nation in Ontario. She began her career with In the Land of Spirits in 1992 and has maintained a professional dance career for over 25 years, engaging in choreographing, solo work, commissioned work, youth creations and full scale productions. She is deeply connected to the cultural wellness of her people and works hard to maintain cultural traditions and gifts of her Anishnaabe people. She recently launched her company: Friday Creeations, a film and stage production company, allowing her to transition her skills into filmmaking to broaden her audience while fulfilling her potential. She received the 2018 K.M. Hunter Award for dance, administered by the Ontario Arts Council.

JP Longboat – Mohawk, Turtle Clan from Six Nations of the Grand River, choreographer and performer
JP Longboat – Mohawk, Turtle Clan from Six Nations of the Grand River in Ontario – has a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree through combined studies at the University of Michigan and the Ontario College of Art and Design. He has extensive professional training and practice in traditional and contemporary forms of visual and performing arts. His work emanates from the cultural traditions of his people and his creative process is grounded in Indigenous creative process, values, experience, practice and legacy. JP is the founder and Artistic Director of Circadia Indigena ~ Aboriginal Arts Collective in Ottawa to bring together a diverse group of indigenous artists dedicated to developing, presenting and disseminating outstanding visual and performance arts sourced from First Nations culture.

Bill Coleman- Toronto, choreographer and performer
Bill Coleman‘s choreographic work has been presented in Glasgow, New York, St. Petersburg, Edinburgh and across Canada. His latest work, Dollhouse, a collaboration with composer Gordon Monahan, was presented as part of the 2016/17 Canadian Stage season. Coleman’s work has transcended traditional theatrical settings to include mountain tops, rainforests, prairies and urban construction sites. He has created a bold collection of large-scale, site-specific works, collaborating with diverse groups including WWII veterans, Aboriginal communities, fishing villages, ranching towns and urban neighbourhoods. Bill is the recipient of the prestigious 2018 Walter Carsen Prize for artistic excellence in dance.

Elizabeth Langley – Montreal, performer and creator
Elizabeth Langley, born in Australia, has worked professionally in dance since 1953. She trained in the Martha Graham technique in New York before moving to Ottawa in 1965 where she resumed her former roles working in university programs and the community. In 1979, she moved to Montreal to design and develop the Contemporary Dance degree program at Concordia University. She retired from Concordia in 1997 to develop her own style of physical theatre in which she creates original one-woman shows while also working as a dramaturge for companies and solo artists in Canada. In recent years, Elizabeth has worked in the Netherlands, Finland, Cuba, the People’s Republic of China, Tonga and Australia.

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Conceived by Claudia Moore, founder and artistic director of MOonhORsE Dance Theatre, Older & Reckless is a dance series acclaimed for its celebration of mature dance artists and their tenacious life-long pursuit of physical expression. Appealing not only to a senior audience, but to all generations, Older & Reckless shines a light on those Canadian dance artists who dare to approach mastery in their art form.

MOonhORsE Dance Theatre presents

Older & Reckless – Edition #42

featuring some of Canada’s most distinguished Indigenous dance artists

Friday, November 15 – Saturday, November 16, 2019

Performances: Friday & Saturday at 8:00pm, Saturday matinee at 2:00pm

Circle Dance Talk: Sat. Nov. 16 at 6pm (free with ticket to Older & Reckless #42)

Harbourfront Centre Theatre, 231 Queens Quay West, Toronto

Tickets $30 ($25 CADA and seniors; $15 Culture Break for students under 25)

For tickets, call 416-973-4000 or visit www.moonhorsedance.com

About the Author

Bryen Dunn is a freelance journalist with a focus on travel, lifestyle, entertainment and hospitality. He has an extensive portfolio of celebrity interviews with musicians, actors and other public personalities. He enjoys discovering delicious eats, tasting spirited treats, and being mesmerized by musical beats.