Takako Segawa is a contemporary dancer, choreographer, movement coach, dance-theatre performer, and teacher of Japanese Arts. Born in Japan, Takako trained in both traditional arts and contemporary Japanese movement styles, before graduating from the London Contemporary Dance School. Her 20-year career includes performances throughout Europe, Asia, and North America.

Takako has been an Ottawa-based dance artist since 2016. Her new work, Echoes: Vibrations from Japan to Canada will premiere at Arts Court this November. Hosted by the Ottawa Dance Directive, the show is directed, choreographed, and performed by Takako, accompanied by a vocalist and several taiko drummers.

An interview with Jessica Ruano about the world premiere of Skin Songs. This dance theatre performance takes place outside in a public park in Ottawa, Canada. The score, along with the performer's personal stories, are delivered via headphones while the four women dance through the park dressed in red. The show, which focuses on a variety of experiences and perspectives of femininity, was devised by Eleanor Crowder, Jacqui duToit, Jessica Ruano, Lola Ryan and Angela Schleihauf. It is being presented as a part of the TACTICS (Theatre Artists’ Co-operative: the Independent Collective Series) 2023 Mainstage Season.

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An interview with Hannah Sampson, a Senior Dance Artist with Stopgap Dance Company, and Renata Soutter, Co-Director of Propeller Dance. Stopgap Dance Company (based in Southeast England) is driven by a diverse creative team who uses dance as a movement for change. Propeller Dance (based in Ottawa, Canada) is an integrated dance organization for people with and without disability. This conversation focuses on their international collaboration resulting in the production This is Happening, a show co-produced by the National Arts Centre and premiering at LabO in Ottawa in June of 2023. For more in-depth interviews with both of the Co-Directors of Propeller Dance, listen to Dirty Feet Episode #184.

You can also listen to this episode on Apple Podcasts, Audible, Amazon Music, or the Dirty Feet website.

Want more? To support the creation of future Dirty Feet episodes visit www.patreon.com/allisonebdance and consider becoming a patron.

[Image description: In a brightly lit dressing room with lighted mirrors on the left side, dancers Elizabeth, Geoff, Russell and Moni lean on the white countertop wearing expressions of surprise or pensiveness. They are dressed glamorously in black and metallics. Photo by Rachel Gray]

Host Allison Elizabeth Burns speaks with playwright, actor, and director Laurie Fyffe about her new upcoming play, Exciting Cause (about the women of Rockwood Asylum) and an associated workshop, Moving Through Theatrical Space. The show’s script and movement are being developed simultaneously, influencing one another. Allison is choreographing the production and facilitating the workshop, and so takes on the role of interviewee mid-way through the episode.

Ana Gherasim is an artist, educator, and the owner and founder of Azucar, Latin Dance Company in Ottawa. We speak about her evolving relationship to dance, how her studio has changed recently, and what is on the horizon for a more inclusive and consent-aware social dance scene.

Brittney Canda is a choreographer and dance film director among other things. We speak about her unique style, how she discovered her love for dance on film, and her recent accolades. Specifically we talk about her works, Wrap Me Up - which was awarded Best Choreography in a Music Video at the UKMVAs - and Touch which was awarded Best Film at Festival Quartiers Danses.

This episode explores the impact the COVID-19 global pandemic has had on different Contemporary dance artists in Ottawa. Yvonne Coutts the artistic director of the Ottawa Dance Directive, Sylvie Desrosiers the director of the Contemporary Dance program at The School of Dance, Frédérique Pelletier a recent graduate of that same school, and Elizabeth Emond-Stevenson a mid-career independent dance artist. This selection of artists are all at different stages in their career, and yet only represent a sliver of experience. The pandemic has affected dance artists in Ottawa and beyond in a variety of ways only some of which are represented here.