Matriarchs Uprising: Samantha Sutherland & Aria Evans (Program B) is one of three dance programs by Indigenous women presented by the National Arts Centre (NAC) Dance and NAC Indigenous Theatre last week, aimed at showcasing contemporary Indigenous dance and storytelling. In the emotionally evocative Program B, the audience was carried through the artists’ rich transformations via two solo dance performances.
Both pieces touched on identity, self-discovery, and change as medicine. That medicine, whether in the form of others’ reassuring words or language learning, serves as a salve to human injury and doubt, carrying these artists and their audiences through pain to resilience.
Midline by Aria Evans
Photo: Taylor Long.
Midline is a work in progress by interdisciplinary artist and dancer Aria Evans, about her own healing following a medical operation that left her with a visible midline scar down her stomach. Using a charming airplane metaphor taken from a Robert Munsch book, Evans physically highlighted the sharp ups and turbulent downs left by her wound. With voiced narration, she lay on a metallic ball that slowly deflated beneath her as she described the 24 staples her operation left behind. She reenacted her time in the hospital: first, by walking around the stage and then moving into a frantic run. With her increasing pace came a feeling of claustrophobia when she revealed she shared a room with a terminal patient. She also borrowed words from others with scars, who offered remarks like “everything reflects who you are.” Ultimately, the performance illustrated Evans’ resilience and self-discovery throughout her recovery journey. By the show’s end, Evans was jumping toward the sky like a small and agile airplane, revealing her lighter body and spirit.
Photo: Sharai Mustatia.
ȼ̓inaⱡ upxamik by Samantha Sutherland
ȼ̓inaⱡ upxamik, by dancer and choreographer Samantha Sutherland, is about the artist exploring her Indigenous identity and culture as a Ktunaxa and Scottish/British settler woman. It’s a side of herself that she had not yet fully explored—one filled with personal doubts. With skillful and dramatic lighting, Sutherland moved across the eerily dark stage, accompanied by a nature soundscape and hypnotic drumming. Under blue light, her body collapsed as if in pain while voices saying words like “imposter” flooded the room. Her elbows bent sharply behind her head as her hands pulled at her spine as if she was trying to escape her own body. Eventually, the show’s tone shifted once Sutherland pulled some unknown force closer to her. A light emerged and she began to frolic on stage. Sutherland’s dance ended with her arms open and outstretched towards the audience. ȼ̓inaⱡ upxamik mirrors Sutherland’s own personal development: By the project’s debut, Sutherland had learned to speak her Indigenous language.
The limited series Matriarchs Uprising has come to an end, but make sure to check out NAC Indigenous Theatre online to learn more about their upcoming productions.
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