Coastal First Nations Dance Festival celebrates 10th anniversary
Posted February 21, 2017 7:20 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) – The end of the month marks the 10th anniversary of the Coastal First Nations Dance Festival in Vancouver, celebrating with it’s largest program yet.
The six-day festival features artists and performers from all around the world.
“We have a couple of artists coming from Hawaii as well as New Zealand and we have artists Atlantic Canada as well as the prairies,” shares Margaret Grenier, executive and artistic director of the festival.
There are also a few local groups that you may recognize: the Semoya Dancers from Chilliwack, Vancouver’s own Compaigni V’ni Dansi, the multigenerational Coast SalishTsatsu Stalquayu (Coastal Wolf Pack), the Spakwus Slulem (Eagle Song Dancers), and the Dancers of Damelahamid.
You can see Spakwus Slulem’s performance at the 2016 Inspire Awards below.
The festival started as a weekly drum session in 2008 and has since evolved into a professional ensemble, which has since grown to embrace both traditional First Nations practices and modern-style songwriting.
“We’re always looking to expand the artists that we’re able to include in the festival and bring in different cultures and traditions from indigenous people nationally and internationally.”
There’s a number of stage performances, school group performances, and workshops peppered through the week.
It runs February 28th to March 5th at the Museum of Anthropology. Click here for tickets.
