Editor's Note

Welcome to the Spring 2023 issue of Dance Central

I write from a desk in my room with a view of the cherry blossoms. It is the season that brings a smile to people as they gather and dance under the bountiful trees. Regardless of the season, there is always a time to rejoice and to grieve. April also brought sad news of Eury Chang’s passing. With a special tribute to Eury, we thank him for all those years he served as the editor of Dance Central from 2004-2011.

In this issue, our seasoned dancer-writer Rachel Maddock brings us an interview with Racheal Prince and Brandon Alley, both former members of Ballet BC, who are carving out a new and equitable space for dance. We also welcome a new contributor to Dance Central—Tin Gamboa. Like Maddock, Gamboa is a beautiful dancer-writer bringing embodied practices into her writings. She shares a reflection piece about the annual Matriarchs Uprising Festival which was held for the fifth time this year from February 13-18.

The Matriarchs Uprising Festival offered many of its performances and workshops for free or by donation. Through that, I was able to attend/ watch my very first virtual reality dance film by Atamira Dance Company and was utterly blown away by the experience. VR made possible another dimension of tapping into the feminine energy invoked throughout the festival that centred Indigenous women artists.

We thank all the artists who have contributed, and we welcome new writing and project ideas at any time to make Dance Central a more vital link to the community. Please send materials by email to editor@thedancecentre.ca. We look forward to many more conversations!

Shanny Rann

Editor