Back again for another round of unique and innovative performances, it’s time for the 8th Annual Living Things International Art Festival! This year, the RCA is excited to be co-presenters alongside Inner Fish Theatre Co. and Push International Performing Arts Festival. With events all throughout Kelowna from January 20 to 28, including the RCA, The Living Things Festival is a diverse showcase of theatre, music, dance, art, animation, and more that you won’t want to miss. 

“The Rotary Centre for the Arts is honoured to co-present the Living Things Festival this year with some unforgettable performances. We invite the community to engage, explore, and celebrate with us,” says Colleen Fitzpatrick, Executive Director of the RCA. “This festival is a cornerstone in Kelowna’s arts and entertainment community and symbolizes the vibrant fabric of creativity that defines our city. As we come together to witness diverse artistic expressions, let us embrace the power of the arts to unite, inspire, and ignite our imaginations.” 

We chatted with Neil Cadger, artistic director of the Living Things Festival, to learn more about what you can expect from this year’s performance selection. 

“It's about living things,” says Neil, “we are concerned with how, as theater makers, we can address the planet. Not just the climate crisis, but also the social level of bringing people together to contemplate art, and perhaps reflect together on things we share and things we want to protect. I think importantly, this requires us to think, how do we make art? How do we bring art to people?” 

If you’re unfamiliar with contemporary performances, Neil says that’s all the more reason to see a performance at The Living Things Festival. 

“The wonders of the live art experience, like seeing someone in front of you doing something you can't do or never thought of doing, that is what brings you all together with a sense of awe, a sense of respect, of admiration, of pleasure. The excitement of going beyond the familiar is what you get. And when you share that excitement with a lot of people, you've shared an experience, and you have something to talk about.”  

As part of the festival, the RCA is presenting Objects in Motion, Ramanenjana – a public lecture about a dance epidemic, and Ramanenjana. 

On January 23 at 7:30 pm, Objects in Motion brings an incredible list of international animated short films to the Mary Irwin Theatre! Curated by UBCO professor Myron Campbell, the films move from hilarity to pointed social critique, taking us to new places with innovative, formal exploration. 

Return to Hairy Hill by Dan Gies, Objects in Motion

January 24 at 7:30 pm brings Romanian choreographer and filmmaker Simona Deaconescu, providing a free public lecture about what is being called a dance epidemic. She has dedicated over four years to studying the phenomenon of "choreomania," mass dance events that occurred throughout history in Medieval Europe, Africa, and the Americas. Her performative series on these "dance epidemics" has garnered awards and international recognition. In her latest piece, Ramanenjana, co-choreographed with Gaby Saranouffi, she explores this phenomenon from Madagascar. The lecture will delve into Ramanenjana as a means of resistance against colonization and explore the challenges of presenting such politically charged subjects on the international stage. This is a free event.

Ramanenjana Public Lecture

Speaking of Ramanenjana, two performances of this spectacular show will take place on January 25 and 26 at 7:30 pm. Ramanenjana can be translated to “something that makes you rigid”, but also something that makes you strong. In southern Madagascar, Ramanenjana can also mean respect for those who dance tensely. This piece, combining documentary and fiction, is about a dance that made history. 

Ramanenjana

There are plenty of other performances happening at different venues, such as Dog Rising at the Kelowna Community Theatre, music performances from Marina Hasselberg, the theatrical performance of Canary at the Black Box Theatre, and more.  

Denise Kenney in Canary

Come out and experience performances of the strange and the wonderful! Tickets for all Living Things Festival events are available through Kelowna Community Theatre.