Canadian Heritage
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January 12, 2010 09:00 ET
Government of Canada and Cirque du Soleil Announce Canada's Cultural Program for Expo 2010 in Shanghai
OTTAWA, ONTARIO--(Marketwire - Jan. 12, 2010) - The Honourable James Moore, Minister of Canadian Heritage and Official Languages, today unveiled the artists that will be part of Canada's cultural program at Expo 2010, which will run from May 1 to October 31, 2010, in Shanghai, China.
"Emerging and established artists from Canada will be front and centre in Shanghai," said Minister Moore. "This outstanding group of more than 150 talented Canadian musicians, dancers, and theatre, visual, media, and literary artists will perform at the Canada Pavilion and at several different venues on the Expo 2010 site."
Performers include Gregory Charles, Kreesha Turner, Bedouin Soundclash, Daniel Lavoie, Shane Yellowbird, Tanya Tagaq, Alain Lefevre, and Hey Rosetta! There will also be a slam poetry / spoken word event that will see the work of poet Albert F. Moritz translated simultaneously by two translators (English to Mandarin and Mandarin to English) at a roundtable.
"We are very proud of this unique, eclectic, and original program," said Jacques Methe, Executive Producer at Cirque du Soleil. "This program is an opportunity to demonstrate the diversity of Canadian artistic forms in a whole new way."
As part of a collaborative agreement with the Government of Canada, Cirque du Soleil has the lead for planning, organizing, and managing the cultural program for Canada at Expo 2010. Cirque worked with the Canada Council for the Arts to establish evaluation criteria and contacted all provincial arts organizations as part of its consultations.
Expo 2010 is expected to be the biggest exposition ever, with 242 countries and organizations participating. With the assistance of Cirque du Soleil, Canada is creating a stunning pavilion that will be the jewel of Expo 2010 and an excellent showcase for Canada's theme "The Living City: inclusive, sustainable, creative." The Government of Canada expects to welcome between 5 and 5.5 million visitors to the Canada Pavilion: 30 000 per day.
Expo 2010 will allow Canada to advance its foreign and trade policy goals; strengthen economic, diplomatic, and cultural ties with China; and shape and strengthen Canada's brand in China.
Canada's International Expositions Program, part of the Department of Canadian Heritage, is responsible for planning, coordinating, and implementing Canada's participation in international expositions sanctioned by the Bureau of International Expositions (BIE) in Paris. For more information about Canada's participation in international expositions, visit www.canadianheritage.gc.ca/progs/expo/index_e.cfm and www.expo2010canada.gc.ca.
(This news release is available on the Internet at www.canadianheritage.gc.ca under Media Room.)
BACKGROUNDER
- As part of a collaborative agreement with the Government of Canada, Cirque du Soleil brings 25 years of experience in providing high-quality artistic entertainment to lead the planning, organization, and management of the cultural program for Canada at Expo 2010.
- Cirque du Soleil posted a public call to artists in October 2008, inviting emerging and renowned artists in the disciplines of dance, music, theatre, and literary, visual, and media arts to apply to take part in Canada's cultural program. Cirque worked with the Canada Council for the Arts to establish evaluation criteria and contacted all provincial arts organizations as part of its consultations.
- More than 1000 applications were received from artists across Canada.
- The final selection of more than 150 artists is a good representation of Canada's cultural diversity, as well as linguistic, geographic, and gender balance.
- The goal of Canada's cultural program at Expo 2010 in Shanghai, China, is to promote the wealth of Canadian culture from across the country.
- To provide the public with unforgettable and innovative entertainment, Cirque is creating five celebration performances. This approach gives Canadian artists the opportunity to participate in large-scale creations that will be held on stages in covered venues with seating for more than 3000 people.
- In addition to the celebration performances, artists will offer more than 60 solo performances on the Americas Square, which is near the Canada Pavilion. This flexible event schedule will increase the visibility of our artists.
- The visual arts category brings together original pieces by more than 40 artists in an exhibition of Canadian contemporary art that will be held at the Canada Pavilion. This exhibition was developed around Canada's theme at Expo 2010: "The Living City: inclusive, sustainable, and creative."
- The media arts component features more than 45 short pieces produced by Canadian filmmakers. The program will be presented on screens installed in the waiting area of the Canada Pavilion. This varied, innovative programming will amaze, surprise, entertain, and interest all kinds of audiences. Some of the featured shorts include international award-winning films and the work of new, emerging filmmakers.
- For the literary program, the approach is to create a landmark event in association with Blue Metropolis Foundation to be held at the Canada Pavilion and a venue in the heart of the city of Shanghai. Cirque is developing the first Translation Slam signature event, in which the work of Canadian poet A.F. Moritz will be translated in real time by two translators (English to Mandarin and Mandarin to English) at a roundtable.
- Some of the artists appearing at Expo 2010 include
Performing artists:
Jamie Adkins - Circus Incognitus (Ontario)
Bedouin Soundclash (Ontario)
Bob & Bill (Quebec)
Gregory Charles (Quebec)
Dancers of Damelahamid (British Columbia)
Mark DeJong (Saskatchewan)
Dr. Draw (Ontario)
Grand Derangement (Nova Scotia)
Hey Rosetta! (Newfoundland and Labrador)
Daniel Lavoie (Manitoba)
Alain Lefevre (Quebec)
Paper Lions (Prince Edward Island)
Ariane Moffat (Quebec)
MOVE: the company (British Columbia)
Red Sky Performance (Ontario)
Tanya Tagaq (Nunavut)
Marie-Jo Therio (New Brunswick)
Kreesha Turner (Alberta)
Jean-Philippe Tremblay (Quebec)
Shane Yellowbird (Alberta)
Visual artists:
Jack Clark (Alberta)
Robert Walker (Ontario)
Magalie Comeau (Quebec)
Etienne Saint-Amant (Quebec)
Chantal Gilbert (Quebec)
Dominik Sokolowski (Quebec)
Bertrand Carriere (Quebec)
Brent Parkin (Saskatchewan)
Stace and Amanda Pshyk (Yukon)
Chun Ping Huang (British Columbia)
Dave Reede (Manitoba)
Noel Chenier (New Brunswick)
Merle Prosofsky (Alberta)
Janice Kun (Ontario)
Scott Connaroe (British Columbia)
Bruno Gerard (Quebec)
Jean-Sebastien Vaillancourt (Quebec)
Dennis Minty (Newfoundland and Labrador)
Heidi Leverty (Ontario)
Eric Deis (British Columbia)
Marlene Creates (Newfoundland & Labrador)
Dominic Besner (Ontario)
Alain Paiement (Quebec)
Sylvain Tremblay (Quebec)
Peter Boyadjeff (Quebec)
Michel Goulet (Quebec)
Josee Pedneault (Quebec)
Serge Clement (Quebec)
Patricia Kushner (Alberta)
Davida Kidd (British Columbia)
Norval Morrisseau (British Columbia)
Dan Callis (Nova Scotia)
Katia Gosselin (Quebec)
Jean Grothe (Quebec)
Ron Noganosh (Ontario)
Cam Colclough (Alberta)
Jean-Francois Leblanc (Quebec)
Eric Lajeunesse (Quebec)
Dionne Simpson (Ontario)
Leonard J. Staples (Ontario)
Cathie Archbould (Yukon)
Media artists:
Frederik Back
Iriz Paabo
Cordell Barker
Martin Berry
Co Hoedeman
Jean-Francois Levesque
Wendy Tilly and Amanda Foribs
Chris Lavis and Matthew Szczerbowski
Andre Leduc
Andrea Pass and Dominique Keller
Theodore Ushev
Line Severinsen
Ben Philippi
Claude Cloutier
Caroline Leaf
Werner Walcher
Mouvement Perpetuel
Maxime-Claude L'Ecuyer
Nicolas Brault
Gayle Thomas
Eric Gravel
G. Paquin Boutin
Cam Christiansen
Millie Chen
Tali
Trevor Cawood
Denis Villeneuve
Simon Goulet
Norman McLaren
N&C McInnes
Powys Dewhurst
Jordan Canning
Alison Chung-Yan
Serene Daoud
Marshall Fels Elliot