CONTEST: Win Tickets to Stephanie Lake Company’s ‘Manifesto’

This April 16-18, DanceHouse and Vancouver New Music present the B.C. premiere of Stephanie Lake Company’s riveting Manifesto at the Vancouver Playhouse. In a unique pairing, nine drummers and nine dancers — with backgrounds ranging from contemporary and ballet to salsa and hip-hop, from jazz and metal to classical and experimental — will share the stage for this explosive full-length performance, summoning a cacophonic wall of sound composed by Stephanie Lake’s partner, experimental music composer Robin Fox.

Renowned for her inventive approach to crafting dynamic performances for large ensembles, Lake has emerged as one of Australia’s most compelling and celebrated choreographers in recent years. Her unique movement vocabulary combines meticulous control with moments of raw freedom, drawing energy from the dancers’ natural instincts and diverse lived experiences.

“I first encountered Stephanie Lake’s work while conducting artist discovery and scouting in Australia several years ago. Bringing an Australian company to Canada takes real collaboration, and with such strong interest from presenters Danse Danse in Montreal and the National Arts Centre in Ottawa, we were able to make the tour work for our 2025-26 season,” says Jim Smith, artistic and executive director of DanceHouse. “We’re thrilled to welcome Stephanie Lake Company to the Vancouver Playhouse as the last stop on their Canadian tour.”

Drawing inspiration from the primal connection between drumming and dance, Fox’s music channels the glittering energy of old-time Hollywood extravaganzas for a tightly crafted and thrilling work that audiences will feel in their gut. Set against the backdrop of a towering velvet curtain, the dancers and musicians evoke ancient rituals of catharsis, unleashing a sense of obliterating dynamism.

Driven by unrelenting drumbeats and the pure exhilaration of movement, the dancers twist and lock themselves into suspended shapes, leap and catch each other in an incredible display of acrobatics, and move fluidly between solo, small group and full ensemble choreography. Every burst of sound is echoed by a physical response, fusing art forms into a “tattoo to optimism” — an ecstatic, visceral and breathtaking jubilation.

The intensity and complexity of the rhythms build over the course of the work, reaching a fever pitch that blurs the lines between cohesion and chaos and erupts into a capering brand of wild rebellion. Grounded in visceral effort yet soaring on human energy, Manifesto has been hailed by Dance Australia as “a perfectly realized work that celebrates not just the relationship between music and dance, but also the joy of being alive.”

Manifesto runs April 16-18 at 8 p.m. at the Vancouver Playhouse. A pre-show chat will take place at 7:15 p.m. each evening in the upper lobby, and a post-show social will follow Friday’s performance in the salon. For tickets and further information, visit dancehouse.ca.

In anticipation of the premiere, one lucky Tyee reader will receive a pair of tickets to a performance of their choice. Enter to win below.

About DanceHouse and Vancouver New Music

DanceHouse connects Vancouver audiences, and the local arts community, to the international world of dance by presenting exceptional companies that are recognized for their excellence, innovation and international reputation. Since 2008, DanceHouse has presented vibrant and inspiring companies from Canada and around the world. In addition to the performances onstage, DanceHouse offers a suite of engagement opportunities and a chance for the general public and local artistic community to engage with the presented artists and their work.

Supporting creativity, innovation, curiosity and a multiplicity of voices and ideas, Vancouver New Music is committed to curating practices, not only works, and embracing the rhizomatic expansion of current modes of sound and music creation. Founded in 1973, Vancouver New Music regularly commissions and premieres new works by Canadian and international composers, presents an annual festival that focuses each year on a theme within the new music landscape and explores the interaction of contemporary music with other disciplines such as theatre, installation and media arts. Other activities include lectures and workshops with visiting artists, community presentations and other sound-, art- and new-music-related community events, such as Soundwalks.