It’s probably no secret at this point that I love to dance (with or without my hoops), but I especially love to dance in gorgeous, interesting places. I often find myself inspired by my surroundings, moving in new and different ways! Well, last night I was lucky enough to shoot some promo material at the gorgeous Art Gallery of Alberta!

Talk about inspiring surroundings!!!

I am booked to perform at the upcoming  Refinery: Shadow Play at the Gallery on November 15th, and the program co-coordinator (who happens to be a friend of mine) offered some time rehearsing in the space. How could I say no to that? I had literally dreamed of dancing in the space before and it was a great chance to collaborate with a fellow artist, photographer and dancer, Nixie Olivia from Sprite Photography.

Nixie captured this great shot of me in front of the mural in Manning Hall, Jill Stanton’s Strange Dream, a  fantastic wonderland cartoon landscape that starts out in black and white, with just splash of color in the center. Dancing with the piece, allowing it to inform my movement, felt like a conversation between us, which I think the artist intended. The notes on the mural say “This strange and evocative landscape draws viewers into the space, inspiring questions of how we look at our environment and how our environment can affect one’s subconscious.”

Having the chance to interact with, rather than just view the piece gave me a much more visceral experience of the art itself, that completely changed my appreciation for the work.

If you’d like to see what I mean and come dance with this ‘ dense, immersive and dreamlike forest vista’ with references to ‘dreams, hallucinations and altered states of consciousness’, tickets are still available for the  AGA Refinery.  If you can’t make it, you can still view the exhibition until December 31st, 2014 (and as it’s in the lobby, it’s free to see!!!)