Vancouver festival features collaboration between Indigenous and non-Indigenous performers

Urban Ink’s TRANSFORM Festival, co-presented with The Cultch, is set to return to the Vancouver Playhouse for its fifth anniversary celebration.

The festival, showcasing a vibrant array of Indigenous and non-Indigenous artists, will run from Nov. 6-9.

It is co-curated by Urban Ink artistic director Corey Payette and The Clutch’s executive director Heather Redfern. The festival is also guided by protocol keeper Quelemia Sparrow.

This marks the first time the festival is back on stage after several years of digital and hybrid formats.

Highlights include Canada’s Drag Race Season 4 winner, Venus, circus performer Sido Adamson, and dancer and ballroom performer Ralph Escamillan.

The four-day lineup also features the world premiere of In Spirit, a concert honouring National Indigenous Veterans Day, with performances by Chor Leoni and the Vancouver Youth Choir. Also included is a workshop preview of Payette’s latest musical, On Native Land.

Payette, a member of the Mattagami First Nation in Ontario, is not only delighted to be back on stage. But he’s also thrilled to be at a bigger venue as the Vancouver Playhouse has 668 seats.

“It's really been about holding space and really looking to position Indigenous performance and collaborations with Indigenous artists on some of the largest stages possible in the country,” Payette said. “And for us, the Vancouver Playhouse is one of those iconic venues.

“If we are able to create a gathering place of that scale, the next generation of Indigenous artists will know that that is a space for them, and then this is a place where audiences are eager to gather and to hold space for some of these stories.”

TRANSFORM is known for its unique blend of Indigenous and non-Indigenous artistry. Payette said the different acts that are being created are formed through collaborations between Indigenous and non-Indigenous artists and different disciplines.

Examples includes circus artists are collaborating with hoop dancers and musicians are collaborating with drag performers.

“Whenever you put Indigenous communities into creation, it always has a way of popping into some of the perspectives and some of the history that I think a lot of our communities are wanting to have shared,” Payette said, adding it’s important to choose the right artists who are ready for those kind of collaborations, and then seeing what they come up with together.

One collaboration is between James Jones, aka Notorious Cree, a performer who has blown up on TikTok and a circus artist.

“What we found is that you just have to step back and let them share what it is the collaboration brings,” Payette said.

Payette is also debuting his latest musical, On Native Land, which will be presented as a work in progress. The musical, described as a ‘sweeping, emotive love story’, intertwines the lives of three seemingly disparate characters – a lawyer, a Chief and a rising singer/songwriter – whose paths converge in a powerful tale of identity and land disputes.

He’s been writing the musical since 2019 and when asked how sharing a developing work with the public shapes the final piece, he said that it’s about not being precious about his work and challenging himself as an artist.

“The work that I'm creating is about shaking up the status quo and having people question the stories we're told and the narrative that's being put out there in the media,” he said. “So, part of that conversation, I can't just do that alone or with the artists in the room. I need to bring in the broader community to have that conversation.”

Part of the musical includes a dream ballet between two of the characters. It was created by Dora winner Jera Wolfe, a Métis choreographer and performer.

“These two characters are going from nightclub to nightclub, and they're doing drugs and they're falling in love,” Wolfe said, describing the ballet. “And they're just enjoying being out, and then, the night goes terribly wrong, and then it goes bad.”

When it comes to choreographing for a work in progress, Wolfe said it’s about using his vernacular in the way that he works.

“I have a language and I bring that to the table, and hope that's something Corey enjoys,” he said. “Then I take that and work it into the musical.”

Wolfe’s choreography is about capturing the experience rather than the literal actions of the night.

“This is what the two characters are feeling,” he said. “And they're feeling this sensation of euphoria, like, first love but also like the physical attraction.”

Both Wolfe and Payette are looking forward to hearing feedback from the audience. Payette is also looking forward to the opening night.

“Five years ago it was a party,” he said.  “It just turned into such a fun atmosphere, where we really felt like we created such good relationships between communities. And then obviously that took major steps back during the pandemic, because we weren't able to gather in person. 

“So, our hope is that we can create that same party atmosphere, that same kind of chance for people to have exciting new experiences together, but on such a larger scale, with so many more people involved.”

For tickets and information, visit transformfestival.ca