Above: Rodrigo Chavez
Explore a festival from behind the scenes, July 9 to 13 and July 16 to 20.
Presented by Harbourfront Centre in partnership with York’s Faculty of Fine Arts, Immersions 2003 offers encounters with artists and cultures featured in Harbourfront’s flagship festival, “World’s Fare: The Americas Now”, which will run for the two extended “weekends” of July 10-13 and July 18-20.
Immersions sessions take place Wednesday, 6-9 p.m. and Saturday & Sunday, 11am-1 pm. Here is the line-up.
Immersions 1 with host Rodrigo Chavez
Discover the dynamic cultural collisions behind music and dance traditions of the Americas with host Rodrigo Chavez.
Known for his popular workshops on Afro-Latin music, Chilean-born Chavez studied guitar and percussion with masters in Argentina, Cuba, Venezuela, Peru and Bolivia. He is artistic director of Cassava Latin Rhythms, a Toronto-based band specializing in contemporary Latin-Canadian music.
- July 9-13
- Cost: $75 includes dinner
Immersions 2 with host Santee Smith
Celebrate life through song and dance, and give thanks to the food spirits with host Santee Smith (left), a member of the Mohawk Nation, Turtle Clan from Six Nations, Ontario, who works as a choreographer, dancer, musician and pottery designer.
Right: “Turtle Family’ – Pottery by Santee Smith
Trained at the National Ballet School, she is currently working toward an MA in dance at York University. From 1997 to 2001 she participated in the Aboriginal Dance Project, Chinook Winds, at the Banff Centre for the Arts.
- July 16-20
- Cost: $75 includes dinner
Each Immersions program includes:
• Interactive sessions both before and during the festival weekend
• Hands-on activities
• Conversations with invited guest artists
• Power Plant gallery tour and private thematic dinner
• An optional chance to meet before music events on Friday evening
All sessions are held on the Harbourfront Centre site.
For more information visit www.harbourfront.on.ca and go to Summer Festivals, then World’s Fare Immersions. To register call 416-973-4000.