{"id":115238,"date":"2025-06-17T11:30:29","date_gmt":"2025-06-17T15:30:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/?p=115238"},"modified":"2025-06-17T15:07:38","modified_gmt":"2025-06-17T19:07:38","slug":"interview-choreographers-calder-white-tavia-christina-sweet-ephemera-danceworks-double-bill","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/2025\/06\/17\/interview-choreographers-calder-white-tavia-christina-sweet-ephemera-danceworks-double-bill\/","title":{"rendered":"INTERVIEW | Choreographers Calder White &#038; Tavia Christina On Sweet Ephemera, A DanceWorks Double Bill"},"content":{"rendered":"<figure id=\"attachment_115247\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-115247\" style=\"width: 1200px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-full wp-image-115247\" src=\"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/06\/Copy-of-INTERVIEW-80.jpg\" alt=\"L: Sometimes the Sex is So Good by choreographer Tavia Christina (Photo: Francesca Chudnoff); R: Only child by choreographer Calder White (Photo: Tom Hsu)\" width=\"1200\" height=\"628\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/06\/Copy-of-INTERVIEW-80.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/06\/Copy-of-INTERVIEW-80-300x157.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/06\/Copy-of-INTERVIEW-80-1024x536.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/06\/Copy-of-INTERVIEW-80-768x402.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-115247\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">L: Sometimes the Sex is So Good by choreographer Tavia Christina (Photo: Francesca Chudnoff); R: Only child by choreographer Calder White (Photo: Tom Hsu)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Sweet Ephemera, presented by DanceWorks, is a queer double bill of dance designed to spark thought and curiosity, featuring works by choreographers Calder White and Tavia Christina (of Near &amp; Far Projects).<\/p>\n<p>The two new dance works explore ideas revolving around fantasy and community, but in very different ways. White and Christina will also be holding a workshop in the middle of the run.<\/p>\n<h2>Calder White: only child \/ Sometimes the Sex is So Good: Tavia Christina<\/h2>\n<p>only child by Calder White plays with fantasy vs reality with a series of vignettes that speak to moment of queer intimacy and kink. The work begins as a solo that becomes a duet, and at times, a trio, and places romance and courtship, and those moments when danger and care exist in the same marginalized spaces.<\/p>\n<p>Freelance dance artist <strong>Calder White<\/strong> is based between Vancouver and Ottawa. Dancing since the age of six, Calder holds a BFA in Dance for Ohio State University, and was a member of Toronto-based Canadian Contemporary Dance Theatre from 2011 to 2014.<\/p>\n<p>He\u2019s performed on stages throughout North America, Europe, and Mexico as a company member with Shay Kuebler\/Radical System Art, Joshua Beamish\/ MOVETHECOMPANY, and Santa Barbara Dance Theatre, and has choreographed and danced his own works across Canada. Calder is a passionate educator as well as a performer, and has taught floor work in institutions across Canada and the US.<\/p>\n<p>Sometimes the Sex is so Good by Tavia Christina, Artistic Director of Near &amp; Far Projects, looks at our ongoing state of destruction and societal devolution, and asks the question, How can we work through disaster together? When the world is in a state of upheaval, Christina challenges the idea of autonomy.<\/p>\n<p>Dancer, choreographer and movement artist <strong>Tavia Christina<\/strong> is the Artistic Director of Toronto based Near &amp; Far Projects. Tavia\u2019s background blends Western contemporary dance with classical ballet and street dance. Their dance works have been performed at The Museum (Hamilton, ON), Toronto Fringe Festival, The Citadel, Long Winter, and Dance Makers, among others.<\/p>\n<p>Along with dance, Christina has also worked in other art forms such as film. Their film works have screened at the Dance Ontario Festival 2024, Guelph Dance Festival, Mile Zero Dance Festival, and New Blue Dance Festival.<\/p>\n<p>After residencies at Toronto Dance Theatre, the Toronto Heliconian Club, and Naked State, Tavia is mentoring as an Artistic Producer with The Chimera Project.<\/p>\n<div class=\"jetpack-video-wrapper\"><span class=\"embed-youtube\" style=\"text-align:center; display: block;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" class=\"youtube-player\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/M0rBFjWCB1I?version=3&#038;rel=1&#038;showsearch=0&#038;showinfo=1&#038;iv_load_policy=1&#038;fs=1&#038;hl=en-US&#038;autohide=2&#038;wmode=transparent\" allowfullscreen=\"true\" style=\"border:0;\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts allow-same-origin allow-popups allow-presentation\"><\/iframe><\/span><\/div>\n<h2>The Interview: Calder White &amp; Tavia Christina<\/h2>\n<p>The double bill project came together as the result of DanceWorks\u2019 Artistic Introductions + Ideas Form.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDanceWorks put out this call,\u201d explains Calder. The call came as a simple form where dance artists could exchange artistic ideas, pitched as a casual, relationship building form. Artists could introduce themselves, and they could choose to introduce a specific work \u2014 or not. It created a different environment than the usual call for submissions.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere was no obligation to pitch them a project,\u201d White says. \u201cIt kind of took the pressure out a bit,\u201d he adds. \u201cIt felt like just telling a friend about the thing you ware making.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI feel like the two of them were more interested in what was going on,\u201d she says of DanceWorks\u2019 current Co-Executive Artistic Producers, Dedra McDermott and David Norsworthy. \u201c[It was] a more curatorial approach, which I found really, really refreshing, especially as an up and coming choreographer in the city.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_115248\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-115248\" style=\"width: 1200px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-full wp-image-115248\" src=\"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/06\/only-child-by-choreographer-Calder-White-Photo-1-by-Tom-Hsu.jpg\" alt=\"Only child by choreographer Calder White (Photo: Tom Hsu)\" width=\"1200\" height=\"1206\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/06\/only-child-by-choreographer-Calder-White-Photo-1-by-Tom-Hsu.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/06\/only-child-by-choreographer-Calder-White-Photo-1-by-Tom-Hsu-1019x1024.jpg 1019w, https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/06\/only-child-by-choreographer-Calder-White-Photo-1-by-Tom-Hsu-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/06\/only-child-by-choreographer-Calder-White-Photo-1-by-Tom-Hsu-768x772.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-115248\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">only child by choreographer Calder White (Photo: Tom Hsu)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h3>Queer Dance<\/h3>\n<p>\u201cI think, for me, when I&#8217;m making, inevitably, things are going to be touched upon my lived experience,\u201d Tavia says. \u201cWhen I&#8217;m making, it&#8217;s coming from my essence. I think inevitably my work will be queer because I am,\u201d they add.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cQueer as in transcending things. Being political, being malleable.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou don\u2019t need to make the work queer, it&#8217;s going to be queer if it&#8217;s made by a queer person,\u201d Calder adds.<\/p>\n<p>But, it doesn\u2019t necessarily follow that it can only be enjoyed as such.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cA lot of my work lives within a questioning place,\u201d White continues. \u201cThis work in particular has made me realize how much I enjoy creating the conditions for multiple interpretations.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The character he portrays in the work could be interpreted in a variety of different roles. Likewise, the puppets in the piece could be a proxy for a lover or a child, a parent, or simply a doll.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI really like creating these scenarios,\u201d he says, \u201coffering the audience multiple different doorways.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Tavia\u2019s work is also built on the idea of character.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI feel like, also, in this work, the two performers play characters.\u201d Christina sees them as acting as a sort of mirror or lens for the audience to project their own interpretations \u201cDance is abstract in that sense. You have to allow that mirage to blend.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere&#8217;s only so much that you can premediate,\u201d White adds. \u201cAt the end of the day, you don\u2019t know who&#8217;s seeing it.\u201d It\u2019s a spontaneous element. \u201cWe&#8217;re spontaneously composing the thing together.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_115249\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-115249\" style=\"width: 1200px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-full wp-image-115249\" src=\"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/06\/Sometimes-the-Sex-is-so-Good-by-choreographer-Tavia-Christina-with-performers-Katie-Adams-Gossage-and-Eleanor-van-Veen-Photo-1-by-Francesca-Chudnoff.jpg\" alt=\"Sometimes the Sex is So Good by choreographer Tavia Christina (Photo: Francesca Chudnoff)\" width=\"1200\" height=\"801\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/06\/Sometimes-the-Sex-is-so-Good-by-choreographer-Tavia-Christina-with-performers-Katie-Adams-Gossage-and-Eleanor-van-Veen-Photo-1-by-Francesca-Chudnoff.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/06\/Sometimes-the-Sex-is-so-Good-by-choreographer-Tavia-Christina-with-performers-Katie-Adams-Gossage-and-Eleanor-van-Veen-Photo-1-by-Francesca-Chudnoff-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/06\/Sometimes-the-Sex-is-so-Good-by-choreographer-Tavia-Christina-with-performers-Katie-Adams-Gossage-and-Eleanor-van-Veen-Photo-1-by-Francesca-Chudnoff-1024x684.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/06\/Sometimes-the-Sex-is-so-Good-by-choreographer-Tavia-Christina-with-performers-Katie-Adams-Gossage-and-Eleanor-van-Veen-Photo-1-by-Francesca-Chudnoff-768x513.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-115249\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Sometimes the Sex is So Good by choreographer Tavia Christina (Photo: Francesca Chudnoff)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h3>About The Dance<\/h3>\n<p>\u201cIt just feels like a language, like any other,\u201d White says. It\u2019s raw material for the choreographer to shape.<\/p>\n<p>Calder says his 30-minute work employs a variety of different props, costumes, and set elements to explore the themes of loneliness, isolation, and how we project ourselves onto others, especially during those vulnerable moments of firs coming together.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe experience of being lonely can intersect with other things,\u201d he adds. White is a horror movie fan, and often uses the aesthetics of the genre in his work. \u201cIn the end, I think that horror a lot of times is just sad. Being completely cut off from everyone else that can be the scariest.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He describes setting up a voyeuristic dynamic with the audience. \u201cIt established a kind of relationship that is kind of familiar and common in gay male communities,\u201d he says. \u201cThere&#8217;s this dynamic of knowing that someone&#8217;s over there, but not knowing what their intentions are. Living between possibility and real danger. I love the tension.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Tavia\u2019s piece came from exploring her own reactions to the state of the world.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMy piece, Sometimes the Sex is So Good, follows two characters, Beast and Being, who live in an apocalyptic version of our world,\u201d Christina says. \u201cIt\u2019s something that I\u2019m constantly thinking.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>But, out of the apocalypse comes&#8230; togetherness?<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI&#8217;m interested in whether decay can create intimacy,\u201d they say. \u201cI&#8217;m more so interested in what can emerge from it. When cycles or systems fall apart [&#8230;] there&#8217;s this tension or strange closeness. I think the work plays with that tension.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>When everything\u2019s falling apart, we tend to cling to each other a little more tightly.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe hold each other through this mess.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Tavia, too, is a horror movie fan. \u201cI&#8217;m also very deeply inspired by horror.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Christina is excited about working with a costume designer.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe costumes are a new element of including world building for me,\u201d they say. \u201cI worked with Angela Cabrera who&#8217;s an incredible maker and designer. They&#8217;ve created these suits, almost. It really just only amplifies the two characters.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Tavia points out that dance itself often feels like a costume.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWith this, I was really interested in creating the characters.\u201d<\/p>\n<h2>Details<\/h2>\n<p>Performances take place June 24 to 26 at Young People\u2019s Theatre. The workshops take place June 25 between 10:15am-1:15pm at The Fifth Dance.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Find more information [<strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.danceworks.ca\/sweet-ephemera\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">HERE<\/a><\/strong>].<\/li>\n<li>Find tickets to the performance [<strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.zeffy.com\/en-CA\/ticketing\/sweet-ephemera--2025\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">HERE<\/a><\/strong>].<\/li>\n<li>Register for the workshop [<strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.zeffy.com\/ticketing\/sweet-ephemera-workshops\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">HERE<\/a><\/strong>].<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong><em>Are you looking to promote an <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/advertising\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"color: #0e101a;\"><u>event<\/u><\/span><\/a>? Have a\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/masthead\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><u>news tip<\/u><\/a>? 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