• WELCOME
  • BIOGRAPHY
  • ARTIST STATEMENT
  • The AMANI Project
  • THE NEXUS CABARET
  • More
    • WELCOME
    • BIOGRAPHY
    • ARTIST STATEMENT
    • The AMANI Project
    • THE NEXUS CABARET
  • WELCOME
  • BIOGRAPHY
  • ARTIST STATEMENT
  • The AMANI Project
  • THE NEXUS CABARET

Download The Cabaret Program or Scroll for Details

Program_NexusCabaret_Final (pdf)

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The Nexus Cabaret

October 1, 7:00 PM - October 2, 7:00 AM, 2022  

Meridian Arts Centre's Studio Theatre

5040 Yonge Street, North York

Part of Nuit Blanche Toronto

FREE to the public



Cab·a·ret · a form of theatrical entertainment featuring music, song, dance, and drama in a nightclub setting. For me, cabaret is a beautiful form of expression that presents endless possibilities for connection between people from all walks of life. And what better way to spend Nuit Blanche than at The Nexus Cabaret. I curated The Nexus Cabaret to centre contemporary performance as a visual artform using interdisciplinary acts of dance, poetry, music, theatre, photography, and digital projection.  The effect is to create magical moments of spontaneity, exquisiteness, and touching collaboration to embody Nuit Blanche’s 2022 theme, The Space Between Us. For this, I bring together some of Toronto’s most exciting contemporary artists, with our marvellous Master of Ceremonies, Nicole Inica Hamilton, weaving together the evening’s performances. 


This immersive performance experience begins with the return of Shannon Litzenberger’s World After Dark, inspired by Christopher Dewdney’s award-winning book Acquainted with the Night. Electric, immersive, rejuvenating, and disarming, Night demands to be met by the intuitive, sentient body, and its mysteries offer respite from the drama of the day. The nights of our generation are aglow with artificial light - is there no trace of darkness left on you? The perfect kick off to Nuit Blanche, World After Dark invites us to reclaim the night within us.


Next, Naishi Wang shares his stunning solo, Taking Breath.  Breathing - an innate action of taking in air and expelling it from the lungs. “Taking Breath” brings the subconscious to the conscious, the passive to the active; questioning how we have taken breathing and the air we breathe, for granted. The piece is a choreographic inquiry exploring the multiple facets of breathing in our lives - What is it like without breathing? What is it like with too much breathing? How does breathing affect movement? How does breathing affect our thoughts? When does breathing start to mean something? When does breathing become communication? When does breathing start to matter? When will air start to matter to us? 


As the night advances, JAYU presents their work in the space where art and human rights connect, where the distance between generations is bridged.  "Afro Anthology" was co-created by Lex & Martin Gomes, written & directed by Mart, illustrated & animated by Lex, with music & poetry performances by Mart & Desiree Mckenzie. 'Afro Anthology' hopes to take the audience on a journey through different stories all told from a Black lens in an effort to showcase that while there are many parts of the Black experience that are shared, to be Black is not to be part of a monolith.  


Next, tap dance griot, Travis Knights, will be engaging in a 'Tap'athetical meditation of sound and movement. He will work with his tap shoes, board, and loop station to create spellbinding, improvisational rhythmic wizardry.


In the final live performance of the evening, Jaz 'Fairy J' Simone invites you to attend ‘The Reception’: A gathering; a performance; an experience. 

 The Reception is an Interactive performance event that invites us to bask in the joy and simple pleasure of gathering and celebrating life. Everything is optional and everyone is encouraged to exist in the space in a way that feels joyful and comfortable for them. There will be snacks, drinks, games, activities, dance party and more. The work functions to dissolve the boundary between audience and performer, prioritizing the power of community; a world somewhere between spontaneous play and a guided experience.  Dresscode: wear whatever makes you feel FABulous! 


Our intrepid MC, Nicole, will then invite you to stay with us for a screening of some of JAYU’s celebrated, experimental human rights films. 


And on your way into or out of The Nexus Cabaret, stop by the Meridian Arts Centre’s other spaces for an art exhibit by JAYU youth artists  -  Leilah Dhore, Jasmine Vanstone, and Theia Ramsammy - and additional digital works. Nuit Blanche 2022 will be a night to remember!


For The Nexus Cabaret

Production Management: TO Live

Lighting Design: Arun Srinivasan

Stage Management: Andrew Gavin Hicks

Assistant Stage Manager:  Amelia Mielke-O'Grady 

Concept, Curation, Development & Co-Production: Timea Wharton-Suri


SEE BELOW FOR THE SCHEDULE OF EVENTS. 

Schedule of Events

Nuit Blanche is Free: Follow the Schedule to Choose When you Wish to Drop into The Nexus Cabaret!

 Click on "Event Details" for Credits and Descriptions.  

10/01/2022

WORLD AFTER DARK by Shannon Litzenberger

7:00pm

-

8:30pm

Event Details

10/01/2022

WORLD AFTER DARK by Shannon Litzenberger

Performed by Linnea Swan, Louis Laberge Côté, Kathia Wittenborn, Michael Mortley, Yui Ugai, Lindsay Harpham, and Aryana Malekzadeh. 


Concept,...

Event Details

7:00pm

-

8:30pm

10/01/2022

TAKING BREATH by Naishi Wang

8:30pm

-

9:30pm

Event Details

10/01/2022

TAKING BREATH by Naishi Wang

Performed by Naishi Wang

 

  • Concept and choreographer. Naishi Wang
  • Performer. Naishi Wang
  • Outside eye. Paul-André Fortier & Ginelle Chagnon
  • Dramat...

Event Details

8:30pm

-

9:30pm

10/01/2022

AFRO ANTHOLOGY by Martin Gomes & Lex for JAYU

9:30pm

-

10:00pm

Event Details

10/01/2022

AFRO ANTHOLOGY by Martin Gomes & Lex for JAYU

Performed by Martin Gomes

Animations: Lex Errazo


 "Afro Anthology" was co-created by Lex & Mart, written & directed by Mart, illustrated & ani...

Event Details

9:30pm

-

10:00pm

10/01/2022

TAPATHETICAL MEDITATION by Travis Knights

10:00pm

-

11:00pm

Event Details

10/01/2022

TAPATHETICAL MEDITATION by Travis Knights

Created & Performed by Travis Knights


Travis Knights is a Tap Dancer. Born in Montreal, Canada, Travis was introduced to the rich oral tradit...

Event Details

10:00pm

-

11:00pm

10/01/2022

THE RECEPTION by Jaz 'Fairy J' Simone

11:00pm

-

2:00am

Event Details

10/01/2022

THE RECEPTION by Jaz 'Fairy J' Simone

Concept, Creation, and Performance by Jaz 'Fairy J' Simone 

  

With Roney Lewis, Miranda Liverpool, Jim O’Brien, and more artistic collaborato...

Event Details

11:00pm

-

2:00am

More Events

shannon litzenberger's "world after dark"

NAISHI WANG'S "TAKING BREATH"

martin gomes's "No Justice, No Peace"

"bin chicken" film by alyssa martin for toronto dance theatr

Co-Presented by TO Live and Funded by the OAC

2023