Canadian Dance Icons Peter Bingham and Denise Fujiwara Headline International Line-Up at MOonhORsE Dance Theatre

Older & Reckless, MOonhORsE Dance Theatre's celebrated series curated by Artistic Director Claudia Moore, continues its 2012/13 season with 2 SOLOS | A DUET | AN ENSEMBLE featuring ten dance artists from around the globe in works by Canadian choreographers Peter Bingham, Denise Fujiwara, Peter Chin and Nancy Latoszewski (Greyeyes). Edition #28 of Older and Reckless runs March 8 to 10 at Dancemakers Centre for Creation.

Vancouver contact improvisation master Peter Bingham presents Romantic Old Horses, a stunning duet for Daelik (Vancouver) and Kostas Gerardos (Greece). An intimate and powerful encounter between two men, the duet draws upon the extensive history of Contact Dance and Improvisation that underlies the careers of both Daelik and Kostas. The dance shifts between playful and highly physical to thoughtful and imagistic. Danced to the music of Robert Schumann, the duet reflects a long, deep friendship between two men.

Additionally, at 10am on Saturday March 9, Daelik and Kostas will conduct a workshop/master class entitled Back to the Future (exploring the back space). It is a contact improvisation class with specific focus on the "back space" as an area for discovery and motivation, aimed at professional dancers and dance students in their final year of training.

Choreographer Denise Fujiwara brings an excerpt of Eunoia to the stage. This compelling dance work is based on the 2002 Griffin Prize-winning work of the same name by poet Christian Bök. In the poem, the author imposed upon himself the severe constraint of working with only one vowel in each chapter. In the dance, Fujiwara uses the poem as text (spoken live and in multi-media projections) as a basis for the musical score, multimedia expressions and the movement invention. Like the poem, the dance work is rigorous, witty, unpredictable and frequently droll. Eunoia features six acclaimed dance artists: Sylvie Bouchard, Claudia Moore, Lucy Rupert, Miko Sobreira, Rebecca Hope Terry and Gerry Trentham, with a stellar creation team that includes composer Phil Strong and media designer Justin Stephenson.

Rounding out the program is the incomparable Peter Chin, artistic director of Tribal Crackling Wind, in a brand new solo work, con/Tempo/rare; and Nancy Latoszewski (Greyeyes), co-artistic director of Signal Theatre, performing her solo, Carriage.

And the public doesn't need to just stand on the sidelines - they can sign up for an introductory hip-hop workshop for adults with Apolonia Velasquez and Ofilio Sinbadinho (both of Gadfly), 5:30pm on Saturday, March 9 ($10). And they are invited to join in a gentle and rejuvenating audience warm-up prior to each performance; and to stay for an after-party and a chance to talk one-on-one with the artists.

Peter Bingham was born in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, on May 31, 1951. Raised in an air force family, he lived in many towns and cities across Canada before returning to make Vancouver his home. While studying at Simon Fraser University, Bingham discovered dance with Linda Rubin, his first teacher. She introduced him to improvisation and modern dance techniques. In 1976, American dance artists Nancy Stark Smith and Steve Paxton, two of the leading proponents of Contact, visited and taught in Vancouver. Bingham studied with both Paxton and Stark-Smith, becoming a good friend of these artists and a committed practitioner of Contact. In 1977, Bingham co-founded Fulcrum with Andrew Harwood and Helen Clarke. In 1982, Bingham joined seven independent dance artists to form the dance collective, EDAM. As one of the Company's directors, Bingham performed in numerous improvisations and created many choreographed works. In 1989, Bingham became EDAM's sole Artistic Director. Since then, he has implemented the Company's ongoing program of choreographed productions, improvisational projects, workshops, classes and residencies.

Denise Fujiwara began her interesting career in childhood, as a gymnast, when she competed internationally for the Canadian Rhythmic Gymnastics team. Upon completing an Honours B.F.A. in Dance at York University, she became one of the founders of T.I.D.E. (Toronto Independent Dance Enterprise). Here she was instrumental in the creation of a diverse body of work for the now-defunct but still notorious company that danced across Canada for 10 years. In 1991 she formed her own company, Fujiwara Dance Inventions, to house the development of her solo projects.

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