Just Breathe, Okâwîmâwaskiy project launches new film through keynote presentations
In May 2025, TRAction collective co-leads Sandra Lamouche and Melanie Kloetzel did two pre-screenings of their new film Just Breathe, Okâwîmâwaskiy based on the live immersive performance project, Just Breathe, Okâwîmâwaskiy. Lamouche and Kloetzel shared both project research and the film through a keynote presentation at the annual C2U Expo, which took place in Edmonton […]
Melanie wins Creativity Award in Climate, Energy and Sustainability from the Faculty of Arts at the University of Calgary
TRAction co-lead Melanie Kloetzel was honoured by the University of Calgary’s Faculty of Arts for her creative approaches to addressing the climate crisis. One of 19 awarded for their contributions, Kloetzel was the only recipient in the area of Climate, Energy and Sustainability. Overall, the awards “celebrate the innovative scholarship that provides new insights and […]
Kevin creates collaborative work for the Rainbow Refugee Society as part of New Works
TRAction co-lead Kevin Jesuino was invited by Vancouver-based New Works to collaborate with dance artist, Marco Esccer, to create a work with members of the Rainbow Refugee Society. The goal of their collaboration was to create a dance piece that expressed the members’ personal journeys. The performance was presented at the International Day Against Homophobia, […]
Tender City: The Silent Slow Dance Project fosters connections
One of our collective members, Kevin Jesuino, has been tending to this new project for the past year. Tender City: The Silent Slow Dance Project is a socially engaged dance project inviting men to participate in partnered silent slow dances in public urban spaces. Historically, urban design has often prioritized order, efficiency and productivity, reflecting […]
Chagnon featured on CBC program ‘Instrumental Stories’
TRAction co-lead Chantal Chagnon was featured on the CBC program ‘Instrumental Stories’ in November 2024. A collaboration between CBC Calgary and the Calgary Public Library, ‘instrumental Stories’ is a monthly program that features instruments and music of cultural significance. For Chantal’s session, called ‘Heartbeat of the Land: Métis Drumming, Rattles and Ceremony’, she shared wisdom […]
Just Breathe, Okâwîmâwaskiy featured at 2024 Healthy Dancer Canada Conference
TRAction co-leads Sandra Lamouche and Melanie Kloetzel offered an interactive talk entitled “Cross-Cultural Collaborations: Analyzing Just Breathe, Okâwîmâwaskiy“ at the 2024 Healthy Dancer Canada conference, held this year at the University of Calgary. With support of Canada Council for the Arts, UCalgary’s Institute for Transdisciplinary Studies and Environment and Climate Change Canada, the Just Breathe, […]
Nature of Us tours to Treaty 6 and 7 territories
The Nature of Us had a successful tour in summer 2024, presenting at both New Works (Calgary) and Found Festival (Edmonton). We want to thank all those who came out to experience the work and a big thank you to the programmers for taking a risk with this project. The Nature of Us is a […]
Out of Wounds premieres at Trent University
In November 2024, TRAction co-lead Sandra Lamouche shared her new work, Out of Wounds, at Nozhem: First Peoples’ Performance Space at Trent University in Peterborough, ON. Out of Wounds is born from the sensory experience of dealing with racial trauma and anxiety. During a time of heightened anxiety, Lamouche found the healing power of wagimauskigan, […]
VINES
VINES is an ecosomatic practice and performance created by Melanie Kloetzel. Using state-based, improvisational and durational approaches, the work explores how the human body can corporeally adapt to urban spaces by rigorously embodying growth patterns from climbing plants. In dialogue with Indigenous concepts of relationality, VINES considers what it might mean to identify with plants […]
VINES grows through back-to-back presentations
After a remarkable three-hour durational presentation of VINES at Contemporary Calgary in November 2024 as part of the Fluid Movement Arts Festival, New Works Calgary, TRAction and Dancers’ Studio West co-present VINES, a site-adaptive dance performance created by Melanie Kloetzel/kloetzel&co. on February 1st, 2025 at St. Stephens Anglican Church. As part of the New Works […]