2024-2025
Vancouver, BC

In April 2024, Kinesis Dance’s founder Paras Terezakis introduced Vancouver choreographer and dancer Rachel Helten as his successor and the new Artistic Director of the company.

Born from Paras & Rachel’s desire to embody this transition of artistic leadership for our organization, Bright Shadow’s first inspiration was to merge iconic excerpts from Paras’ extensive works with Rachel’s multidisciplinary research on Utopia and Dystopia, to create a new work centered around the question “what world are we hoping to build together?”

The sneak peak into the research performed on April 4th featured dynamic movement, live music, and digital projections. 

As the world is experiencing chaos, a climate crisis, and continued social injustice, we believe more than ever, it is vital to continue conversations, expand in our consciousness, imagination, nervous systems, and hearts, with what a peaceful and utopic world might look like for us. “Bright Shadow” seeks to spark dialogue, inspire creativity, and offer a beacon of hope amidst uncertainty.

Dance in Vancouver
November 2024

Bright Shadow is a multidisciplinary performance that navigates the interplay between utopia and dystopia through dance, music, spoken word, and immersive digital projections. At its heart lies the question, “What world do we want to build together?” This dynamic work invites audiences to engage actively, integrating interactive technologies to shape the performance in real time. Through vivid storytelling and evocative artistry, Bright Shadow fosters reflection on collective dreams and fears, offering a transformative space to imagine and co-create a more connected and hopeful future.

In November, Rachel expanded the work with dancers Allison Lang, Ileanna Sophia Cheladyn and Ana Sosa, alongside musician and poet Kofi Obiri Yeboah and composer Ben Helten, integrating interactive technology and projections designed by programmer and digital artist Ezequiel Peralta. The work-in-progress was publicly presented during the Dance In Vancouver biennale hosted by The Dance Centre. After the show, audience members expressed how moved they were by the work, fueling our desire to expand our research. This process also revealed the need for more time, energy, and resources to further develop the concept.

This work is initially rooted in Rachel’s personal journey through trauma, loss, and mental illness. Her experiences with Complex PTSD (CPTSD), have profoundly shaped her understanding of the necessity to orient toward peaceful realities and potentials. This journey has deepened her awareness of how crucial compassion, connection, and hope are—not only in our personal lives but also for the collective consciousness we share. As the project has evolved, it now embraces and honours the voices of our collaborators and future audiences. Together, we explore the transformative power of art and connection as tools for personal and collective healing. In doing so, we expand our perspectives, envisioning a world in harmony with ourselves, each other, and the earth.

We envision an extended interactive multidisciplinary work that incorporates contemporary dance, original music, sound clips, and digital projections. This immersive experience will foster dialogue about utopian ideals amidst the current chaos and injustice we face. Our objectives include facilitating group discussions and creative explorations among collaborators to provoke thought and inspire creativity while amplifying individual voices within our project. Through this, we seek to honour diverse perspectives.