The streets of Winnipeg have come alive with creativity and energy as the 37th annual Winnipeg Fringe Festival begins.
Running until July 28, this festival is the second-largest fringe event in North America. With 25 venues, attendees can choose from almost 150 indoor shows and 1,250 performances, ensuring there is something for almost everyone.
The fringe is known for its vibrant mix of performances spanning cultures and styles, and this year is no exception. Among the many new shows, some highlights promise to captivate audiences.
One standout is Seasons of Life, a flamenco dance performance by the Brandon-based group Flamenco on the Prairies. This show tells the story of the connection between an older and younger dancer, tracing the seasons from joyful spring to sorrowful winter. With vibrant costumes and emotional resonance, Seasons of Life marks the group’s festival debut and will be at the Tom Hendry Warehouse (Venue 6).
“The seed of it all started during COVID when I was doing lots of online flamenco classes,” says Christine Penner, one of the dancers and a retired music teacher. “I had been dancing flamenco with Maritel Centurion from Winnipeg. We had gone to Spain before COVID, and then Maritel retired during COVID, and I got asked to teach flamenco.”
Penner emphasized the importance of live music in flamenco, especially after seeing it in Spain.
“It’s an interaction between musicians and the dancers,” she says of the art form that originated in Andalusia.
Thanks to Brazilian jazz guitarist Emmanuel Bach, violinist Caitlin Baker, flamenco guitarist George Bajer-Koulack, and guest percussionist Ramiro Sepulveda, Penner brings her dream to life.
“We’ve performed at outdoor festivals and bars, but we’re really excited about the idea of fringe because we could have several shows in a row,” she says, adding she enjoys the fun relationship with her dance partner, Anna Osterbeck.
“It’s an interesting friendship because I’m 60 and she’s about 21. It’s kept us both happy doing this flamenco that we love. And it works perfectly with the show.”
The performance weaves together themes of loss, joy, conflict, and sorrow, reflecting the human condition and the relationships that keep us grounded, she says.
Penner hopes the audience takes away a sense of the beautiful relationship between the younger and older dancers and how art creates new relationships and reflects the human condition at any age.
Ubuntu is another notable new show at the Planetarium Auditorium (Venue 9), offering an experience that transports guests to South Africa through the power of drumming.
Local African drummer Jay Stoller, alongside visiting musicians from South Africa, delivers an interactive performance where every audience member is provided a djembe drum to play along with the performers.
“Tiny Modise will be leading and guiding the audience, and Nosipho Mtotoba will showcase her wonderful voice,” Stoller says.
Stoller has studied African drumming for more than 30 years. He holds a diploma in African music from the University of Ghana and has been the franchise owner of Drum Café Winnipeg for eight years.
“Tiny and Nosipho are friends and colleagues. I met Tiny during a visit to Johannesburg and Nosipho on a trip there a few years back. I thought it would be great to have them come and join and spice things up a bit,” he says.
Drummer Modise says she’s excited to perform in Winnipeg.
“Being here is amazing, and we hope the audience will enjoy the moment of playing a drum together,” she says.
Stoller emphasized the interactive nature of the show.
“The audience should come prepared to have an amazing time. It’s going to be quite unique from most of the other shows at the fringe,” he says.
The show’s title, Ubuntu, means “I am because you are.” The word is part of the Zulu phrase “Umuntu ngumuntu ngabantu,” which means that a person is a person through other people.
Ubuntu has its roots in humanist African philosophy, where the idea of community is one of the building blocks of society.
Modise and Mtotoba, who arrived in Canada last Wednesday from Soweto, both highlighted the cultural exchange and community spirit the show embodies.
“Everywhere I’ve been, the audience has always been different. I can’t wait to see how the Canadian audience enjoys the experience,” says Modise. “We want everyone to have fun and just unite in the spirit of togetherness.”
Other notable shows include Bloodline by Paris Crayton III, directed by Dennis Neal, making its international debut at Dave Barber Cinematheque (Venue 7).
Crayton is an award-winning American playwright, actor, and director. Described as raw and poetic, his solo show is a semi-autobiographical, multi-generational love story told from the perspective of three men with the same name following the familial histories of Paris Sr., Jr., and III — a sharecropper, an animal technician, and a struggling artist.
Another touring show is Happy Go Lucky, a one-woman puppetry show by Shoshinz at Le Studio Théâtre Cercle Molière (Venue 20). Shoshinz — Japanese for “shy, timid people” — is the nom de clown of one-named Tokyo performer Yanomi, who has toured Singapore, the United States, Canada, Czech Republic, Taiwan, Austria, and Poland.
Shoshinz, which originated in 2005, uncovers universal truths with a blend of comedy, dance, physical theatre, and absurd music. All puppets are created and operated by Yanomi. Happy Go Lucky won the Producer’s Choice Encore award at the Cincinnati Fringe 2023.
