June 2, 2017

Press Release               

Monday, June 2, 2017, NU

Qaggiavuut celebrates young Nunavut artists working on The Dreamcatchers, a musical production of the Confederation Centre, Charlottetown.

QAGGIAVUUT pleased to announce that COLLEEN NAKASUK and JERRY LAISA, two Inuit youth artists from Nunavut have started rehearsals for a dynamic cross-country musical production called The Dream Catchers, based at the Confederation Centre in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island. Says Jerry Laisa: “I'm excited to be around all the talented people!”

THE DREAM CATCHERS is a musical quest to find hope for the future and dares you to believe that no dream is too small. Take hip hop, spoken word and folk; blend it with contemporary and Indigenous dance; choose 26 of the most diverse and exciting young performers from across the country and experience The Dream Catchers. The show is a vibrant music and dance filled spectacle that explores the dreams of young Canadians through a lens of reconciliation, inclusion and the environment. Colleen Nakasuk explains, “I’m grateful to have the opportunity to teach a large audience about Inuit culture and history. We will be doing about 6-10 performances a week so we will be exposing Inuktitut to a lot of people!”

Established artists from across Canada contributed new, original work to help form the show. They include Laakkuluk Williamson Bathory, City Natives, Emm Gryner, Kinnie Starr, Paper Lions, Khodi Dill, Fred Penner, Nikki Payne, Carmen Braden, Tiny Emperor, Daniel Maté, Riley Simpson-Fowler, Caroline Savoie and Twin Flames.

The Dream Catchers is a Canada150 Signature project, funded by the Government of Canada, produced by Confederation Centre of the Arts and featuring The Confederation Centre 2017 Young Company. The show is written by Mary Francis Moore with direction by ahdri zhina mandiela, choreography by Barbara Kaneratonni Diabo, and musical direction by Scott Christian.

For more information, please contact: Laakkuluk Williamson Bathory, Program Manager, Qaggiavuut! 867-222-6414 laakkuluk@qaggiavuut.com and Mary Francis Moore, Associate Artistic Director, The Confederation Centre of the Arts mfmoore@confederationcentre.com 416-700-7144