Dances for a Small Stage premiered in May 2002 at the Royal Pub on Granville Street in Vancouver. Since then, Small Stage has created and produced over 60+ instalments of in Vancouver, around the Lower Mainland and has appeared three times at Ottawa’s National Arts Centre (2006 Canada Dance Festival, 2009 BC Scene and 2015 Magnetic North Festival + Canada Dance Festival) and partnered with La Petite Scene in Quebec City and Dances for a Small Stage~Australia, Adelaide, Australia.
Each Small Stage show is a collection of new and innovative works that are 5-7 minutes in length. The series showcases a wide diversity of styles, genres and cultures chosen to reflect the depth and breadth of Vancouver’s unique dance and music community including ~ Ballet, Tap, Jazz, Contemporary, Hip-Hop, Vogue, House, Bharatanatyam, Odessi, Flamenco, Métis Jig, Chinese Contemporary and Classical, Japanese Contemporary + Classical, Bhaṅgṛā and Scottish Highland, Burlesque, Jazz, Motown and many more.
The series showcases new and established dance professionals from Vancouver and across Canada on a ridiculously small stage, in unconventional venues.
Dances for a Small Stage has reached over 16,000 live audience members, many of whom had never before experienced dance.
Over 450+ local, national and international dancers and musicians have presented works at Dances for a Small Stage. Our alumni list includes Crystal Pite, Emily Molnar, Margie Gillis, John Oswald, Holly Small, Vanessa Goodman, Burgundy Brixx, Dayna Szyndrowski, Lola Dance, Joe Ink, Wen Wei Wang, Scheherazaad Cooper, Cheng-Xin Wei, Lorita Leung Chinese Dance Company, Chengxin Wei, Hardeep Singh Sahota, House of La Douche, Jeanette Kotowich, Jennifer Aioki, Krystle Dos Santos, Farnaz Ohadi, Kassandra Flamenco and The Company Dancers of Ballet BC amongst many others.