Neighbourhood Dance Works

09/04/2026

✨Meet the Artist: Ahmed Khalil✨

Festival of New Dance 2026:
⚡ BOLT
📅 September 24, 2026 | 7:00 p.m.
📍 LSPU Hall

Ahmed has deployed his divergent criticality at every available junction of practice. His works encompass the whole alphabet of the human condition. from A to B. Steadfastly maintaining his innocence, he remains at large, recording his "musics" in a wooden box near the water while he waits for the rain of indictments. Ahmed lives in Vancouver with his heretical prairie partner and a modest collection of electronic instruments.

For the 2026 Festival of New Dance Ahmed Khalil joins BOLT, bringing his distinctive musical practice to this interdisciplinary ensemble work. His sound and creative perspective help carry the performance into BOLT's unpredictable landscape of connection, risk and kinetic joy.

See Ahmed Khalil in BOLT on Thursday, September 24, 2026 | 7:00 p.m. | LSPU Hall.

To purchase tickets visit: https://www.showpass.com/festival-of-new-dance-2026-bolt/

09/04/2026

✨ Meet the Artist: Deanna Peters ✨

Festival of New Dance 2026:
⚡ BOLT
📅 September 24, 2026 | 7:00 p.m.
📍 LSPU Hall

💃 Somatic House Dance
📅 September 25, 2026 | 4:15 p.m. to 5:15 p.m.
📍 The Dance Space at Arts & Culture Centre

Meet Deanna Peters/Mutable Subject, a dance artist and designer who creates, performs and DIY produces for the stage, club, gallery, web and print. As a creator of “eye-popping” and “deeply moving” dance works, Deanna’s known for pushing the boundaries of the form: mutablesubject.ca

This year, Deanna brings their performance practice to BOLT, an Indigenous-led work shaped by Nêhiyaw/Métis cosmology, kinship and collaboration. They also lead Somatic House Dance, a unique workshop combining concepts and exercises from the Itcush Method of the Mitzvah technique with steps and approaches from House Dance.

See Deanna Peters / Mutable Subject in BOLT on Thursday, September 24, 2026 | 7:00 p.m. | LSPU Hall.

Join Deanna for Somatic House Dance on Friday, September 25 | 4:15–5:15 p.m. | Arts & Culture Centre. Free; registration required. Ages 18+, all levels welcome.

Purchase tickets: https://www.showpass.com/festival-of-new-dance-2026-bolt/

09/04/2026

✨ Meet the Artist: Kate Franklin ✨

Festival of New Dance 2026:
⚡ BOLT
📅 September 24, 2026 | 7:00 p.m.
📍 LSPU Hall

💃Contemporary Technique for Dancers
📅 September 25, 2026 | 10:00 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.
📍 The Dance Space at Arts & Culture Centre

🎭 An Evening of Odditease
📅 September 25, 2026
📍 The Majestic Theatre

As part of the 2026 Festival of New Dance, Kate Franklin joins the ensemble of BOLT, bringing 26 years of experience and collaborations with more than 50 choreographers and directors. Kate is Associate Artistic Director of Modus Operandi and creates her own choreographic work, which has been most recently shown at Dancing on the Edge.

At this year's FND Kate also leads Contemporary Technique for Dancers, a class exploring how our bodies actually function through contemporary dance, strength training and functional movement practices, with a focus on supporting long, healthy dance careers and practices.

Kate will also perform alongside longtime friend and collaborator Tina Fushell in An Evening of Odditease.

Purchase tickets for BOLT at https://www.showpass.com/festival-of-new-dance-2026-bolt/

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09/04/2026

✨ Meet the Artist: Jeanette Kotowich ✨

Festival of New Dance 2026:
⚡ BOLT
📅 September 24, 2026 | 7:00 p.m.
📍 LSPU Hall

💃 Movement Healing
📅 September 23, 2026 | 4:30 p.m. to 6:00 p.m.
📍 The Dance Space at Arts & Culture Centre

We’re thrilled to welcome Jeanette Kotowich back to St. John’s! Jeanette was the 2022 Indigenous Dancer in Residence, a partnership between NDW and First Light’s Spirit Song Festival supporting the presence of dance within this Indigenous-led festival. This year, Jeanette returns with BOLT at the 35th Festival of New Dance—an Indigenous-led performance shaped by Nêhiyaw/Métis cosmology, kinship and collaboration, bringing movement, land, lineage and the Ancestral body into a bold, joyful conversation.

Jeanette also leads Movement Healing, an experiential movement workshop inspired by Indigenous cosmology and contemporary dance practices, exploring the four elements—earth, fire, water and air—through embodiment and expression.

See Jeanette Kotowich in BOLT on Thursday, September 24, 2026 | 7:00 p.m. | LSPU Hall.

Join Jeanette for Movement Healing on Wednesday, September 23 | 4:30–6:00 p.m. | Arts & Culture Centre. Free; registration required.

Purchase tickets: https://www.showpass.com/festival-of-new-dance-2026-bolt/

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09/04/2026

Come to the 2026 Festival of New Dance and experience BOLT!

Indigenous-led by Jeanette Kotowich (Nêhiyaw/Métis), BOLT is a co-written body of knowledge and a reclamation of artistic sovereignty forged through kinship and collaboration.

Kinetic joy, synchronicity, laughter and risk-taking collide in this interdisciplinary journey through land, lineage, fracture and extraction—where past meets future and interconnectedness emerges.

📅 Thursday, September 24 | 7:00 p.m.
📍 LSPU Hall | 3 Victoria Street, St. John’s

Stay after the performance for an Artist Talkback with FND Writer in Residence Kaija Pepper.

🎟️ Tickets: https://www.showpass.com/festival-of-new-dance-2026-bolt/

Want to respond creatively? Register for the free Writers, Makers & Illustrators in Residence Response Labs: https://www.zeffy.com/en-CA/ticketing/2026-festival-of-new-dance-response-lab-registration

09/03/2026

✨ Meet the Artist: Samantha Sutherland ✨

Festival of New Dance 2026:
🔥 ʔa·kinq̓uku | ELEMENTAL
📅 September 23, 2026
📍 LSPU Hall

💃 Movement and Choreographic Practice
📅 September 24, 2026 | 10:00 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.
📍 The Dance Space at Arts & Culture Centre

💃Dancing the Ktunaxa Language
📅 September 26, 2026 | 12:00 p.m. to 1:00 p.m.
📍 The Dance Space at Arts & Culture Centre

Samantha Sutherland is a contemporary dance artist, choreographer and teacher based in Tkaronto. Her ancestry is Ktunaxa and Scottish. She has presented her work across Turtle Island and is currently an Artistic Associate with O.Dela Arts.
ʔa·kinq̓uku, the word for fire in the Ktunaxa Language, is a solo following the life cycle of a wildfire and the regrowth that occurs after. The work was created in reaction to the wildfire that burned through Samantha’s home community of ʔaq̓am in the summer of 2023.
In Movement and Choreographic Practice, participants can explore movement practices currently resonating with Samantha and techniques she uses in her choreographic process, with a focus on practices connected to ʔa·kinq̓uku.
In Dancing the Ktunaxa Language, exercise your mind and body while learning Ktunaxa words and phrases through movement and voice. The workshop welcomes all bodies, and no previous dance experience is required.
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🎟️ Tickets: neighbourhooddanceworks.com/fnd2026

09/03/2026

We’re so happy to have Robyn Breen be part of the 2026 Festival of New Dance! Robyn is the choreographer behind the latest instalment of The Weathering Project, inspired by Newfoundland and Labrador’s rain, drizzle, fog and relentless wind. This lively group work finds unity, humour and connection in the elements.
Robyn also leads Togethering, a group movement workshop for sensing community with care. Through movement, choice-making and real-time group dynamics, participants practice hearing, seeing and sensing each other in space. Unity over unison. We dance.
Experience The Weathering Project as part of ELEMENTAL, a mixed program of dance shaped by fire, water, weather and change, on Wednesday, September 23, 2026 | 7:30 p.m. | LSPU Hall.
Join Robyn for Togethering on Wednesday, September 23 | 10:00–11:30 a.m. | Arts & Culture Centre. Free; registration required.
Purchase tickets: https://www.showpass.com/festival-of-new-dance-2026-elemental/
Register for workshop: Festival of New Dance Workshops

09/03/2026

Big Steppers NL is part of the 2026 Festival of New Dance!

Big Steppers NL brings the energy and rhythm of South Indian dance to the stage with Thulli: The Journey of a Drop. The work follows a single water droplet through rain, rivers and sea in a joyful celebration of movement, resilience and renewal.

Big Steppers NL also leads a Kuthu Workshop, where participants will learn an easy-to-follow Kuthu routine while exploring the style’s lively rhythms, expressive movements and high-energy performance.

This year you can see Big Steppers NL in ELEMENTAL, a mixed program of dance shaped by fire, water, weather and change, on
Wednesday, September 23, 2026 | 7:30 p.m. | LSPU Hall.

Also, join Big Steppers NL for the Kuthu Workshop on
Saturday, September 26 | 1:15–2:15 p.m. | Arts & Culture Centre. Free; registration required.

For tickets to ELEMENTAL visit: https://www.showpass.com/festival-of-new-dance-2026-elemental/

To register for the workshop visit: https://artsandculturecentre.com/stjohns/Online/default.asp

09/02/2026

On Wednesday September 23rd, 2026 join us for Elemental, the opening-night mixed programme of the 2026 Festival of New Dance celebrating dance shaped by fire, water, weather and change.

Playing at the Resource Centre for the Arts (LSPU Hall) 3 Victoria Street, St. John's from 7:00 p.m. this show will feature three powerful works:

🔥 ʔa·kinq̓ uku by Samantha Sutherland explores wildfire, destruction and the regrowth that emerges from the ashes.
🌪️🌧️ Weathering Chapter 4 by Robyn Breen brings performers together as they contend with the relentless rain, fog and wind of this rocky island.
💧 Thulli: The Journey of a Drop by Big Steppers NL follows water’s journey from rain to river, sea and sky through energetic South Indian kuthu and folk dance.
After the performance, stay for an artist talkback facilitated by Writer in Residence Angela Antle, followed by an opening-night reception in the Second Space.
Come celebrate the beginning of FND 2026 with us!

Purchase your tickets here: https://www.showpass.com/festival-of-new-dance-2026-elemental/

Want to respond creatively? Have you heard about this year’s Writers, Makers & Illustrators in Residence Response Labs?
Find out more: https://www.zeffy.com/en-CA/ticketing/2026-festival-of-new-dance-response-lab-registration

08/28/2026

It's not too late to sign up to volunteer with the 2026 Festival of New Dance! Volunteering with the Festival is a great opportunity to meet artists based in St. John's and all across Canada — AND get a free ticket for a FND performance!

Register now! https://forms.gle/qjnsta91rsQLZoQC7

📣 Volunteer with the 2026 Festival of New Dance!

Want to get involved with the Festival of New Dance (FND) this year? We’re looking for volunteers to help with the festival in St. John’s from September 23 to 26, 2026!

Volunteer opportunities include:
🚗 Driving artists
🎟️ Front of house duties
📝 Workshop check-in
📣 Festival promotion

All volunteers will be given a complimentary ticket to one of six Festival of New Dance (FND) Mainstage Presentations, available on a first-come, first-served basis. Volunteers are also invited to participate in all free workshops, response labs, and ancillary festival activities.

Interested in volunteering? Fill out the volunteer form here:
forms.gle/ueBnwukRhv5i4cso9

Questions? Contact Jennifer at [email protected].

We look forward to welcoming you to the FND 2026 team!