Our WorkThe Dancers of Damelahamid of the Gitxsan nation is founded upon over four decades of extensive work of song restoration, upholding the ancient cultural wealth of their family’s lineage. According to Gitksan history, Damelahamid is the original city where the first ancestors were placed on earth from heaven. Since time immemorial Gitksan songs and dances have been performed in the feast hall and played an integral part in defining art and culture. It is inherently political, a practice that encompasses so much that it was banned by the Canadian government for several decades, though it was still privately maintained. The Dancers of Damelahamid emerged in the 1960s out of an urgency to ensure that the knowledge of their ancestors was not lost, and to uphold the ancient cultural wealth of their family’s lineage. Over the forty years that followed, a changed society created the context for the dances to survive through a new role: dance as a performance for public audiences, rather than as a private expression within Gitxsan feast halls. Since 2004, the Dancers of Damelahamid has established itself as a preeminent professional Aboriginal dance company that has self produced several theatre based productions, and the creation of newly choreographed dance works while asserting time honoured practices. The first full-length works choreographed and produced – Setting the Path (2004), Sharing the Spirit (2007) and Visitors Who Never Left (2009) – carried forward the traditional dances. Dancing our Stories (2010) and Spirit and Tradition (2010) – began the creation of new dance pieces, although still based on our traditional forms. It is the current directive of the Dancers of Damelahamid to redefine and characterize our practice to honour this history in order that the dances may continue to be tangible and accessible for the next generations. |