Co.ERASGA - Eternal Gestures

A visionary World Premiere from Co.ERASGA, Eternal Gestures is a trilogy of evocative solo works commissioned from Indigenous Coast Salish-based choreographers Starr Muranko, Michelle Olson and Margaret Grenier, and performed by Artistic Director Alvin Erasga Tolentino. This poetic work uplifts the voices of Indigenous women, asserts our deep connection to the land, and speaks to truth, healing, and the decolonization of art. Tolentino’s captivating performance becomes both a spiritual journey and a vessel for knowledge-sharing. This milestone production celebrates Co.ERASGA’s 25 th anniversary and reaffirms the company’s fierce commitment to cross-cultural, experimental dance which explores identity, ancestry, and the environment.

An established choreographer, Tolentino is also renowned as a performer with a distinctive stage presence, and has created many solo works over the past three decades. This new commission will see him focus on interpreting the works of three Indigenous female choreographers. “Through this project I hope to honour and celebrate the knowledge and legacies of Indigenous women as matriarchs, grandmothers, mothers and sisters – their care and nurturing of the world,” says Tolentino. “It is important to amplify their creative voices, to be danced and to be embodied for the world to see.” Eternal Gestures shares his reflections as a mature artist, a migrant visitor, and a settler living on Coast Salish territories.

The Choreographers:

Margaret Grenier is of Gitxsan and Cree ancestry. She is the Executive and Artistic Director for the Dancers of Damelahamid. She has produced the Coastal Dance Festival since 2008. Margaret’s multimedia choreographic works bridge Gitxsan and Cree dance forms with current expressions.

Dancer/choreographer and educator, Starr Muranko is of mixed Cree (Moose Cree First Nation), German and French ancestry, a mother, and Co-Artistic Director with Raven Spirit Dance. As a choreographer she is most interested in the stories that we carry within