World-renowned Dakhká Khwáan Dancers bring their unique fusion of traditional dance and hip-hop to Vernon

VERNON, BC— the national award-winning Dakhká Khwáan Dancers and DJ Dash bring their unique fusion of traditional dance and electronic music to the Vernon & District Performing Arts Centre on September 23 at 7:30PM.

Launching this 2022-23 SPOTLIGHT Dance Series, the Vernon & District Performing Arts Centre Society proudly presents the world-renowned Dakhká Khwáan Dancers and DJ Dash with their vibrant and energetic performance of Deconstruct/Reconstruct as VDPAC’s 21^st annual Birthday Bash celebration.

The Dakhká Khwáan Dancers are a national award-winning Inland Tlingit dance group based out of Whitehorse, Yukon. Together with DJ Dash, they fuse traditional singing, dancing, drumming and storytelling with techno and hip-hop music and video to create vibrant multimedia performances, drawing influences from contemporary Indigenous artists, such as A Tribe Called Red. Their high-energy performances feature carved cedar animal masks, stunning traditional regalia, and floor-shaking bass and beats that carry the unique voices of the Dakhká Khwáan Dancers, right up to the present and into the future.

The Dakhká Khwáan Dancers have earned international acclaim, dancing across Canada, the US, and overseas to New Zealand and Taiwan. They performed at the Vancouver 2010 Olympics and the Pam Am Games in 2015; and performed for and supported the Assembly of First Nations (AFN) delegation that recently met with Pope Francis in Vatican City, Italy. The group received the 2014 National Aboriginal Cultural-Tourism Award and were nominated for an Indigenous Music Award for their first album, “Deconstruct/Reconstruct” produced in collaboration with DJ Dash and now on tour.

They were also recently named the lead dance group for the 2024 Celebration festival, a biennial celebration of Tlingit, Tsimshian and Haida cultures that gathers more than 2,000 dancers and thousands of spectators in southeastern Alaska every two years. The group received this special honour at this year’s Celebration event, held this June in Juneau, Alaska.

Dakhká Khwáan means “People of the Inland” in the Tlingit language. Originally from Carcross, Yukon, Dakhká Khwáan Dancers formed in 2007, by Marilyn Yadułtin Jensen, Dakhká Khwáan’s leader and founder. The group started with six members, but has grown to include about 30 people as well as a junior group. They focus on reclaiming their languages and traditional values through their inherent art form of singing, drumming, dancing, and storytelling, presenting their performances with the utmost respect to cultural protocol and with the highest form of artistic integrity. Members of the group originate from all of the Interior Tlingit Nations as well as other welcomed Nations from the Southern Yukon. Together, they share their passion for expressing their identity through the arts.

The Vernon & District Performing Arts Centre Society is honoured and thrilled to include the Dakhká Khwáan Dancers with DJ Dash as special guest artists in its 2022-23 SPOTLIGHT Season.

The Dakhká Khwáan Dancers and DJ Dash perform Deconstruct/Reconstruct at the Vernon & District Performing Arts Centre on Friday, September 23 at 7:30 p.m. Doors open at 6:30 p.m. with special pre-show Birthday Bash events, (Watch for announcements).

Tickets are $40 for adults, $37 for seniors, and $35 for students, OR save 25% off this show and more by subscribing to the SPOTLIGHT Dance Series. To purchase tickets please call 250-549-SHOW (7469) or visit our 2022-23 SPOTLIGHT Season online at: www.vdpac.ca.

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Video: https://fb.watch/fndH4G1fQv/

About Vernon and District Performing Arts Centre:

The Vernon and District Performing Arts Centre Society is a non-profit, charitable organization devoted to fostering artists, their work, and live performance in all genres and for all ages. The Society operates the Performing Arts Centre’s (VDPAC) on behalf of the Regional District of North Okanagan (RDNO) and with the support of over 200 volunteers. Each year, we present our SPOTLIGHT Season of diverse performances, complemented by over 125 concerts, festivals, and special events. We select professional touring productions to entertain, enlighten, move and amuse our patrons. Altogether, they offer audiences of all ages a world of unforgettable live theatre experiences. Please visit: https://vdpac.ca/ & https://ticketseller.ca/

Facebook: @vdpac
Instagram: @vernonperformingarts

For more information, media can contact:

Angela Hendry

Marketing Director

250-542-9335

[email protected]