UPDATE: POSTPONED – CHECK BACK SOON FOR NEW DATE!
The original talk was planned for February 6, 2025, but will be rescheduled for another time.
Dancing for Mental Health: The Art of Living Well
A free, online presentation by Dr. Alina Sotskova, Registered Psychologist and Voirelia Hub’s Founder and Artistic Co-Director. Presented by BC Psychological Association as part of Psychology Month 2025.
Creative and artistic practices sustain us – they feed our hope and our imagination, help us make meaningful connections with ourselves and one another, and encourage creativity that can be applied in many areas of life. Finding avenues for inspiration and authentic self-expression is even more important in times of uncertainty and change. In this fun talk that fuses positive psychology with artistic themes, we will discuss how creative practices can help support our individual and community mental health and wellness, resilience, and relationship health.
MENTAL HEALTH IS HEALTH! LET’S TAKE GOOD CARE OF IT.
Our 2025 Fundraising campaign is here & we need your help!
Voirelia is proud to partner with The Dance Centre as we work toward our fundraising goals, but we need your support to make this vision a reality. Every dollar you contribute will directly support the development of Future Renaissance, helping cover studio space, artist fees, and production costs.
To contribute, go to:
- Click ‘Donate’
- Select ‘Artist in Residence’
- In the ‘Comments’ section, specify “Voirelia” to ensure that our project receives your gift.
Whether it’s $20 or $1,000, your support makes a meaningful impact. Donations over $25 will receive a charitable tax receipt.
We have big plans for Future Renaissance in 2025 – a creation of a full-length work for the stage, a dance film, and multiple visual art works, culminating in an evening of dance and art with a group art gallery showing. In this difficult financial climate for the arts, as federal funding cuts of 2024 are especially felt by small non-profits like ours that rely on project-based grant funding to exist, we have started self-producing Future Renaissance because we believe in this work. Help us continue it! A few captures from our showing of this work in progress in November 2024 at IndieFest 2024:
Photography: Ryan Alexander McDonald | Art Left Creative
Join us in creating an experience that speaks to the heart of what it means to connect, to feel, and to be human.
We can’t do it without you!
WANT TO WORK WITH US?
WE ARE LOOKING FOR ENTHUSIASTIC VOLUNTEERS WHO ARE ARE INTERESTED IN:
Outreach
Social Media / Promotions
Fundraising
Contact us here or message us on Instagram @Voirelia
SUPPORT VOIRELIA & GET A COOL T-SHIRT!
Get one while they last! Limited edition!
We’ve been working with a local artist, Carley Bjorgum, to create a unique design that captures our recent work that blends Renaissance sculpture and art inspirations with contemporary dance. Check out Carley’s work on Instagram: @carley.b.art
Gender neutral sizes XS, M, L, XL (out of size S). $40. Send us an email to confirm that we have your size voireliahub@gmail.com
Then, send an e-transfer with your size and mailing address to voireliahub@gmail.com. All proceeds go to support the creation of new work.
RECENT PAST EVENTS:
‘FUTURE RENAISSANCE’
WORK-IN-PROGRESS SHOWING
Photography: Nicolas Ventura
What will we lose? What will we seek?
Set 500 years from now, Future Renaissance is a fusion of virtuosic contemporary dance, sci-fi, and Renaissance art. A dance of ephemeral sculptures in motion unfolds in a cyberpunk-esque setting. Voirelia brings together artists from dance, lighting, music, and visual art to create a performance that blends past, present, and future. In this mesmerizing and unsettling world, creating real bonds among people is a lost art. Yet, a deep longing for the lost is stirring a rebellious revival. Through evocative choreographic imagery and vivid lighting design, Future Renaissance explores fears of loss and the search for connection, inviting reflection on how relationships define our humanity.
Presented by re:Naissance Opera at IndieFest 2024.
Artistic Director/Choreographer: Alina Sotskova
Dance Artists in above photos: Will Jessup, Ben DeFaria, Hana Rutka
To be performed by: Will Jessup, Ben DeFaria, Allison Brooks, Alina Sotskova
Lighting Design: Victoria Bell
Sound score: Brandon Lee Alley
Outside Eyes: Sylvain Senez, Brandon Lee Alley, Racheal Prince, Rachel Helten
Visual art work by: William Higginson
Costuming: Alina Sotskova with ruffle elements by Alaia Hamer
CONTEMPORARY DANCE WORKSHOP
“Expanding creativity: Image. Movement. Word.”
Presented by Scotiabank Dance Centre’s Annual Open House in September 2024
This all-levels workshop explored a variety of inspirations to move and dance. A fun mix of activities drawn from mindful dance practices, writing, and imagery invited participants to try out new ways of being creative in a supportive, guided environment. The activities included improvised, choose-your-own adventure experiences within a proposed creative framework, connecting visual art imagery with movement and creative writing exercises. This workshop offered many creative practices to integrate in both daily life and in dance, using a variety of improvisational ideas to tap into moving from joy and finding a mindful connection with dance.
Instructor: Alina Sotskova
Photo: Brendan McAlpine during a shoot with @finegraphy | @finegraphy_meetup
“DE/FORMED REVIVAL”
It was a pleasure to have “De/Formed Revival” return to the stage on February 29, 2024 to be part of ‘Discover Dance’ series at Scotiabank Dance Centre! Many thanks to the Dance Centre, our artistic team and volunteers, and our wonderful audience – it was very special for us to share this work with you, hear your impressions, and engage with the thoughtful reflections and questions you shared.
Future Renaissance picks up where “De/Formed Revival” left off, exploring narratives of loss, longing, and rebirth in the distant future.
VOIRELIA: Dance, Psychology, & Philosophy Hub 