Barbara Kaneratonni Diabo was recognized for her far-reaching work as a practitioner and educator of indigenous forms of dance and culture.
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Last September, during the Quartiers Danses Festival on the Place des Arts, the dancer and choreographer Barbara Kaneratonni Diabo performed Sky dancers, a deeply personal response to the 1907 collapse of a bridge under construction over the St. Lawrence River. The disaster killed 76 iron workers, 33 of them members of the nearby Kahnawake Mohawk community. Among the dead was Diabo’s great-grandfather.
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Tragedy still lurks Kahnawake, where Diabo is from. It is one of the reasons why, for the last 25 years, he has dedicated himself to building bridges through dance.
Diabo’s achievements were recognized last Thursday at a Prix de la Danse de Montréal ceremony, held at the Compagnie Marie Chouinard studios.
The Grand Prize went to Mélanie Demers for her outstanding work as “a fierce and socially committed artist.” (Striking examples of Demers’ recent work include his FTA show La Goddam Voie Lactée and Confession Publique, who just finished a degree at La Chapelle.)
But Diabo, one of the women on the recipient list, won the prestigious Prix interprète de la danse. This was largely because of Sky Dancers, but also because of her far-reaching work as a practitioner and educator of indigenous forms of dance and culture.
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“It is always very nice to be recognized by peers, so it was very moving for me,” Diabo told the Montreal Gazette a few hours after receiving the award. “In my speech, I said that it reminded me of when I was a child. I grew up in a very small community on a farm and had very little access to dancing or opportunities. And then when I moved to the big city, it was kind of overwhelming. But I kept dancing because it brought me a lot of joy. Then I remember that little girl in me. I’m still in awe that he received this award. “
Born in Kahnawake, Diabo was brought to live on a farm in Nova Scotia at the age of six. As he entered his teens, he began to feel the pull of the big city, Montreal to be exact.
“Part of me wanted to reconnect with Kahnawake,” Diabo explained. “I studied theater in Concordia and took many dance classes. I don’t remember a time in my life where I didn’t dance, but that’s when I really started to be exposed to so many other forms of dance. I started with classical ballet because that was all they had. Then, I took contemporary dance, ballroom dance, hip hop. I took so many different styles because everything was amazing. “
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Aside from taking advantage of the city’s thriving dance scene, another reason Diabo moved to Montreal was because he wanted to be close to his people. “I also reconnected with my community and our cultural dances at that time,” he said.
Through her own company, A’nó: wara Dance Theater, Diabo has raised awareness of forms such as the powwow, the hoop dance, and the Haudenosaunee dance. On the theatrical side, he has worked with Infinithéâtre and is currently part of the team of the Speaking of Tiotià Treaties: ke project, Indigenous Residence Centaur Theater.
Speaking of this, Diabo said that “we are exploring the Mohawk history of the area around Centaur and around the island of Montreal. Just walking through Old Montreal, you will see so many statues of the settlers, generals, and conquerors. Perhaps you will find a statue of a native person. They will have the names of all the generals, and then under the statue of the native it will just say “Iroquois.” So we are trying to reclaim that space through this residence. “
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Diabo has also recently moved to the movies, with the short Smudge, which she played with her own offspring, Emily. It is a meditation, through dance and ceremony, on pain, healing, and the importance of tradition, made all the more poignant by that intergenerational family connection.
Diabo is particularly pleased that the Prix de la Danse jury has chosen to honor an indigenous dance practitioner.
“Our dances were discouraged for hundreds of years and were considered unprofessional and even illegal in many parts of the country,” Diabo said. “They made us feel invisible. So this recognition really made me happy that they are making at least one indigenous artist feel a little more visible today. I am grateful for my community and for my ancestors, not just for me. “
Other winners include 100Lux (Envol, the award for cultural diversity and inclusive practices in dance), Béatriz Mediavilla (Montreal Dance Discovery Award) and Louise Lapierre (Ethel Bruneau Award). For a full list of Prix de la Danse de Montréal laureates, visit prixdeladanse.com.
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Reference-montrealgazette.com