Sioux Lookout a special stop for Motus O Dance Theatre on farewell tour

Tim Brody - Editor

The Sioux Hudson Entertainment Series will present its sixth show of the 2023-2024 season on Friday, March 22, when it welcomes Motus O Dance Theatre’s presentation of “Confessions of a Professional Dancer”.
The show will begin at 7:30 p.m. and take place at Sioux North High School.
This will be an extra special show being Motus O Dance Theatre’s final performance in Sioux Lookout.
The show will feature the three Artistic Directors of MOTUS O dance theatre, James Croker, Cynthia Croker and Jack Langenhuizen.
Langenhuizen shared with The Bulletin, “I think Sioux Lookout has had, between the two series (Sioux Hudson Entertainment Series and Kids Kaleidoscope Entertainment Series), they’ve booked more (of our shows) shows than any other town or city in North America. We’ve been fortunate enough to build relationships from the beginning of our time we first came up to you with the Northwestern Ontario tour, and between the young audience and the adults, we’ve been coming up pretty well every two to three years for about three decades. It’s been absolutely phenomenal for us, and you can imagine we’ve built some great relationships along the journey here in town.”
Describing the show Motus O is bringing to Sioux Lookout, Langenhuizen said, “The show is called “Confessions of a Professional Dancer” and its basically the story of the three founders, James, Cynthia, and myself who started the company and are still currently the Artistic Directors. We thought it would be interesting to sort of go through something a little cathartic and sort of journey through the beginnings of how we started, why we started, and then into what’s next for us, so it sort of covers the decades of our personal journeys.”
Motus O Dance Theatre shared on its website that its Artistic Directors, “have all been trained in several artistic disciplines with decades of combined performing experience in both street theatre and stage.”
Langenhuizen said of this farewell tour and performance, “We’ve been going since 1990, so three and a half decades later we think it’s probably time to move on.”
He added, “Currently, and things could change, but currently it looks like the company will no longer be at the end of 2024.” He said the company may continue under a different name under new leadership.
“Motus O for us has been a lifestyle, it has not been a job,” he shared.
He said it has been quite the journey for the decades for himself and the other company founders, James and Cynthia Croker, “For us it has been. You know the good, bad, and ugly, and the show touches on that, we talk about points in our careers we wanted to give up, what inspired us to continue on, and why we continued on, and what the importance was for that.”
Langenhuizen added, “We have just thoroughly enjoyed the journey and we’ve been most blessed to have been brought to Sioux Lookout and really have incredible memories of this town over the decades both performing and working at the schools… we’ve had nothing but praises to sing about Sioux Lookout, the community and the people we’ve worked with over the years… It’s always like a bit of a homecoming when we come here.”
In addition to their performance, Motus O Dance Theatre will also be conducting a workshop in town on March 21 from 4:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. The location of the workshop has not yet been announced. Please see this week’s Community Corner Movement workshop with Motus O Dance Theatre for further details.
“We’re doing an open community workshop. It’s for anyone who has been a dancer, is a dancer, or has never danced in their entire life, it’s a very friendly movement oriented workshop and really what we do is we engage the participants to find their own personal movements. It’s not learning a bunch of steps; it’s about finding your personal organic movement for yourself. Being our last workshop, we plan on having lots of fun.”
People can get their tickets for the show at the door or on Eventbrite. The Eventbrite link can be found on the Sioux Hudson Entertainment Series website,

https://siouxhudsonentertainmentseries.ca/.
The Motus O Dance Theatre production is the sixth show in this year’s Sioux Hudson Entertainment Series line-up. Sioux Hudson Entertainment Series Committee Chair Alyson Martin said planning is already well underway by the committee on next season, “The committee have been working tirelessly on presenting this year’s line-up and are finalizing the booking plans for next year.  We recognize that the Pandemic had a profound impact at a number of levels, and all sectors were affected, the performing arts being one of them.  We hope to see community members head back to the theatre, including individuals, couples and families, who have never come out.  Some may think the series is only for those who have been involved in the arts, be it music, theatre, comedy…. and we can assure you, it’s not.  It is for everyone.  We want people to feel welcome when they walk through the doors, and we will continue to make sure that happens. If you aren’t sure what to expect, we will help you navigate.  While we try to bring in bigger names and will continue to do so as finances are available, and opportunities arise, our series integrates emerging artists who are eager to tour and see parts of Ontario in particular and Canada in general, and where fans are in abundance and audiences are ready to step into their world and engage.”
Commenting on the previous show in the series, the Manitoba Theatre Centre’s presentation of Mix Tapes From My Mom, Martin shared, “We have been hoping to see our numbers increase this year, and theatre usually brings in one of our larger crowds, but perhaps it was a little too close to March Break, so the numbers were down a wee bit.  Having said that, we saw an “intimate but appreciative crowd” joining us for the evening, and everyone was engaged in some way.  This was The Royal Manitoba Theatre’s first “musical” and the way they integrated the soundtrack through the presence of live performers, playing the “taped songs,” as the script/story line unfolded, was ingenious and well timed.  Based on the playwright’s true story, leant itself to a more personal exploration of love, loss, family, friends, and the importance of life and how we spend our time and with whom.  I know that it resonated for many at different levels, through their comments as they left the show and afterwards, during encounters in the community.  We don’t always have the opportunity to speak to the performers afterwards, but playwright Cory Wojcik, and one of the other performers made themselves available to anyone wanting to connect, and he shared that they felt the warmth and engagement of the audience immediately, and that allowed them to be as open in their performance as possible, enjoying the evening as much as we did.”  
Commenting on Motus O Dance Theatre’s performance this Friday, Martin shared, “It is their final performance and tour through NWO, as they retire, after blazing the trail for dance in the north, all across Canada and internationally.  Many of their performances have included community involvement, so we hope many of our community members who participated and those who cheered community members on, at both the Sioux Hudson Entertainment Series and Kids Kaleidoscope shows, attend.  One of the performances that clearly comes to mind is, “A Christmas Carol”, featuring a number of our community members stepping onto the stage with Motus O, bringing the well-known story to life.  Another impactful show was “Midsummer Night’s Dream”, as it had the entire audience spellbound, just like the story itself, and at the end, when the magic dust cleared, there was a spontaneous, collective, standing ovation from all in attendance.  It was simply amazing!  Of course, if “Confessions of a Professional Dancer,” is the only performance of Motus O’s you will ever see, then Sioux North High School is the place you need to be on Friday March 22nd at 7:30 pm., and bring your friends!”
Martin added, “Community Outreach with Motus O, Thursday March 21st, 4:30 - 5:30, location to be confirmed.  All community members are welcome to join us in the movement workshop and “just have fun!”  Dancers, dance enthusiasts, and those who are curious and interested, are welcome!  Please contact Alyson Martin to register at no cost and provide her with your contact information so the location of the workshop can be shared.  807-737-4996.”
“Our committee is made up of a committed group of volunteers, who are interested in working with and mentoring others around everything ‘arts presenting.’ Learning the technical side of things, publicity coordination in the realm of social media, understanding and participating in the role of programming, grant writing/accountability and committee process as the chair, fiscal responsibility and tracking as treasurer, and documentation as secretary, are opportunities awaiting new volunteers.  If anyone is interested in volunteering and knowing more about how they can participate, please

contact Alyson Martin, at 807-737-4996 (messages can be left) or through email at [email protected],” Martin concluded.