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Saint John dance festival brings the performance to the audience

The seventh Saint John Contemporary Dance Festival isn't confining its performers to a stage, a dance floor, or even a building.

The festival runs through the weekend but all "site-specific" performances will be held Saturday afternoon, with the city's streets and art galleries playing host to free impromptu performances.

"It's always interesting to see peoples' reactions and how they respond," said Joanna Bryson, one of the festival's organizers, of performing in public.

"It will be interesting to see it in smaller venues such as Picaroons where they will either pick up and leave or stay and watch the performance."

The main ticketed event will be held in Saint John's BMO Studio Theatre on Saturday evening.

But there are also many free performances that day, including two dance performances at Picaroons General Store, an open-concept bar in the uptown.

Another performance will be held at the Yoga Co-op, with dancers performing in its window to spectators standing in the street.

And one outdoor performance will even wander through multiple locations, beginning at 86 Grannan Street.

Small spaces

The festival kicked off with a performance by dance troupe Polynomials at the Buckland Merrifield Gallery on Friday.

The troupe presented the same piece that they will dance at Picaroons on Saturday – an improvised performance based on live music made from sounds at the gallery.

Karissa Fyrrar, the artistic director for the dance group, said the piece was "created specifically for a realistic space.

"We have a table and two chairs so it's supposed to be a cafe-like environment," she said.

The piece follows the story of a public meeting between two people with a heated past, she added, so performing in a café or gallery puts the audience into the narrative with the performers as onlookers.

"In this case we're in a gallery so we have to try not to knock down the paintings as we move across the walls," she laughed.

An accessible art

Sarah Powers, another organizer of the festival, added that working in these spaces accommodates the artist's limitations, but also gives a new experience to the spectator.

"I think that a lot of contemporary dance artists can't afford to rent out a big theatre to put on a production," she said.

"Also in these smaller settings and intimate venues, the audience becomes much more a part of the performances."

Joanna Bryson said she hopes holding free, public dance events will show people how accessible modern dance is.

"It's very accessible," she said.

"It gives [people] a chance to see something different, and the world of contemporary dance is happening here in Saint John."