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RWB Company in T’əl: The Wild Man of the Woods (2024). Photo: Daniel Crump

Review | RWB Tours T’əl, an Indigenous Story by Indigenous Creators

By Kaija Pepper on 12 February 2026 Concert Reviews, Dance, Indigenous, Scena Arts, Vancouver, West

Royal Winnipeg Ballet (RWB) has commissioned three Indigenous story ballets over the decades, each one making, for its time, a newsworthy impact. 1971’s The Ecstasy of Rita Joe, choreographed by Norbert Vesak, was a hard-hitting depiction of racism, while 2014’s Going Home Star—Truth and Reconciliation, by Mark Godden, put the residential school scandal onstage. Then came 2024’s traditional Indigenous tale, T’əl: The Wild Man of the Woods, and, this time, an Indigenous choreographer: Cameron sinkʷə Fraser-Monroe, a member of the Tla’amin Nation of British Columbia’s northern Sunshine Coast. RWB recently presented T’əl (pronounced “tall”) on a seven-stop tour of BC—which I…

Tanya Tagaq. Photo: Rebecca Wood

Newswire | The World Premiere of Tanya Tagaq’s Split Tooth: Saputjiji

By Newswire on 27 November 2025 Indigenous, Newswire, Vancouver, Vocal, West

PuSh International Performing Arts Festival, Chan Centre for the Performing Arts, and Music on Main present the world premiere of Split Tooth: Saputjiji—a visionary new performance work from Polaris Prize and JUNO Award–winning artist Tanya Tagaq—February 7, 2026, at the Chan Centre for the Performing Arts. This genre-defying piece extends the elemental, poetic, and fiercely imaginative universe of Tagaq’s bestselling, award-winning book Split Tooth and draws on her new album Saputjiji. Based in part on her own personal journals, Split Tooth (Penguin Random House) tells the story of a young Inuk woman growing up in the Canadian Arctic in the 1970s. The book has been described as a…

Newswire | PuSh Festival Returns this Winter with 25 Performances and Events

By Newswire on 20 November 2025 Contemporary, Dance, Film, Indigenous, Newswire, Scena Arts, Theatre, Vancouver, West

PuSh International Performing Arts Festival is excited to announce the programming for the 2026 Festival, which returns to Vancouver from January 22 to February 8, 2026. For two and a half weeks, PuSh Festival invites audiences to discover innovative contemporary works of live performances by local, national and international artists. PuSh has been the city’s midwinter anchor for more than two decades—a place where live arts are celebrated, where risk is rewarded, and where audiences engage with bold, audacious performances. The 2026 PuSh Festival will continue to defy the bounds of discipline, bringing together 25 presentations of theatre, dance, music, installation, film,…

In Touch with The Millennia: Fashion Talk with Elisabeth St-Gelais

By Viktor Lazarov on 10 November 2025 Art of Living, Indigenous

For some, fashion is everything that goes out of fashion, as Jean Cocteau said. For others, fashion weaves thousands of years of tradition. Combining modern tastes with the imprint of her Innu roots, soprano Elisabeth St-Gelais talks fashion choices—from earrings to evening wear. “There’s a lot of beadwork among Indigenous people, and the Innu in particular. It’s part of our cultures,” says St-Gelais. In fact, as our June-July 2025 issue’s cover artist, readers will already have seen St-Gelais wearing multicoloured beaded earrings, a tradition of her Innu nation of Pessamit. It’s not uncommon for St-Gelais to wear moccasins or beaded…

Aren Okeymasim (Napew), Krystle Pederson, Tai Amy Grauman (Iskwewo), Rebecca Sadowski and Carmen Alvis in You used to call me Marie… (York Theatre, 2024). Photo: Emily Cooper

Review | Rooted in Story, Carried by Song: You used to call me Marie… at the Arts Club

By Kaitlyn Chan on 3 October 2025 Concert Reviews, Indigenous, Musical Theatre, Theatre, Vancouver, West

Playwright Tai Amy Grauman wrote her first draft of You used to call me Marie… in the Arts Club’s LEAP Playwriting Intensive about eight years ago. The play now returns at the intimate 237-seat Olympic Village Stage at the BMO Theatre Centre from Sept. 25 to Oct. 12. A Savage Society & NAC Indigenous Theatre production, You used to call me Marie… celebrates the love stories of Alberta’s Métis women—beginning with Marie Callihoo—from the 1930s to today as the Métis Nation rises across the plains. The play begins in the world of the stars. Actors dressed in cream and beige…

(L-R): Cheri Maracle, Gryphon Trio, and Marion Newman in Echo: Memories of the World. Photo: Darcy Beck

Review | Echo: Memories of the World Explores Archives’ Power

By Kaitlyn Chan on 4 June 2025 Concert Reviews, Indigenous, Multimedia, Piano, Strings, Vancouver, Vocal, West

As the audience arrived at the Chan Centre for Echo: Memories of the World (May 31), they were immediately directed to the choral loft behind, and above the stage. “This is an intimate concert,” the ushers said as they asked us to fill the first two rows of seats. This intimacy fostered a closeness to one’s neighbour and undivided attention on the carefully curated program we were about to see. On the stage, four or five additional rows of seats allowed some audience members to be even closer, only a few feet away from the performers. Above them was a…

An Indigenous Playlist: Indigenous Artists Select their Favourite Tunes

By Kaitlyn Chan on 3 June 2025 Classical Music, Contemporary, Indigenous, Popular Music

In celebration of National Indigenous Peoples Day on June 21, La Scena Musicale asked several Indigenous artists to help create a playlist. Each artist selected one song by an Indigenous musician or composer and explained why they chose the piece. Discover what some of Canada’s incredible Indigenous creators are listening to in their song selections below. Eadsé www.eadsemusic.com Eadsé, which means “my good friend” in Wendat, is a Wendat singer-songwriter based in Montreal. She was recently named a 2025-26 Radio-Canada Revelation following the release of her first album Healer, which explores healing, resilience and letting go in French, English and…

Left: Corrina Bonshek Photo: Nick Morrissey. Right: Katia Makdissi-Warren

Festival International Présence Autochtone: Ocean Ode

By Nathalie de Han on 31 May 2025 Indigenous

Blending tradition and contemporary music, the musical event Song to the Whales will be featured at Place des Festivals during the opening days of the 35th edition of the Festival International Présence Autochtone (FIPA). This ode to ocean life features the powerful voices of Inuit throat singers Lydia Etok and Nina Segalowitz. Elder and Aboriginal singer Bunna Lawrie (Mirning Elder) and vocalist and multi-instrumentalist Whaia Maori Sonic Weaver will also join in. Australian percussionist Michael Askill will be conducting a gong orchestra. In all, 11 artists from the Corrina Bonshek and Oktoecho ensembles will be performing. Known for her immersive…

Photo: Ville De Pluie – Andre Rainville

Elisabeth St-Gelais: The North Star

By Viktor Lazarov on 30 May 2025 Classical Music, Indigenous, Interviews, Opera, Vocal

Makings of a Star Freshly emerged from a winning streak on the domestic competition circuit with an almost unparalleled record for a Canadian vocal artist in her 20s, soprano Elisabeth St-Gelais is enjoying a promising career on the national and international stage. Since 2022, she has won an impressive number of awards, including the Wirth Vocal Prize at McGill, first prize (age 19-30) at the Canadian Music Competition, the Prix d’Europe, first prize and audience prize at the Centre Stage Competition of the Canadian Opera Company as well as mentions at the District Winner of the Met Lafont Competition in…

Festival de la Voix: A Celebration of Cultural Diversity

By Adrian Rodriguez on 20 March 2025 Arts Industry, Folk, Indigenous, Interviews, Jazz, Montreal, Popular Music, Vocal, World Music

Since its inception, Le Festival de la Voix has been dedicated to showcasing the beauty of the human voice, offering audiences a rich variety of vocal music from classical to jazz, folk, and world music. For its 12th edition, the festival continues to spotlight artistic diversity and meaningful cultural collaborations. One of its highlights is Nikamu Mamuitun (Songs That Unite Us), a project uniting Indigenous and Quebecer singer-songwriters to explore shared histories and musical traditions by blending French and Innu lyrics to reinforce connection and reconciliation. Eight emerging artists will present the results of their work at the Beaconsfield High…