February 23, 2021
Online for the Dunlop Art Gallery, Regina, SK
A Conversation with artist seth cardinal dodinghorse following a pre-recorded and live performance of Dirt Dance. The performance and conversation were presented by the Dunlop Art Gallery.
First performed in 2019, Dirt Dance recreates the story of the dispossession of the cardinal dodginghorse family from their ancestral territory on the Tsuut’ina Nation for the construction of Calgary’s Southwest Ring Road project. Dirt Dance—a Tsuut’ina dance created by seth cardinal dodginghorse—combines mimicked movements from construction vehicles from the construction site that was his family's ancestral land with techniques from his traditional Blackfoot Prairie Chicken Dance practice.
Throughout the immersive performance, the viewers, turned participants, are invited to witness displacement and be displaced by cardinal dodginghorse. They are challenged to actively listen to the distorted audio of politicians praising the Ring Road project to gain a fuller understanding of the relationship between the performance ephemera and the Dirt Dance. Similar to traditional dances that preceded it, Dirt Dance is a response to the ongoing colonial violence on the land and the body in the name of economic development.
seth cardinal dodginghorse is an experimental musician, cultural researcher, and multidisciplinary artist working within performance, printmaking, installation, sound and film. He grew up eating dirt and exploring the forest on his family’s ancestral land on the Tsuu’tina nation. In 2014 he and his family were forcibly removed from their homes and land for the construction of the South West Calgary Ring Road. His work explores his family’s history and experiences of displacement.
Dirt Dance performance and discussion with Missy LeBlanc
Performance starts at 5:20 minutes and the conversation starts at 38:45 minutes.