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Dancers of Damelahamid

Raven Mother
Margaret Grenier
Show
2024/2025
Vancouver

From mother to daughter

A vibrant tribute to Margaret Harris, an Indigenous elder who devoted her life to keeping her culture alive. A colourful multimedia narrative, a stream of images, dance, song, carved masks and sumptuous regalia.

A powerful upholder for Indigenous culture, Margaret Harris (1931–2020) was instrumental in revitalizing traditional singing, dancing, storytelling and regalia-making on British Columbia's Northwest Coast. With her husband, Chief Kenneth Harris (1928–2010), she founded the Dancers of Damelahamid company in 1967, out of a sense of urgency to preserve these ancestral practices. Her daughter Margaret Grenier, supported by her daughters and granddaughters, has taken up the torch. Raven Mother — a reference to the raven, the clan's crest—pays tribute to the unwavering determination and commitment of the matriarch and the vital role of mothers in passing on a precious legacy. Bridging Indigenous traditions and more contemporary forms, this is an immediate and essential immersion in a rich and remarkable culture.

Photo © Chris Randle
Andrew Grenier. Dancer Margaret Grenier.
Photo © Chris Randle
Andrew Grenier. Dancers Margaret Grenier, Nigel Baker-Grenier.
Andrew Grenier. Dancer Margaret Grenier.

Artists

Choreographer
Margaret Grenier

Margaret is the Executive and Artistic Director for the Dancers of Damelahamid. She has directed and produced the Coastal Dance Festival since 2008.

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Ana Pedrero

Company

Dancers of Damelahamid

Dancers of Damelahamid is an Indigenous dance company founded upon over five decades of extensive work of song and dance revitalization. For countless generations Indigenous dance played an integral part in defining art and culture. In response to the lifting of the Potlatch Ban (1884 – 1951), was the resurfacing of dance and the awakening of an art form that was outlawed for almost 70 years.

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Credits

Raven Mother

Artistic Director, Choreographer, Dance Artist Margaret Grenier.

Production Manager, Set and Design Andrew Grenier

Dance Artist and Regalia Design and Creation Rebecca Baker-Grenier.

Language and Research, Dance Artist and Vocalist Nigel Baker-Grenier.

Dance Artist, Vocalist and Composer Raven Grenier.

Elder, Traditional Knowledge Keeper Betsy Lomax.

Traditional Knowledge Keeper, Master Carver David Boxley.

Collaborating Director Charles Koroneho.

Lighting Designer Jeff Harrison.

Projection Designer Andy Moro.

Collaborating Producer Eponymous.

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