There is creativity inherent in the art of dance, regardless of when and where it happens.
But confine that dance to a small space - a 10- by 13-foot space, to be exact - and you will stretch your creativity in entirely new directions.
For Cori Caulfield, that's the joy of the Dances For a Small Stage series.
"Anything that limits your range forces your creative process," Caulfield says. "I think it's very positive to have limitations."
Caulfield should know.
She's a veteran of the small-stage series, having appeared in its very first incarnation nearly 10 years ago.
Since 2002, the series staged by the non-profit dance society MovEnt has been bringing innovative contemporary dance performances to a variety of cabaret settings around Vancouver - most recently making its home at the Legion on Commercial Drive.
For the first time, Dances For a Small Stage is coming to Burnaby, for the season-opening Live at the 'Bolt nights at Shadbolt Centre for the Arts on Sept. 23 and 24.
The night will feature an array of well-known and up-and-coming talent - alongside Caulfield will be names such as Cory Philley, Leon Feizo-Gas, Karissa Barry, Robert Mitchell, Kathryn Crawford, Lena Fitzner, Caroline Liffmann, Caitlin Griffin and Deanna Overland - offering work in diverse styles.
Caulfield is reluctant to say too much about her own work lest it spoil the surprise of her offering.
"I often like to use words in what I'm doing," she says, noting that can come in the form of either an initial inspiration or as part of the actual production.
For this particular work, she offers enigmatically that she's "doing something differently" - but she hopes the audience will be caught by its newness.
She's also looking forward to seeing what the other performers will offer, noting that they don't see each others' work in advance.
"That is one of the delights of performing in a mixed program with other artists," she says. "It is amazing how, by some kind of magic of the theatre, they seem to come together as one treasure, these many gems."
Caulfield has spent her life in dance - her grandmother was a dancer, her mother a showgirl in London. Her mom enrolled small Cori in dance lessons at an early age. She quit at age 16 for awhile - a period of time she describes as an "identity crisis" - and went to Simon Fraser University to study psychology.
She ended up with a dance degree.
It was, she says, when she discovered contemporary and modern dance, approached from her ballet background, that she found her place.
"I felt I had something to say in the medium," she explains.
These days, she runs the Caulfield School of Dance in Port Moody, something she describes as a "consuming part of my life."
But, she says, it's important to keep focusing on her creative, performance side as well.
"It's necessary to keep that part of myself fed," she says. "I'm a better teacher when I'm not just a teacher."
She admits to a particular fondness for the Dances For a Small Stage series, noting she gets a new enjoyment out of it every time she tapes off the corners of her studio floor to mark out the prescribed 10- by 13-foot space.
"I'm a very large person. I'm five-foot-10," she says with a laugh. "Every time I get onto that space, every single time, I laugh. ... It floors me every time."
But, she emphasizes, it's forcing herself to express herself within those limits that makes the process rewarding.
"I think that's a necessary paradigm for any kind of creation, that there are limits," she says.
Some of those limits, she notes, are inherent in a dancer's own physical constraints: "We have a head, two arms, two legs and gravity," she says with a laugh.
But the small-stage concept takes that one step farther.
"I love it," she says simply.
Working alongside Caulfield is Jonathan Ryder, who, when he's not offering up artistic and technical expertise for various dancers, also happens to be the production manager for the Shadbolt Centre.
He and Caulfield have teamed up many times over the years, with Ryder providing design and technical support for Caulfield's dance work. This is their first foray into the Dances For a Small Stage series together, and Ryder noted that his role is expanding this time. Caulfield is opening up the creative process to include him in the process dramaturgy - which is, broadly speaking, to help bring the dancer's artistic vision to life in all types of ways.
"We don't know what will happen," Ryder says, adding that's what makes the whole thing so rewarding.
In fact, he says, that's one of the delights of the Dances For a Small Stage series generally - that each incarnation is really a surprise.
"The variety is so fantastic," he says.
"It seems like a small show for a small stage, but it has these huge artists. ... There ends up being a lot of talent on stage to be seen in one evening.
"You'll get brand-new artists who haven't performed very much, and you'll get extremely seasoned artists, and you'll get to see them on the same stage. It ends up being super-high-quality because each person is condensing their work into a small amount of time."
Ryder is excited to be bringing the series to Shadbolt, noting it's been an idea they've been working on for quite some time. Simply finding a time to coordinate schedules was a challenge, he says. But when they hit upon the idea of using the series as the Live at the 'Bolt season opener, it just seemed to work.
Dances For a Small Stage isn't designed for a theatre, he notes, but rather for a cabaret-style setting. That's perfect for the Shadbolt Centre's atrium, with the stage at the end by the windows overlooking Deer Lake, and tables (yes, there will be snacks and a bar) set up to provide viewing from two levels, both the floor and the second level overlooking it above.
He hopes to see a good turnout of Burnaby residents - and, he says, not just those who are the typical dance fan.
While there will be plenty for the dance aficionado to appreciate, Ryder notes it's also the perfect opportunity for people who aren't sure whether dance is for them or whether they'll understand it.
They'll be exposed to many styles, all by top-quality professionals, and they'll have a chance to decide what they like.
"This is a very accessible and enjoyable way to introduce yourself to dance," Ryder says.
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Live at the 'Bolt: Dances for a Small Stage is on Sept. 23 and 24 in the atrium at Shadbolt Centre, 6450 Deer Lake Ave. Doors open at 7 p.m., with performances beginning at 8 p.m.
Tickets are $15 (or free for season subscribers at the Shadbolt) and available in person at the Shadbolt box office,, by phone at 604-205-3000 or online at www.shadboltcentre.com.
