Every summer people dance on porches and lawns in Toronto

Every year in the summer, people gather to watch their neighbours dance on porches, lawns, balconies, you name it.

Porch View Dances: Real People Dancing in Real Spaces has been going on for almost 15 years now. It’s produced by Kaeja d’Dance under the direction of co-artistic directors Karen and Allen Kaeja, and transforms regular people into dancers and everyday public places into unconventional stages.

“I have four decades of experience working with everyday people in and out of collaboration with professionals dance artists. Everyday peole bring a warm reality to my research and interest both on and off stage,” Karen Kaeja tells YourCityWithIN.com. “Most of our team has community-minded experience and brings that in droves to the festival.”

During the event, audience members are led from house to house in a neighbourhood by performers and guides.

“One day as I peered out the front window of our home, my curiosity swelled. I began wondering what was happening behind closed doors across the street. Imagining the possibilities through dance,” says Kaeja.

“I thought about the well lived stories flowing out onto the front porches of their homes. I thought about the pulse that lies within the home and how dance could bring a distinct vitality to reflect the unique intricacies and voices of a family or its inhabitants through the aesthetics of our choreographers.”

The project began in 2012 with seven choreographers along with everyday Toronto residents dancing in public spaces.

“Audience members tend to see themselves in the dances performed by everyday people, and the crowd,” says Kaeja. “This brings an engagement of joy and comfort and shows up as they joyfully join the finale Flock Landing with ease.”

For this year’s Porch View Dances, audiences will be guided through three porch dances, three vignettes in unexpected spaces, an immersive installation and the traditional annual interactive “Flock Landing” finale where the audience can participate in the dance experience.

They used to pair up choreographers with residents, but now choreographers are invited to bring their own local participants. Porch View Dances is also making some changes to how they guide the audience through the event this year.

“In Toronto we have always had a single tour guide. This year we have a tour guide duo team of Allen Kaeja and Kunji Ikeda who will collaborate in their guiding of the audience through the PVD route,” says Kaeja.

“They are both funny and vivacious characters. We will see what they have in store for the audience.”

The immersive installation element is also something new they’ve never done before.

“We also have a new element we are introducing, an installation dreamt up by Mio Sakamoto, that the audience will come upon en route,” says Kaeja. “Mayumi Lashbrook and I have co-curated this year’s programming for the first time together, which we are very excited about. The theme is the surprise of the unknown.”

Performances for this year’s Porch View Dances explore themes of curiosity and unpredictability, with artists Diana Lopez Soto, Pulga Muchochoma, Nicola Pantin, KINAJ and Mio Sakamoto drawing inspiration from sources like intergenerational wisdom, storytelling, the cosmos, Black identity, fantasy and the human body.

One of the most unpredictable changes the event has dealt with over the years, however, was the pandemic.

“The pandemic of course catapulted us into a twist. We continued the festival throughout with variations of online versions,” says Kaeja.

“I love the explorations and films that were made during that time. Audiences are returning to the festival, new and refreshed.”

Looking ahead to the future, it’s Porch View Dances’ 15th anniversary next year, and they’re planning on taking on new partners and throwing a special celebration.

This year’s Porch View Dances takes place in Toronto’s Seaton Village from July 16 to 19 at 7 p.m. nightly, with a special accessible show on July 20 at 2 p.m.