Dancing on the Edge Festival (DOTE) presents its 37th annual festival, featuring an impressive line-up of established and emerging dance makers, at the Firehall Arts Centre and SFU Woodward’s from June 12 to 21, 2025.

The festival will spotlight a wide range of eclectic world and Canadian premieres, as well as works in progress, from Canadian and international artists over its 10-day slate of performances. It will offer seven mixed programs and three full-length works.

“In the turmoil of the world, we look to artists for solace, encouragement, and inspiration. For this year’s 37th annual DOTE Festival we are thrilled to present a roster of artists whose works offer a balm for the soul – exploring a pendulum of themes from isolation to connectivity, from being overwhelmed to feeling joy,” says Donna Spencer, DOTE Artistic Producer. “From established choreographers such as Lina Cruz, Noam Gagnon, Justine Chambers, Sarah Chase, Ame Henderson, Newton Moraes, Ziyian Kwan, and Lesley Telford to exciting newer voices like Cai Glover, Rebecca Margolick, and Jenn Edwards, our festival’s dancemakers will share work that transcends language, explores new perspectives, and transports us to different realities.”

Some of this year’s most anticipated performances include the world premiere of the full-length work Lurch from Vancouver’s MascallDance, an intellectually rigorous evaluation of legacy, in partnership with three commissioned choreographers: Justine Chambers, Ame Henderson, and Sarah Chase; the world premiere of a short work, Tunnel 9, from Montreal’s Fila 13 Productions, with acclaimed dancers Claudia Moore and Sean Ling-Allan who take refuge in a confined space; the world premiere from Taiwanese-Canadian dance artist Juolin Lee with Soup of Forgetfulness, a solo inspired by Taiwanese folklore about the afterlife and reincarnation in which Lee shapeshifts between the many characters of one’s past lives; and the world premiere of Tendrils from Ziyian Kwan – the first in a triptych of works as odes to artists whose writings, teachings, and practices serve as inspiration to Canada’s next generation of artists.

Canadian premieres include SUBJECT TO / خضوع from Moroccan choreographer/dancer Mehdi Dahkan, which contemplates the symbolism of silence as a form of protest and Muchos Cisnes from Spanish choreographer/dancer Manu Badás, whose work questions traditional perceptions of beauty, politics, and identity.