Chaos and Wonder

Performance times: 6:30 p.m. | 7:30 p.m. | 8:30 p.m. | 9:30 p.m.

Chaos and Wonder is an interdisciplinary performance that plays with different forms of language—written, spoken, body, music, frequency—in reference to our relationship with trees and nature. Blending spoken word and an original soundtrack by Roshan James with contemporary choreography and dance by Tara Butler, Roshan and Tara gently shift the audience’s perspective through a series of questions embedded in the poetic narrative. Adapted from 'A Song for Trees' from Roshan’s Pink Moon poetry collection (ECW Press, 2023), Chaos and Wonder reflects Roshan’s ongoing ancestral research and practice as an Indo-Tibetan multidisciplinary artist, poet, and musician. Tara’s choreography conjures dream-like wonder, focused contemplation and earthy connection in reference to Roshan’s poetry and music.

Development of this work was made possible with funding support from two Ontario Arts Council, Recommender Grants for Theatre Creators, recommended by Pat the Dog Theatre Creation and MT Space in the Waterloo Region.

About the Artists:

Roshan James (she/her) is a Tibetan-Indian multidisciplinary artist, poet, and musician born in Scarborough, Ontario, living as a settler in the rural area north of Waterloo, Ontario. Roshan’s process involves research and experimentation, resulting in work that connects with themes of decolonization, identity, time, purpose, memory, and healing. Roshan studied at Queen's University and the Centre for Medieval Studies at the University of Toronto, and she holds an Honours Bachelor of Arts degree in English Literature from York University, summa cum laude.

Tara Butler (she/her) has enjoyed a 20-year career in classical ballet, first with The National Ballet of Canada, then The Alberta Ballet for two years before she joined Canada's Ballet Jorgen where she was a celebrated Principal Dancer for 16 years. She has performed and taught internationally. In the last decade, her performance and choreographic focus has shifted to contemporary dance. Tara is the Artistic Director of Dust and Soul Dance, and she is in the process of creating her next full-length work, ‘It Falls with the Rain,’ featuring six dancers and an original score by Edgardo Moreno (premiering 2025/26).

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