After nearly a decade away from the ArtSpring stage, beloved Salt Spring Island dance artist Naomi Jason is returning with Land & Lineage: An Embodied Ceremony of Reconciliation, marking her first performance at the venue since her legendary Imaginelle productions ended in 2015.
Born and raised on Salt Spring, Jason honed her craft studying and working in Montreal's vibrant dance scene before returning home 15 years ago. Shortly after her return, she founded Dance Temple, beginning a journey that would see her evolve from performer to mentor, embodied ceremonialist, and community leader.
The Imaginelle shows of 2013-2015 remain legendary in Salt Spring's cultural memory—massive community productions featuring 50-75 local performers of all ages that transformed ArtSpring into a realm of magic and mystery. These productions established Jason as a visionary director capable of weaving together diverse talents into transcendent theatrical experiences.
Today, Jason channels her artistic vision through the Imaginelle Mystery School, guiding participants through embodied rites of passage, while stewarding a six-acre land project on the island's south end. Her new work, Land & Lineage, represents both a homecoming and evolution—intimate solo prayerformances by local Salt Spring women that explore ancestral connections and reverence for the land.
"This is an invitation to tune into the roots of our lineages and our connection to our ancestral lands in order to show up more fully to this land we live on," Jason explains.
The evening showcases Jason's multifaceted artistry as dancer, mentor, and ceremonialist, offering audiences a sacred space where movement becomes medicine and dance becomes prayer. For those who remember the magic of Imaginelle, Land & Lineage promises a different but equally profound experience—one that honors both personal ancestry and the land beneath our feet.
Pre-Show Exhibition: The Show Must Go On
The evening begins with a powerful companion exhibition at Salt Gallery (4-7pm), featuring Olga's paintings inspired by the Ukrainian National Ballet. The Show Must Go On emerged from a profound 2014 experience when artist Olga Szkabarnicki attended the National Ballet of Ukraine's performance of La Bayadere in Montreal, even as the Revolution of Dignity unfolded in Kyiv's Independence Square near the dancers' home theater.
"As they smiled and waved during their curtain call, the dancers must have been thinking of their compatriots taking part in the uprising," Olga reflects. "But surely they also were thinking: the show must go on. It is what we do. It is who we are."
The exhibition features monumental figurative paintings arising from meditations on the Euromaidan and current Ukrainian tragedies, including Mariupol, interwoven with Olga's personal journey through recurrent breast cancer in 2024. Smaller portraits and expressive pieces, including works from life drawing sessions with the Salt Spring Island Painters Guild, complement the collection's more urgent works.
"The making and beholding of art can be an act of hope, courage, or resistance," Olga explains. This pre-show exhibition perfectly complements the evening's theme of resilience and embodied ceremony, upholding art as both witness and healing force in times of upheaval.
