DJD ON TOUR

In addition to presenting a season at home annually, DJD tours nationally and internationally. 

DJD IN YOUR CITY

Throughout our history, DJD has toured extensively throughout Canada, including International Jazz Festivals in Montreal, Vancouver, Victoria, Calgary, Edmonton, Saskatoon and Winnipeg as well as the Havana International Jazz Festival in Cuba.  DJD has also toured to Japan, the Turks and Caicos Islands and Chicago. DJD’s most recent tour was across Canada in 2019 with Juliet & Romeo.

DJD is represented by agent Sarah Rogers.

BETTER GET HIT IN YOUR SOUL

In 2013 DJD premiered a highly acclaimed piece about the wild short life of Charles Mingus—a virtuoso bass player, accomplished pianist, bandleader, and composer. Known as the ‘Angry Man of Jazz’ Mingus was a brilliant, mercurial, and bodacious character. Back by popular demand, Better Get Hit in Your Soul gives audiences an ear and eye into the music of one of the most important figures in 20th-century American music. Join us as we explore his music and some of the lighter and darker sides of his dramatic life.

  • Featuring live and recorded music by Charles Mingus
  • Created and choreographed by Kimberley Cooper
  • Danced by the DJD Company
  • Live music direction by Rubim de Toledo
  • Set designed by Scott Reid
  • Costumes designed by Ronda Borneman
  • Lighting Designed by Brain MacNeil

Acclaim for Better Get Hit in Your Soul

Kimberley Cooper’s ‘Better Get Hit in Your Soul’ awakens the senses to the incredible brilliance of Charles Mingus through visual music, a complete jazz experience you can see, hear and feel. Her choreography transports you on a journey back in time and through a whole range of feels…it’s edgy and then free…sensual and then confrontational…dark and then joyful. It would be hard not to get lost in the magic of the world she creates and the rich stories that unfold. If you’ve ever wondered what jazz is, look no further. Cooper’s work honours tradition and transcends with contemporary innovation—keeping jazz alive in all its glory while carrying it into the future.
Lindsay Guarino, Editor-Jazz Dance: A History of Roots and Branches, Associate Professor of Dance, Salve Regina University
Better Get Hit In Your Soul’ captures the wild, inventive spirit of Charles Mingus, paying homage to the roots of jazz dance and music, while being firmly grounded in a contemporary jazz perspective. The evening length work is among the very best concert jazz work I’ve seen in the past 10-15 years.
Melanie George, Founder/Director, Jazz Is…Dance Project and JazzDanceDirect.com, Associate Curator, Jacob’s Pillow
The company’s physicality is on full display during Better Get Hit in Your Soul, in which they deliver transcending leaps, jumps and turns in dynamic spatial formations while spirited vocalizations add to the vibrant score.
Dance Current
In Better Get Hit in Your Soul’, fans will recognize pieces such as the Haitian Fight Song, selections from The Black Saint and the Sinner Lady and even the Children’s Hour of Dream.
Calgary Herald
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JULIET & ROMEO

Two households… This is dance, this is theatre, this is a jazz concert. This is Shakespeare’s tale of love and violence re-imagined, re-visited, re-loved hyper-realized, sampled, questioned recognizable but twisted, current and classic, gritty and glorious. Passion, pheromones, pick-up lines, I want you I need you I love you These violent delights have violent ends.

  • DJD’s take on Shakespeare’s classic tale
  • Artistic direction and choreography by Kimberley Cooper
  • Adapted by Cory Bowles
  • Featuring the DJD Company of dancers
  • Live, original music by the Nick Fraser Ensemble

Acclaim for Juliet & Romeo

The story is quirky, at times quite brilliant, sometimes wacky, always compelling… Choreographically, the show is masterful. Cooper’s choreography switches up pace and mood to keep us engaged, even enthralled.
Anne Georg
…a lucid, smart and sassy contemporary commentary on Shakespeare’s classic tale.”
Edmonton Journal
This is dance.
This Calgary Life
…entrancing, exciting, and best of all, steamily on message…”
Calgary Herald
…an exciting, vivacious new dance piece.
Stephen Hunt
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TOUR HISTORY

2022 Tour

FAMILY OF JAZZ

  • Fall for Dance North, Toronto, ON

2019 Tour

JULIET & ROMEO

  • The Esplanade, Medicine Hat, AB
  • Jeanne and Peter Lougheed Performing Arts Centre, Camrose, AB
  • Playhouse Theatre, Fredericton, NB
  • Imperial Theatre, Saint John, NB
  • Confederation Centre of the Arts, Charlottetown, PEI
  • Spatz Theatre, Halifax, NS
  • FirstOntario Performing Arts Centre, St. Catharines, ON
  • The Grand Theatre, Kingston, ON

2016 Tour

GREAT JAZZ HISTORY MYSTERY

  • Northern College Auditorium, Kirkland Lake, ON
  • Geraldton High School, Geraldton, ON
  • The Centre, Dryden, ON
  • Red Lake Madsen Public School, Red Lake, ON
  • Evergreen School, Kenora, ON
  • Townsend Theatre, Fort Frances, ON
  • Atikokan, ON
  • Sault Saint Marie, ON

2013 Tour

GREAT JAZZ HISTORY MYSTERY

  • Morinville, AB
  • Victoria School of the Arts, Victoria, BC

2009 Tour

WOWANDFLUTTER

  • Dunn Theatre, Halifax, NB
  • Rose Theatre, Brampton, ON
  • Brock Centre for the Arts, St. Catherines, ON
  • Port Theatre, Nanaimo, BC
  • MacPherson Playhouse, Victoria, BC
  • Yukon Arts Centre, Whitehorse, YT
  • Vernon & District PAC, Vernon, BC
  • The Arden, St. Albert, AB

2007 Tour

MAGNETIC CONSEQUENCES

  • Eric Harvie Theatre, Banff ,AB
  • Arden Theatre, St. Albert, AB
  • Massey Theatre, New Westminster, BC
  • Vernon & District Performing Arts Centre, Vernon, BC
  • Royal Theatre, Victoria BC
  • Centre for the Arts at Brock University, St. Catharines, ON
  • Markham Theatre, Markham, ON
  • Oakville Centre, Oakville, ON
  • Rose Theatre, Brampton, ON
  • Théâtre Hector-Charland, L’assomption, PQ
  • Diffusions de la Coulisse, Beloeil, PQ
  • Confederation Centre, Charlottetown, PI
  • Imperial Theatre, St. John, NB
  • Fredericton Playhouse, Fredericton, NB
  • The Rebecca Cohn Auditorium, Halifax, NS

2006 Tour

PULSE

  • ACT Theatre, Maple Ridge Arts Centre, Maple Ridge, BC
  • The Centennial Theatre, North Vancouver, BC
  • The Port Theatre, Nanaimo, BC
  • The Arden Theatre, St. Albert, AB
  • E.A. Rawlinson Centre, Prince Albert, AB
  • The Eric Harvie Theatre, Banff Centre, Banff, AB

2005 Tour

¡BULLA! A LOUD CUBAN JAZZ EXPERIMENT

  • The Arden Theatre, St. Albert, AB
  • The Eric Harvey Theatre, The Banff Centre, Banff, AB
  • The Royal Theatre, The Victoria Dance Series, Victoria, BC
  • The Vernon and District Performing Arts Centre, Vernon, BC
  • University of Lethbridge, Lethbridge, AB
  • The Oakville Centre, Oakville, ON
  • Brock Centre for the Arts, St. Catharines, ON
  • Centre Culturel de Beloeil, Beloeil, QC
  • The Playhouse, Fredericton, NB
  • The Imperial Theatre, St. John, NB
  • The Charlottetown Festival, Charlottetown, PEI
  • Markham Theatre of the Performing Arts, Markham, ON
  • Centre Pointe Theatre, Ottawa, ON

PRESS

Regardless of the feel or theme of a particular show, at the heart of DJD’s dance is an authentic respect for and connection to jazz music, especially live music which has led many to describe our dance as “music for the eyes.”

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“We were absolutely blown away – what a stunning production…your dancers were marvellous – thrilling to watch. Ms. Richardson is a national treasure – what a treat to hear her sing. Your work is so engaging, so fundamentally humane, it makes me feel I can dance – that dance is the logical natural form of human expression.” –
Audience member, St. Catharines ON - Magnetic Consequences
“…a lucid, smart and sassy contemporary commentary on Shakespeare’s classic tale.”
Edmonton Journal - Juliet & Romeo
“…high-octane dance performed by a troupe of wildly talented, technically expert performers…”
Victoria Times Colonist
“…entertains simply by the ingenious way it moves through an amazing variety of styles…and the audience…gave standing ovations both nights.”
Dance International Magazine

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