April 2010, M Awards :
FAVOURITE MULTIMEDIA EVENT: Romp!

Winner of Favourite Dance Performance in 2007, it’s lovely to see ROMP! take the cake for this inaugural multimedia category, as it continues to be an inspiring combination of mixed mediums. Look no further than the longrunning Present/Tense performance, which annually combines the words of local writers with performances by local dancers; also on the bill in 2009 were the photography exhibit Eighteen, the visual arts show Body Language plus all that great live dance.



FAVOURITE DANCER/CHOREOGRAPHER: Ingrid Hansen.
Anyone who just saw her share the stage with Treena Stubel and Lynda Raino in Agnes B. already knows that Ingrid Hansen is the rising dance star in the city, bar none. After coming out of UVic strongly and making a fast name for herself with shows like the 2008 Favourite Dance Performance winner BLiNK, Hansen has kept the dance pressure up with this year’s Fringe standout Pretty Little Instincts. What’s next for this young talent? We have no idea—but we can bet it’ll be good!


HARDEST WORKING PERSON IN LOCAL DANCE: Treena Stubel

A winner in this category last year and a runner up in both 2004 and 2005, it’s great to see the multi-talented Treena Stubel back in the winner’s circle once again. Whether she’s serving Cake on the Stage as part of ROMP!, teaching or mentoring young dancers, or appearing with the likes of Theatre SKAM, Atomic Vaudeville, Suddenly Dance Theatre or any of the local dance companies she’s helped start or support, Stubel is an admirable example of how important it is to give back to the community that nurtures you.

"Two standout duets found muscular, tall men dancing with delicate, extra-petite women...." David Ferguson, Jung ah Chung create "...a delirium of haunting images".
- Georgia Straight, Vancouver’s Dancing on the Edge 2009

In The Pink: HOT GOSSIP: MOVERS AND SHAKERS TO WATCH OUT FOR
- Brian Finnegan, The Irish Times: The Ticket, June 8, 2007

M award 2006: Favourite Dance Performance
Romp! A Festival of Independent Dance
"After taking a year off, Romp! was back with a vengeance in 2006, and it looks like Victoria was happy to see its return. With ten events over three days at the Metro Studio, Suddenly Dance's Romp! Festival presented works from all over Canada (and even a piece from Seattle), a program dedicated solely to dance films, and workshop opportunities for dancers. We're already excited for what's in store for their 10th show in 2007."
Runners-up: Court of Miracles, Ballet Victoria; Unbound, Dance Victoria.

Visions of Eire
- Patrick Blennerhassett, Victoria News, January 5th, 2007

SUDDENLY, the only way of being with Miles Lowry and David Ferguson
-Linda Rogers, Focus Magazine, July 2006 read full article

Victoria dancers depict Cocteau's dark side on TV
- Grania Litwin, Victoria Times-Colonist read full review

"Their (Jung-Ah Chung & David Ferguson) tense, tempestuous improvisations of the theme of elemental vertigo was a Romantic recognition of the ‘sublime,’..."
- Yvonne Owens, Vie des Arts magazine, 2005 read full review

"Those white squiggle-drawn circles in Nature Ecstasy were SO delicious, like nature-donuts dropped into the fat of beauty and fried before our eyes!"
- Jennifer Wise, 2005

M Awards 2003:
Recognizing Victoria's most distinguished artistic contributions

(Most Energetic Dancer) - As one third of the artistic staff of Suddenly Dance Theatre, organizer of Romp! Independent Festival of Dance and visual artist of increasing renown, David Ferguson has to have a lot of energy. But anyone who has seen him in performance will agree that he's just as energetic onstage as off. Long legs and arms akimbo, hair flying, there's a lot going on when Ferguson dances – his stature, physical stamina and willingness to play at the edge of control all conspire to make him an unpredictable performer. Through pedestrian nonchalance and wild abandon to moments of controlled technique, Ferguson slips easily between idioms and rarely betrays which direction he'll be going in next. Even in stillness, Ferguson seems on the verge of erupting, as if it is only a matter of time before his kinetic energy, contained for the moment, compels him into motion again.
- John Threlfall, Monday Magazine, 2004

"I think what is happening with Suddenly Dance is an evocative and inspiring evolution."
- Holly Bright, 2004

"...a life affirming tribute."
-New works inspire, cajole, and illuminate,
Tim Christison, The Calgary Straight, 2001

"(ROMP!) ...is a savvy cross-disiplinary juried showcase that draws professional choreographers and performers from across Canada and the U.S... a tightly packaged combination of live performances and dance-on-film that envelopes aficionados in an intimate world of dance, grabs their attention, and leaves them wanting more."
-Romp! format pleases audiences,
Diane Dakers, Times Colonist, 2001

"This experiment was highly successful, for it sensitized me to the human form in motion.... One that can continue to evolve and could easily go on tour.  As they say, it's got legs."
-Seeing anew through dance,
Robert Amos, Times Colonist, 2001 read full review

"The beauty of a show like ROMP! is it allows choreographers artistic freedom." ... "every member of the audience is guaranteed to find something that appeals"
-Dance festival deserves much closer attention,
Diane Dakers, Times Colonist, 1997

"Maybe the hottest ticket... Visually stunning, Opium boasts amazing design, haunting original music, well-crafted dance and production values that put it in a league of its own."
-Dave Lennam, Victoria News, 1993