Viva Dance showcases joys and struggles of a wife, mother and artist

We all play different roles in our lives. Some re-energize us. Others tear us down.

However, being a wife, mother and artist is both a joy and struggle requiring a degree in master juggling to find balance.

Through its latest production, In My Place, Viva Dance Company showcases this triptych of roles as it explores a woman’s experiences in what is really a universal theme.

In My Place runs at the Timms Centre for the Arts on Saturday, June 24 at both 2:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.

Company founder and primary choreographer Stephanie Lilley assembled a one-hour program of 13 contemporary dances that are inspired by her life and that of her collective.

“I had my second baby this time last year and it’s been busy. There are three mothers in our group and five are married women in different stages of their life. Trying to find a balance can be a struggle,” says Lilley.

“To call it a struggle is sometimes an understatement. It often feels impossible. Choreographing this was therapy for me. It gave me a sense of accomplishment and it was empowering,” she adds.

Although Edmonton based, Lilley has become a familiar face around St. Albert as an instructor at Zero Gravity and as a performer and workshop leader at Amplify Festival.

Of the other eight cast members, Lisa Armstrong also teaches at Zero Gravity while Stephanie Appelt and Kelsey Wright have also made their mark at Amplify.

In her music choices Lilley employs a wide range of contemporary recording artists from Coldplay and Sarah McLachlan to Of Monsters and Men and even heavy metal band Disturbed.

The dances, averaging about four minutes in length, tackle subject matter of everyday life: romance, friendship, babies, intimate passion, fidelity, stresses, pain and depression, and of course, the competitive nature of dance.

“I hope this show offers inspiration to those who feel overwhelmed, clarity to those who lack understanding and a sense of solidarity to those who persevere despite the many challenges of being a parent, a partner and a working woman.”