U of T graduate Sandra Laronde’s pioneering vision continues to impact both local and international communities. As founder and Artistic Director of Red Sky - a Toronto-based theatre, dance, and music company - Laronde’s work conveys the culture and artistic expression of indigenous peoples on a global scale.
As it celebrates ten years of groundbreaking artwork, Red Sky's recently acclaimed project, Tono, owes its inspiration to both Laronde’s travels throughout Asia and her Northern Ontario roots.
An arrangement of dance and live music, deemed “ravishingly beautiful” by the Globe and Mail, Tono showcases a triad of indigenous cultures from Canada, Mongolia, and China.
No stranger to the international stage, the performance will be a highlight of the Cultural Olympiad at this year's Vancouver Olympics and will perform at the 2010 Shanghai World Expo in May.
A combination of intercontinental travel and ties to her native land is the compelling force behind Laronde’s creative vision. Growing up in Temagami - home to the People of the Deep Water - Laronde feels fortunate to have come from a place with expansive land on which she could roam and wander as a child. She sees this land as "a place to speak, to act, and to understand from.”
This deep connection with the land is what bridges the gap between indigenous cultures across the globe and allows for a sense of “cultural reciprocity and dialogue.” Though she holds strong ties with her home, it is also her background that feeds her interest in "the creativity of all cultures”.
In 2004 - four years after the birth of Red Sky - Laronde was chosen to participate in the Governor-General’s Canadian Leadership program. She calls her work in the program "a wakeup call". By being involved with other progressive minds, Laronde had a realization that, “in the real world, with other promising leaders of tomorrow, there are still many challenges and the need for a lot more bridges to be made.”
While exploring issues concerning the politics, diversity, and complexity of the nation, the insightful program gave her a chance to work with other world leaders; among them Canadian film producer, Zacharias Kunuk.
Though one of the oldest forms of human expression, Laronde notes that "people have not yet been exposed to the artistic scope and cultural vitality that indigenous art offers.”
Celebrating a decade of artistic expression, Red Sky promises to bring something fresh to the local community this week and to the world community next month: “When we are exposed to other cultures we realize both our strengths and our weaknesses.”
Two performances of Tono take place Jan 20-21 (8 p.m.) at The Music Gallery (197 John St.) For more information and to purchase tickets, visit www.redskyperformance.com or call 416-585-9969.
