Media Release: Kaha:wi Dance Theatre and Woodland Cultural Centre co-present Continuance – Immersive Commemoration
Press Release
Kaha:wi Dance Theatre in partnership with the Woodland Cultural Centre co-present Continuance – Immersive Commemoration to mark the reopening the former Mohawk Institute residential school. Concluding Kaha:wi Dance Theatre’s monumental 20th anniversary season. Welcoming special guest artists Jeremy Dutcher and Aysanabee!
Join one of the most significant Indigenous-led performances of our time!
Kaha:wi Dance Theatre, led by Artistic Director Santee Smith, is one of Canada’s leading contemporary performing arts companies, recognized for creating innovative, viscerally impactful Indigenous performance. In 2026, in partnership with the Woodland Cultural Centre, we are proud to present Continuance – Immersive Commemoration, a multimedia performance commemorating the reopening of the Mohawk Institute, Canada’s first Indian Residential School, a site of profound cultural and historical significance.
Rooted in over a decade of artistic engagement at the Mohawk Institute by Artistic Director Santee Smith, Continuance – Immersive Commemoration builds on The Mush Hole Project (2016) and the award-winning stage work The Mush Hole (2018). Developed in long-standing partnership with the Woodland Cultural Centre (WCC) and in dialogue with Survivors, this new immersive production is created with care, respect, and commitment.
Audiences are invited into a breathtaking journey of light, live music, and movement, an immersive performance created in response to the Mohawk Institute that honours Survivors and celebrates Indigenous cultural continuance. Stunning 3D projection animation by design team Smith, cinematographer Shane Powless, and world-renowned AVA Animation transforms the site into a living canvas of beauty, strength, and resilience.
Grounded in the Ohen:ton Karihwatehkwen (Thanksgiving Address), the performance unfolds as both ceremony and spectacle, as the colonial architecture symbolically dissolves through fire, water, and reforestation, making way for renewal, return, and life.
Moments of memorial and liberation flow alongside electrifying live music by Six Nations artists—Semiah and band, Derek Miller featuring Lacey Hill, layered with powerful score by Adrian Dion Harjo, Semiah, and sound design by Edgardo Moreno. The dance artists of Kaha:wi Dance Theatre weave energy throughout building toward Alignment and Friendship Dance, culminating in an uplifting celebration of Indigenous joy, unity, and collective healing.
Special guest artists Jeremy Dutcher* and Aysanabee** leave audiences resonating in the wake of their voices, carrying the sound of the site long after the final note.
This is more than a performance—it’s a gathering, a remembrance, and a reawakening. Continuance – Immersive Commemoration honours the legacy and voices of Survivors, recognizes the 10th anniversary year of the Truth & Reconciliation Commission’s 94 Calls to Action, marks Kaha:wi Dance Theatre’s 20th anniversary and two decades of sharing Indigenous storytelling, culture, and creativity and the Woodland Cultural Centre’s 50th Anniversary.
Please note this is an outdoor site-specific performance. The Woodland Cultural Centre is dedicated to providing a safe and comfortable viewing experience for audiences. Severe weather may result in cancellation of the show.
Dates: May 29th & May 30th 2026
- *Jeremy Dutcher appearing only on May 29th 2026
- **Aysanabee appearing only on May 30th 2026
Time: Each show will begin promptly at 9:00PM, doors open at 8:15PM
Location: 184 Mohawk St. Brantford, ON at the front steps of the former Mohawk Institute residential school building
Tickets: $40 general admission. Tickets on sale starting February 27th, 2026 at 12:00PM (EST)
Visit the event page on Woodland Cultural Centre’s website https://woodlandculturalcentre.ca/upcoming-events/
Continuance – Immersive Commemoration is generously supported by Minister of Canadian Identity and Culture The Honourable Marc Miller, Canada Council for the Arts, Ontario Arts Council, Toronto Arts Council, and donors The Barry and Laurie Green Family Charitable Trust, Brenda Wivell, National Bank, and anonymous.
Contact Information:
Jake Jamieson
Artistic & Programming Director, Woodland Cultural Centre
jg.jamieson@woodlandculturalcentre.ca
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