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Luminato 2018: Community Engagement

Luminato 2018 might have come and gone but we're still over the moon about the 19 incredible days of programming that we shared with our audiences from Toronto and around the world!

The next series of blog posts highlight some of the major milestones and achievements from the 2018 festival. 

We can't wait to build on these exciting accomplishments next year and beyond!

Dec 27, 2018

CELEBRATING COMMUNITY 

A key part of Luminato’s mandate is to present programming that celebrates the value of shared experiences and creates a strong sense of community between our participants and audiences. Two productions from the 2018 festival helped us strengthen this goal:
 

LE GRAND CONTINENTAL®

Photo by Ben Marans.

A world-renowned extravaganza, Le Grand Continental ® brought together hundreds of Torontonians from all walks of life to perform a sensational contemporary dance by the award-winning Montreal-based choreographer Sylvain Émard.

Following a city-wide audition process in January 2018, over 200 dancers put in over 100 hours of rehearsal time to bring hundreds of eager spectators four joyous celebrations of dance in Toronto’s Nathan Phillip’s Square.

A new choreographic section was created especially for the festival and was performed to music commissioned by Luminato from electro-pop artist and festival alumni Wolf Saga.


Le Grand Continental ® was presented by OLG.
Le Grand Continental ® was supported by the Government of Ontario with support from the J.P Bickell Foundation. 
 

INSTRUMENTS OF HAPPINESS

 
Photo by Tom Sandler.
On day 10 of Luminato 2018, hundreds of electric guitarists and students from the Doane Uschool took over Toronto’s Brookfield Place for one rockin’ afternoon in tribute to George Harrison who would have been 75 years old in 2018.

Montreal-based guitar virtuoso Tim Brady wrote a monumental new Luminato commission, While 100 Guitars Gently Weep – Concerto for George, for a mix of 75+ professional and community musicians celebrating the electric guitar and the sheer joy of playing music loud in public for an audience of 2000+ to hear!

In further celebration of George Harrison – a well-known advocate of the humble ukulele and its amazing capacity for making music – hundreds of young ukulele players from Toronto’s Doane Uschool, led by Melanie Doane, put their twist on Harrison’s songs and other music with My Sweet Uke, A Tribute to George Harrison.
Photo by Tom Sandler.

Instruments of Happiness was presented by TD.
Instruments of Happiness was supported by the Government of Ontario with assistant from the J.P Bickell Foundation.

More posts in this series:
Luminato 2018: Making Space for Art and Activism Part I
Luminato 2018: Making Space for Art and Activism Part II
Luminato 2018: Engaging Young People

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