Dance Performance Examines Misinformation in North Island Tour

In an era where truth and fiction increasingly blur, a provocative dance performance is set to challenge North Island audiences next month with its exploration of misinformation in the digital age.

“Source Amnesia,” a new work by acclaimed choreographer Joshua Beamish, will tour several Vancouver Island communities in March, offering a 70-minute meditation on fake news, memory distortion, and the struggle to discern reality in today’s information landscape.

The performance features five dancers—Ariana Barr, Emma Galvin, Tristan Ghostkeeper, Justin Rapaport, and Calder—who physically interpret these complex themes through movement and storytelling. The timing of the production appears particularly relevant as societies worldwide grapple with unprecedented challenges to shared truth and factual consensus.

Beamish, who leads the dance company MOVETHECOMPANY, has built a reputation for creating thought-provoking contemporary works that engage with pressing social issues. His organization focuses on producing innovative dance productions while fostering educational outreach and mentorship opportunities for emerging choreographers.

“The piece really examines how we consume information and subsequently forget where we learned it,” explained a spokesperson for the production. “This ‘source amnesia’ phenomenon becomes particularly dangerous in an era of targeted misinformation campaigns and algorithm-driven news consumption.”

The North Island performances are being presented as part of the BC Movement Arts Society’s ongoing commitment to bringing contemporary dance to Vancouver Island communities. The society, founded by Mary-Louise Albert and Michael Margolick, has been expanding its programming to feature diverse dance artists and facilitate extended creative residencies in the region.

For many rural and smaller communities on Vancouver Island, such performances represent rare opportunities to experience professional contemporary dance without traveling to larger urban centers. The tour demonstrates a growing recognition among arts organizations of the importance of bringing challenging, thought-provoking performances to areas traditionally underserved by contemporary dance programming.

The three-stop tour begins at Sointula’s FO Hall on March 11 at 7:45 p.m., continues at Courtenay’s Regier Theatre (formerly the Old Church Theatre) on March 13, and concludes at Campbell River’s Tidemark Theatre on March 15. The Courtenay and Campbell River performances both begin at 7:30 p.m.

This production arrives at a critical moment when discussions about misinformation and “fake news” have become central to political and social discourse across North America. The dance medium offers a unique lens through which to examine these issues, communicating through physical expression what might be difficult to articulate through words alone.

Arts critics have noted that dance performances addressing contemporary social issues have been gaining traction in recent years, with choreographers increasingly using their art form to comment on everything from climate change to political polarization. “Source Amnesia” continues this trend, leveraging the visceral impact of dance to explore the psychological and social effects of living in an information ecosystem where truth is increasingly elusive.

Beamish’s MOVETHECOMPANY has previously toured internationally, bringing Canadian contemporary dance to audiences across North America, Europe, and Asia. This North Island tour represents an opportunity for local audiences to experience work from an artist whose choreography has been presented at prestigious venues worldwide.

Ticket information and further details about the performance and associated community engagement activities can be found on the BC Movement Arts Society’s website at bcmovementarts.com/projects/source-amnesia.

The performances are expected to spark conversations in each community about the nature of truth and the challenges of navigating an increasingly complex information landscape—conversations that will likely continue long after the final curtain call.