Rebecca Hope Terry
As we celebrate the 20th anniversary of Older & Reckless, we remember the senior dance artists who have joined us over the years, including the versatile and vibrant REBECCA HOPE TERRY
Photo by Taras Kovaliv
“Rebecca Hope Terry has twice graced the O&R stage – in her magnificent Swan solo with musician John Gzowski (2011) and in an excerpt of Denise Fujiwara’s acclaimed multi-media work EUNOIA (2013). Rebecca- or Hope, as we call her- is one of Canada’s most compelling performers. I’ve had the pleasure of working with Hope as part of the EUNOIA ensemble and am always transfixed by her luminous presence and her delicious, daring moves. Here is a poem she wishes to share.”
– Claudia Moore
In the Studio
In the studio we compare scars
Two new hip sockets
to replace old ones that hurt
A metal plate in an arm bone
to mend one that wasn’t right
Orthoscopic knee surgery, I pipe up
Less impressive.
Jaw surgery to fix an original smile.
An accidental stab wound, I pipe up
It went right through!
More impressive.
And the scars inside,
Oh yes
right
those ones
Holding us
Together.
Rebecca Hope Terry’s 30+ year performance career holds many dear moments with her beloved fellow artists. Fond highlights include: The start of her dance career in Vancouver, with choreographers Jennifer Mascall, Lola MacLaughlin, and Cornelius Fischer Credo, traipsing the globe with Dancemakers under the direction of Serge Bennathan, performing her one woman show “Weather” in Edinburgh at the Traverse theatre, choreographing operas with director Tim Albery (Children’s Crusade, Dido and Aeneas), her introduction to singing with Katherine Duncanson and Shakespeare with Tina Packer at Shakespeare and Co and, for more than 16 years, the ever evolving process under Denise Fujiwara’s mentorship.
She is grateful to have the fortunate experience in many disciplines; her professional performance experience as an actress, dancer, choreographer and singer help her understand each process from the inside, fostering depth and freedom. Hope worked with groups who could be seen as marginalized, creating workshops for girls in a correctional institute, for students in first nations high schools, for people who are blind, and young adults living with developmental delays. She finds herself writing and sculpting and striving for balance in her intersecting worlds of business, art, healing and spirituality.
