The Vancouver International Dance Festival will be celebrating its 16th edition from Sunday (February 28) to March 19, but don’t think it’s been easy building the strikingly diverse lineup over the years.

“In 2000, there wasn’t a lot of dance activity when we started VIDF, but within five years there was twice as much and now it’s quite dense,” explains cofounder Jay Hirabayashi, speaking alongside Barbara Bourget, his partner in life and art, from Kokoro Dance’s growing headquarters in the Woodward’s building. “There are actually more presenters in Vancouver for dance than in Montreal or Toronto, but it’s a smaller audience.”

“But we are honoured and really thankful for this to be our 16th season, which we think is some kind of feat,” adds Bourget, saying she and Hirabayashi launched the fest because so many of the world’s dance companies were bypassing Vancouver. “To have a festival just dedicated to dance is quite unique, other than the Dancing on the Edge fest....It adds to the culture and texture of dance in the city.”

On the spectrum this year are the Swedish-Cuban project Memory Wax/Retazos, bharata natyam virtuoso Sujit Vaidya, and local hip-hop heavyweights Project Soul.

Here are some other highlights, according to Kokoro’s dynamic duo. (All are at the Roundhouse Community Arts and Recreation Centre.)

Compagnie Virginie Brunelle’s Foutrement

(March 3 to 5)

“We really like work that has a physicality to it, and here you have a female en pointe even though she’s wearing hockey pads,” Hirabayashi says of the ballet-infused love triangle.

Natsu Nakajima’s Like Smoke Like Ash

(March 8 and 9)

“She’s 73 now and she’s one of our teachers,” Bourget says of the Japanese butoh icon. “She was one of the original founders of butoh and it’s like a gift to pass on.”

EDAM’s The Secret Life of Trees

(March 10 to 12)

Veteran choreographer Peter Bingham reflects on the West Coast rainforest with a crack team of six dancers.

Ziyian Kwan/Dumb Instrument Dance’s Still Rhyming

(March 17 to 19)

“She’s collaborating with our son [Joseph Hirabayashi], who’s playing the music live,” Bourget says of the piece that riffs on text by rock pioneer Patti Smith.

Company 605’s Vital Few

(March 17 to 19)

The former 605 Collective explores group dynamics in its signature ultra-physical, street-influenced style. “It’s a world premiere we’ve been helping to develop since last year,” Bourget says.

Work by such up-and-coming young local troupes is as much a part of the VIDF picture as its international perspective. “It’s our calling, for both of us: we love the art of dance and love to contribute to the development of the art form. We’re never going to retire because we’d… die,” Bourget says with a laugh. “We’re always looking for the future of dance.”