Firehall Arts Centre is ringing in the new year in polka-dotted style with Pants. 

The solo show from veteran dance artist Tara Cheyenne Friedenberg promises to be “stand-up comedy with dance breaks”—a funny mix of movement and words exploring the space in between gender binaries. 

Friedenberg presented a work-in-progress version of Pants at Dancing on the Edge in 2022.

“What I’m trying to do is weave storytelling with the embodiment of my experience as somebody who mostly identifies as female but not exclusively,” she told the Straight at the time, “and just what it is to feel masculinity and femininity in the body.”

Friedenberg’s previous shows include Body Parts—an interdisciplinary project examining body image that has both digital and live versions—as well as the identity-unraveling I Can’t Remember the Word for I Can’t Remember (which premiered at the Firehall in early 2018) and the collaborative exploration of ideals as part of The Cultch’s 2017 season in how to be.  

“Tara Cheyenne Friedenberg has become a powerhouse in blending her comedic, contemporary, and theatrical dance skills to share meaningful moments and ideas on stage,” says Firehall Arts Centre artistic producer Donna Spencer in a statement. “This is a show for those who want to be defined by who they are in life, not by what society thinks they should be.”

What better way to kick off 2024 than by kneeing gender directly in the pants?

Pants 

When: January 17 to 20, 7:30pm

Where: Firehall Arts Centre, 280 East Cordova, Vancouver

Admission: $30+, tickets available here