What’s In Your Fridge is where the Straight asks interesting Vancouverites about their life-changing concerts, favourite albums, and, most importantly, what’s sitting beside the Heinz ketchup in their custom-made Big Chill Retropolitan 20.6-cubic-foot refrigerators.

On the grill

Donna Spencer

Who are you

Artistic Producer Firehall Arts Centre, and Festival Artistic Producer for the Dancing on the Edge Festival. The 35th Annual Dancing on the Edge Festival is Canada’s oldest contemporary dance festival. It runs until July 15 at venues around town and features 26 different choreographers and dance companies in over 30 performances. The EDGE has launched the careers of many of Vancouver’s contemporary dance artists and is fun for those who enjoy great moves and the unexpected from performers.   

First Concert

My first exposure to a powerful dance concert was attending the Royal Winnipeg Ballet’s performance of The Ecstasy of Rita Joe at Jubilee Auditorium in Calgary. I had no idea that something that I thought was so twee­—i.e. ballet—could be so powerful and meaningful. 

My first rock concert was a performance of Led Zeppelin at the Coliseum­—I remember the music and getting high on the marijuana fumes permeating the arena. The music was magic and Robert Plant was awesome.

Life-changing concert 

Seeing Pina Bausch’s Tanz Theatre Wuppertal in Toronto in the early ’90s. She presented The Rite of Spring and a work called 1984. Her work was transformative, and although 1984 was four hours long with an intermission, I was transfixed by the messages within the work.  It re-confirmed my commitment to provide, through my work as a director and producer, support to theatre and dance artists so that they could develop and share powerful meaningful stories about our world and share them  with audiences.   

Top three records

There are so many that I love but... 

Carol King Tapestry Played it over and over when my heart was broken! 

Tina Turner Tina!

Pretty much anything from the grand master Leonard Cohen and the amazing matriarch Ms. Buffy Sainte-Marie.   

All-time favorite video

“Old Movie Stars Dance to Uptown Funk”  I have seen so many that I can’t possibly pick a favorite! But do always enjoy and get a laugh from watching “Old Movie Stars Dance to Uptown Funk”. 

What’s in your fridge

Avocados. Used to hate the texture of avocados, but have learned to love guacamole and like avocado in blueberry smoothies. Feel guilty they have to be transported all the way from Mexico to get to my fridge, though. The sooner all semis rushing back and forth carrying stuff we really don’t need run on electricity, the better. 

Hamburger. Hate this meat and have nightmares about what might be in it but my partner likes it so we compromise. He has his hamburger (gross) and I have my anything else but!! 

Almond Milk. Love it and it makes a good smoothie. But again, the guilt comes on as it needs to be transported and almond trees take a lot of water to grow and California is already drought-ridden. But then, the question becomes flatulating cows putting methane gas into the air and needing a lot of feeding or almond trees that you don’t have to milk. Manicured golf courses and lawns or almond trees–what’s worse?      

The Dancing on the Edge festival runs at various venues around town until July 15.