Skye Smith brings 'Calla' to life during Fringe North

On Sunday, Aug. 20, the Fringe North Festival will host Calla, an original dance performance created by local artist, Skye Smith.

"Skye dives deep into her personal struggles with body image, addiction, and postpartum mental health," says a news release issued by the Fringe North Festival. "She aims to bring awareness to societal demands placed on every woman."

The performance of Calla takes place at the Sault Ste. Marie Museum at 7:30 p.m. Tickets for this and all other Fringe performances go on sale on Aug. 1.

Full text of the news release follows:

The Fringe North Festival is fast approaching, running Aug. 16 - 20, and Skye Smith’s show, 'Calla' will be her second original dance performance that assembles only northern Ontario artists.

“I have to work with people I trust,” says Smith, “I put so much of myself into my art, and so my network is geographically small. Calla deals with heavy subject matter including body image, postpartum mental health and addiction. I’m so selective with anyone involved.”

Although 'Calla' is based on the title character, two other local dancers will portray the good and evil that’s in all of us. Lauren Kinney and Lucas Beaver play those sides. Smith also inspired local musician, Josh Norling, to write a song that will be featured in one of the dances.

"Fringe North is a festival created by artists for artists, as a direct response to the ongoing need to support Northern Arts" says festival president Tova Arbus. "There are so many incredible, dynamic, innovative creators in the north. And it is crucial and necessary to support these artists in their work. Arts are the heartbeat of community, and the more spaces there are for creative performance and exploration, the better we all are for it."

Smith has taken inspiration from performance art, floristry, and spoken word. In fact, she was so inspired by Cheryl Kennelly’s spoken word album, 'My Left-Handed Mother' that she decided to include some of the pieces in the performance.

“My mother has always lit the fire of feminism in me,” says Smith, “When she gave me Cheryl’s album, I listened, my jaw-dropped, and I felt like she was talking about me.”

Tickets for 'Calla', and other Fringe North Festival performances will be available for purchase beginning Aug. 1 on the website.

About Calla:

'Calla' is a dance performance and character created by Skye Smith. Calla Lilin is a daughter of Lilith born to expose the modern day woman’s struggle with the patriarchy. Lilith is a well-known feminist archetype in Mesopotamian and Judaic mythology.

Skye dives deep into her personal struggles with body image, addiction, and postpartum mental health. She aims to bring awareness to societal demands placed on every woman. The isolation of the pandemic caused her to start a journey of healing from her own demons. In this process, she encountered the following societal demands every woman encounters: the beauty and diet industry, alcohol and drug culture, and unrealistic expectations of new mothers. These societal demands are roadblocks every woman will face on the journey to loving herself.

Content warnings include: nudity, body dysmorphia, addiction, and postpartum mental illness.