Diana Casas

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RISING ABOVE As reported here in the Straight, aboriginal Colombian dancer, choreographer, and aerial artist Diana Casas has had plenty of unpleasant welcomes from the Canada Border Services Agency in the last couple of years.According to Casas, the agents standing on guard for thee haven't taken kindly to her whenever she's flown in to visit and work, accusing her of everything from planning to seek refugee status to smuggling contraband in her stomachâ€"all this despite a slew of letters of reference from local dance collaborators and sponsors.Now Casas will be showing what she came here to do with a performance of her breathtaking solo piece El Pájaro (The Bird), at the Scotiabank Dance Centre (677 Davie Street) tonight (November 1).

el pajaro â€" the bird Solo performance by aerial dancer and choreographer Diana Casas.Nov. 1 at Scotiabank Dance Centre, 8 pm. $20 from 604 683-8993.

In a rare reversal of policy, the Canadian embassy in Bogotá, Colombia, has decided to grant aboriginal Colombian dancer and aerial artist Diana Casas a temporary visa to work in Vancouver for a month, despite the embassy's initial rejection of her application.That earlier refusal occurred even though Casas had produced detailed letters of support, including references from the Canada Council for the Arts and the Victoria-based First Peoples' Heritage, Language and Culture Council as well as an invitation to perform at Vancouver's Talking Stick Festival.According to the official rejection letter, embassy representatives believed Casas was likely to claim refugee status.Tasha Faye Evans, a Vancouver actor and dancer who's planning to develop a collaborative piece with Casas, speculated that the subsequent reversal was the result of media interest in the story, as well as support from MP Libby Davies and the Colombian ministries of foreign affairs and culture.
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Despite letters of reference from the Canada Council for the Arts and First Nations arts leaders, the Canadian Embassy in Colombia has twice refused to grant aboriginal Colombian dancer and choreographer Diana Casas a temporary visa to allow her to work with Vancouver colleagues in the coming weeks.Casas has an invitation to perform at the Talking Stick Festival as part of its cabaret scheduled for February 9 and 10 — just one stop in her planned month-long itinerary in Vancouver.Embassy officials in Bogotá have decided that Casas poses too great a risk of claiming refugee status once she arrives here."Diana's really upset," said Vancouver dancer and actor Tasha Faye Evans, who planned to be one of Casas's collaborators.

Arts Umbrella wins another battle with BC Assessment over the valuation of its Granville Island facilities; The Canadian embassy in Bogotá, Colombia, has decided to grant aboriginal Colombian dancer Diana Casas a temporary work visa; Magnetic North Theatre Festival includes companies from Vancouver; Vancouver New Music wins the Alcan Performing Arts Award; Canadian College of Performing Arts holds auditions at the Scotiabank Dance Centre