At the heart of the piece is a maternal Nêhiyaw Red River Métis family lineage, carried across generations, at times hidden, and now uncovered and celebrated through the body.

Where are you from? Who is your family? What does a body remember? Through these questions, Full of Grace investigates what we carry forward from those who came before us, becoming an exuberant act of reciprocity across generations. Between those still here and those no longer with us, it asks the universal question of what remains when histories have been obscured. 

Creation and performance:
James L’Hirondelle Viveiros  
Creative collaborator, dramaturgy and rehearsal direction:
Ruth Eluned Madoc-Jones  
 

Full of Grace has been supported by the Canada Council for the Arts, the National Theatre School of Canada, and the Theatre Practice program at the University of Alberta. The work has been developed through residencies at The Theatre Centre in Toronto and Espace Mille Feux in Montréal. 

James L’Hirondelle Viveiros - Biography  
James L’Hirondelle Viveiros is a dance and interdisciplinary artist of Nêhiyaw Red River Métis and Portuguese descent whose career spans more than 25 years, most notably as a performer with Montréal’s Compagnie Marie Chouinard. A graduate of the Musical Theatre and Dance programs at Alberta’s Grant MacEwan University, James has performed in his own work and the work of others across dance, theatre and film, at festivals and theatres worldwide. In 2009, he received a Gemini Award alongside his fellow company dancers for Best Performance from the Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television for Compagnie Marie Chouinard’s film bODY_rEMIX/les_vARIATIONS_gOLDBErg. From 2015 to 2017, James undertook an extended study of Gaga movement practice in Tel Aviv, with grant support from the Conseil des arts et des lettres du Québec. He is a graduate of the Independent Study program in Directing at the National Theatre School of Canada and is currently an MFA candidate in Theatre Practice at the University of Alberta. James’ current research and artistic practice explores the relationship between his Métis identity and the ways he approaches choreography, collaboration and performance. Central to his practice is an understanding that nothing is created alone, and an interest in reciprocity, collaboration and the relationships that shape both the work and the room in which it is made. His interdisciplinary performances emerge through physicality and dance, often blurring the boundaries between dance and theatre. Alongside his creative practice, James teaches movement to dancers, actors, circus artists, singers and people from a wide range of movement backgrounds.  

Ruth Eluned Madoc-Jones - Biography  
Ruth has been a professional creator, director, dramaturge and teacher working in theatre, dance and new opera for over 30 years. She has taught and directed at Bishop’s University, Humber College, Toronto Metropolitan University and The National Theatre School of Canada. Ruth was the Associate Artistic Director at Nightwood Theatre and the Associate Producer of Summerworks Festival, where she was board chair. She has sat on the Toronto Arts Council and the Canada Council for the Arts. She received the K.M. Hunter Award, the John Hirsch Director’s Award and has been nominated for two Dora awards. Ruth is a graduate of the acting section of the National Theatre School of Canada, the television writers program at the Canadian Film Centre, and has her MA from the Centre for Drama, Theatre, and Performance Studies at the University of Toronto. As a settler, immigrant, proud feminist and queer identified artist, Ruth is honoured to accompany James on this important journey.