Margaret Dragu

Margaret Dragu (born 1953) is a multidisciplinary artist whose titles include dancer, writer, performance artist and feminist. Dragu was born in Saskatchewan, and moved in her adult years to New York, Calgary, Montreal, Toronto and Vancouver. Dragu began her dance career in Calgary in 1970, studying under Yone Kvetys-Young. From Calgary Dragu moved to New York in 1971, where she began working with Alvin Nikolais and members of the Judson Church. In 1973 Dragu moved to Montreal where she began her lengthy career as a striptease artist. In 1975 Dragu moved to Toronto and became affiliated with artist-run collectives including A Space and 15 Dance Lab. She taught classes in aerobics and strip at the A Space gallery. In Toronto Dragu attempted to organize around strippers' rights with the help of the Canadian Labour Congress and the Association of Canadian Radio and Television Artists. The short lived strippers' union was called the Canadian Association for Burlesque Entertainers. In 1988 Dragu co-wrote Revelations: Essays on Striptease and Sexuality with A. S. A. Harrison, a collection of essays on the topics of striptease and sexual entertainment. In 2002 Fado Performance Inc. published a book entitled La Dragu: The Living Art of Margaret Dragu which included a DVD with some of her site specific and video performances. Dragu currently resides in Finn Slough BC, where she continues to create performance based work. She created a radio show, Momz Radio which focused on interviewing mothers about their experiences with motherhood. Through this research, she wrote a book by the same name, Momz Radio: Mothers Talkback. Dragu's has recently began creating video art for Youtube, and writes two blogs, which she updates as Lady Justice and Verb Woman respectively.

Choreographic Works

Dragu’s work is known for being interdisciplinary and site specific. She enjoys collaborating with other artists and sometimes, the public. Her work is often based strongly in activism, whether feminist, environmental, social or otherwise.

Slitz (performance art group show; curator: Victoria Singh) Western Front, Vancouver, BC, January 2003

Pie Performances Richmond Art Gallery, Richmond, BC, January 2003 grunt Gallery, Vancouver, BC, January 2003 Hamilton Art Gallery, Hamilton, BC, November 2002

Casting (group improvisation with Reciprocity/cite) 7a*11d Performance Art Festival, Toronto, Ontario, November 2002

The Wall is In My Head/le mur est dans ma tete/ Ich Habe Die Mauer in Meinem Kopf/lu muro e dentra mi testa (with ReciproCity/cite) Elle Corazon, Montreal, Quebec, October 2001 Gladstone Hotel, Toronto, Ontario, November 2001

Living Art Cosmo Mall, Richmond, BC, November 2000 Cleaning and Loving (It) Queen’s Park/V Tape, FADO, Toronto, Ontario, July 2000

Conscious Corpus: Corp Domestique & Corpus Delicious Western Front, Vancouver, BC, May 7–10, 2000

Improvisation for X’s and O’s (with 25 lb. of potatoes) Grunt Gallery/Vogue Theatre, Vancouver, BC, Oct.1999 (with guitarist Brian Krocher) Niagara Artists’ Centre, St. Catharines, Ont., June 1999 (with violinist Jim Munro) Grunt Gallery, Vancouver, BC, February 1999

Eine Kleine Nacht Radio/a little night radio Niagara Artists’ Centre, St. Catharines, Ontario, June 1999 Artword Theatre, Toronto, Ontario, June 1999 grunt Gallery, Vancouver, BC, February 1999 (German Tour by Canadian Dept. of Foreign Affairs & International Trade with Hessiche Ministerium fur Wissenschaft und Kunst of Germany & Cultural Dept. of Netherlands) Moltkerei Werkstadt, Koln, Germany darK.-Halle, Mainz, Germany c.u.b.a., Munster, Germany Carl Stipendium, Essen, Germany Artis, s’Hertogenbosch, Netherlands, June 1998

X’s & O’s for the Rites/Right of May Richmond Cultural Centre, Richmond, BC, May Day, 1999

Otzenrath Stipendium Otzenrath, Bonn, Germany, June 1998

A Deconstructed Dollhouse/une maison de poupees en deconstruction The @ Gallery, Vancouver, BC, April 1997 Theatre, Toronto, Ontario Niagara Artists' Collective, St. Catharines, Ontario Le Lieu's rencontre intern. d'art performance et multimedia, Quebec City, PQ, Oct.1996

Secret Kitchen Richmond Public Library/Cultural Building, Richmond, BC; March 1998 Silverton Art Gallery, Silverton, BC, July 1995 Women in View Festival, Station Arts Theatre, Vancouver, BC, January 1995 New Performance Festival, Hornby Island, BC, May 1992 Festival, grunt Gallery, Vancouver, BC, September 1991 Artspace, Peterborough, Ontario, August 1990

The Bardo Gap Western Front, Vancouver, BC, September 1994 Nine Suits with Paul Gibbons and Jim Munro Silverton Art Gallery, Silverton, BC, July 1995 with Jim Munro, Bill Smith, Dana Inglis and David Lee Mayworks Arts Festival, Hornby Island, BC, May 1994

Sliced Bread -with Jim Munro, Roy Kiyooka, Bill Smith and Dana Inglis Mayworks Arts Festival, Hornby Island, BC, May 1993 EDAM Dance Studio, Western Front, Vancouver, BC, February 1993

Square Foot Real/realite au metre carre - with Jim Munro Niagara Artists' Centre, St. Catharines, Ontario Music Gallery, Toronto, Ontario, with guest artist David Prentice Artspace, Peterborough, Ontario Oboro, Montreal, Quebec; October 1992

Pheromones - with Billy Little, Bill Smith, Jim Munro & Joey Meyer Artropolis, Vancouver, BC, November 1990

Original X's & O's Series X's & O's for the Canadian Pavilion Expo '86, Vancouver, BC, August 1986 X's & O's for Friday the Thirteenth Western Front, Vancouver, BC, November 1985 X's & O's in the Dead of Winter Off Centre Centre, Calgary, Alberta, January 1984 X's & O's on the Shortest Day of the Year Art Gallery of Hamilton, Hamilton, Ontario, Dec. 21/83 X's & O's on the Longest Day of the Year Art Gallery of Hamilton's Artworks in the Garden, Royal Botanical Garden of Burlington, Ontario, June 21/83 JOY OF MULTIDICIPLINE Artspace, Peterborough, Ontario, March 1986 Emily Carr School of Art, Vancouver, BC, November 1985 Artcite Gallery, Windsor, Ontario, December 1984 Niagara Artists' Centre, St. Catharines, Ontario, May 1984 Banff School of Fine Arts, Banff, Alberta, January 1984 Alberta School of Art, Calgary, Alberta, January 1984 Articule, Montreal, Quebec, November 1983

My Wireless is Running- with Colin Campbell Toronto Dance Theatre, Toronto, Ontario, May–June 1984

I’m Already Chaning my Mind – with Colin Campbell Harbourfront Studio Theatre, Toronto, Ontario, June 1982 Fear of Blue/angst vor blau - with Tom Dean Akademie der Kunste, Berlin, Germany, January 1983 London Art Gallery, London, Ontario, November 1982 Artspace, Peterborough, Ontario, October 1982

Her Majesty/sa majeste - with Tom Dean Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto, Ontario, March 1981 Palais des Beaux Arts, Brussels, Belgium, February 1981

D.W.I. Strike and Public Parade Event Queen's Park Parade Route, Toronto, Ontario, September 1984

Unfit for Paradise Rivoli, Toronto, Ontario, Sept. - Oct. 1983 Western Front, Vancouver, BC, September 1981

The AM Show with Guy Allen & Arnie Achtman Simon Fraser University Theatre, Vancouver, BC, Sept, 1981 Erindale Theatre (University of Toronto), March 1981 Artspace, Peterborough, Ontario, July 1981 and June 1980 Vehicle, Montreal, Quebec, June 1980 University of Ottawa Theatre, Ottawa, Ontario, May 1980

No Nonsense Black and White and Color Le Groupe de la Place Royale, Ottawa, Ontario, October 1982

T.V Hertz Alberta College of Art, Calgary, Alberta, April 1979 (with Enrico Campana) Musee des Beaux Arts, Montreal, Quebec, March 1979 Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto, Ontario, March 1979

Canajan Burgers with Enrico Campana Eye Level Gallery, Halifax, Nova Scotia CEAC, Toronto, Ontario; Arton's, Calgary, Alberta Manitoba Theatre Centre, Winnipeg, Manitoba Regina Modern Dance Works, Regina, Saskatchewan Paula Ross Studio, Vancouver, BC Espace Tournesol, Edmonton, Alberta, June–August 1977

33 1/3 Double Live: Sunset Strippers, Beauty & the Beast with Enrico Campana and Terry Crack Factory Theatre Lab, Toronto, Ontario, Jan.-March 1979 TWP Theatre, Toronto, Ontario, September 1979 The Funnel, Toronto, Ontario, March 1978

Pick Up TWP Theatre, Toronto, Ontario, November 1976

Oh True Oh Real Oh Helpless Love with Redlight Theatre Bathurst Theatre, Toronto, Ontario, February 1976

Queens of the Silver Blades with Susan Swan and Mary Canary Cinema Lumiere, Toronto, Ontario, October 1975 St. Paul's Theatre, Toronto, Ontario, June 1975

Try Leather Fifteen Dance Lab, Toronto, Ontario, November 1975

Kresges & Woolyworths Fifteen Dance Lab, Toronto, Ontario, September 1975

Canadian Folk Danse A Space, Toronto, Ontario, May 1975

Film

I Vant to be Alone (co-director, co-writer, choreographer & performer) also starring Jackie Burroughs, Robert des Rosiers, & Claudia Moore Breakthrough Films/T.V. Ontario/Telefilm/OFDC production, half-hour, 1988

Conserving Kingdom (half-hour pilot Dudley the Dragon TV series) (choreographer) Breakthrough Films/T.V. Ontario/Ontario Hydro production, 1987

Memories of Paradise (co-writer, choreographer, performer) Breakthrough Films,/T.V. Ontario production, half-hour, 1985

References

^{[1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8]}

1. ^ Dragu, Margaret, ASA Harrison. Revelations: Essays on Striptease and Sexuality. London Nightwood Editions. 1989
2. ^ Dragu, Margaret and Susan Swan and Sarah Sheard. Mothers Talk Back: Momz Radio. Toronto: Coach House Press, 1991
3. ^ Brown, Brenda Lee. Ed. Bringing it Home: Women Talk about Feminism in their Lives. Vancouver Arsenal Pulp Press, 1996
4. ^ Anderson, Carol. Ed. This Passion: For the Love of Dance. Toronto: Dance Collection Danse Press. 1998
5. ^ Couillard, 2002
6. ^ Mars, Tanja. Caught in the Act: An Anthology of Performance Art by Canadian Women. “The Joy of Local: Margaret Dragu.” By Kristen Forkert. YYZ Books. Toronto Ontario. 2004
7. ^ Anderson, Carol. This Passion: For the Love of Dance. “Heart, Soul and Thighs.” By Elizabeth Chitty. Dance Collection Danse Press/es. 1998
8. ^ Anderson, Carol. This Passion: For the Love of Dance. “The Passion List” By Margaret Dragu. Dance Collection Danse Press/es. 1998

Bibliography

• Couillard, Paul (2002). La Dragu: The Living Art of Margaret Dragu. Toronto: Fado Performance Inc.. ISBN 0-9730883-0-3. 

External links

• Verb Woman
• Lady Justice

Persondata
Name	Dragu, Margaret
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Date of birth	1953
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Date of death
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