Sand has always filtered through Keylaira Lee's life.
She grew up close to a sandbar and, recently, chose to stage a production for the Vancouver Fringe Festival on Granville Island, which was a sandbar more than a century ago.
Her new show, titled ca.Sandbar, that she wrote and directed will be performed outside of the Sandbar restaurant and will revolve around Cassandra of Troy, which also has the word 'sand' in it.
A performing and visual artist as well as a shaman, Lee used the story of Cassandra - a Greek mythological character - to relate to modern times.
According to the tale, Cassandra was given the gift of prophecy by Apollo because of her beauty; however, he shunned her when she didn't return his affection. As a result of his curse, Cassandra's predictions weren't believed.
Lee parallels the narrative to the disconnect that people have today. "We, as humans, have such a propensity to live in denial and I think that's so relevant to everything like the environment. We haven't paid attention to it," Lee said.
In ca.Sandbar, which features Coquitlam dancer and Riverside secondary graduate Joylyn Secunda, Cassandra has a soul retrieval and returns as "ca.Sandbar" to evolve and heal through a spiritual journey.
The 50-minute dance-theatre production that includes an original score by Azul Salvaje Music will be premiering at the Vancouver Fringe Festival, running every night at 8 p.m. outside of the Sandbar Restaurant.
