Mandate
The Falling Company’s mandate is to produce and present the contemporary dance works of Marissa Wong in Vancouver, BC; serve underrepresented and intersecting artists; empower the lives of artists through art generating, sharing, and opportunities; encourage accessible storytelling and interdisciplinary collaborations; foster movement education to youth, emerging artists and community at large through community-level classes, and mentorship.
Mission
The Falling Company leads with sustainability and broadening art making in the community. Our works and artistic process expand inquiry where collaboration intersects varied ideas, specialization, communities, and interdisciplinary practices. The Falling Company decolonizes arts making by providing equity, equality, and balance of power to all participants. Enriched practices are shared through accessible education where the dance art form is varied.
EMPOWERMENT, GROWTH, CARE, INCLUSIVITY, SUSTAINABILITY, JOY,
EMPOWERMENT, GROWTH, CARE, INCLUSIVITY, SUSTAINABILITY, JOY,
History
The Falling Company is a nonprofit dance company under the direction of Marissa Wong.
The company, formerly known as the response., was founded in 2008 by Amber Funk Barton. Through the company, she created several full length and short works, including RISK, Scenes and Portraits of Female Creatures, The Art of Stealing and VAST. In her later years, Barton developed a presence in the community for her outreach initiatives, such as the response.’s Apprentice Program, and a series of free open level classes to individuals of all ages known as #dancehappy, and Dance Cafe.
In 2021, Barton stepped down as Artistic Director and handed over the company to Marissa Wong, of TWObigsteps Collective. Under Marissa’s direction, the response. was renamed The Falling Company. The Falling Company’s repertoire consists of her past choreographic works with TWObigsteps Collective, and new creations through The Falling Company.