Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity is offering a rare public look into a new work by throat‑song artist and author Tanya Tagaq: the centre’s events calendar lists a work‑in‑progress showing and open rehearsal of Split Tooth: Saputjiji on December 16, 2025 at 7:30 p.m. in the Jenny Belzberg Theatre, with a post‑show Q&A and tickets priced from $25 to $35.
The presentation is billed by Banff Centre as “a rare look into the creative process,” and it’s explicitly described as an early development showing rather than the finished piece. The event page says the session will include an open rehearsal and a question‑and‑answer with the creative team, giving Banff audiences a short, inside peek before the full production premieres elsewhere.
The finished production of Split Tooth: Saputjiji is slated for a world premiere on February 5, 2026 at Vancouver’s Chan Centre as part of the PuSh International Performing Arts Festival, co‑presented with Music on Main. The project is a multi‑partner effort: the National Arts Centre’s National Creation Fund lists a $195,000 investment toward the work’s final development and names Banff Centre among its co‑producers and partners.
Tanya Tagaq is the central performer and creator; the stage adaptation draws on her bestselling book Split Tooth and her album Saputjiji. The production is directed by Kaneza Schaal and brings together several major presenters and festivals, including PuSh, the Chan Centre, Music on Main and Brooklyn Academy of Music’s NEXT WAVE program, reflecting how large Canadian stage projects are often built through shared funding and residencies.
For Banff, the Dec. 16 showing fits the centre’s winter performance season and its long history as a development hub for new work. The Jenny Belzberg Theatre — recently revitalized and renamed with support from local donors — is part of that incubator role, where artists often test pieces in front of small public audiences before tour and premiere dates.
The Banff listing may also interest local audiences tracking major Indigenous and experimental performance. Press and public information about the showing and Banff’s winter lineup appeared in the centre’s media release on November 19, 2025, which lists Carly Maga as media contact for the season announcement. Organizers and presenters say this development model helps bring ambitious, nationally co‑produced works to smaller communities before full urban premieres.
