The fringe Festival of Independent Dance Artists (fFIDA)is the largest dance gathering in Canada. “Throughout fFIDA’s history, one can track the climate of the times. In the early years, Canadian choreographers had a much more feminist and/or political and/or humorous bent. In today’s ‘retreat into yourself’ mentality, the home crowd seems to be angst-driven or navel-gazing or obliquely abstract, with a considerable number of the solos depicting women in distress.”