Choreographer, teacher and dancer has collaborated with theater, musical and dance companies in Canada, USA and Colombia. She was born in Bogota- Colombia where she studied the Scenic Arts Program in dance at the Arts Academy of Bogota. As independent choreographer she has developed several works and received important awards, grants and recognitions. As dance teacher she has worked in Montreal, Hamilton, Kitchener, San Francisco, New Jersey and Colombia. Her recently credits includes: choreographer for Nohayquiensepa Aluna Theatre, Summerworks 2009 Toronto; and the choreographic series Sangre 2010 as part of her thesis at York University pursuing her MFA in dance.
Danielle Baskerville performs and teaches across Canada and Europe. A founding member of D.A. Hoskins’ The Dietrich Group, she dances for many of Canada's finest creators. A member of Dancetheatre David Earle for the past twelve years, she plays a pivotal role in the revisal of past repertoire and performance of new work. Danielle has received numerous grants and awards for ongoing study and work in Europe. Important influences from these journeys include Jan Burkhardt (Berlin), Michael Schumacher (Amsterdam), Renate Graziadel (Berlin) and Laura Ariès (Barcelona). Upcoming events include performances with The Dietrich Group at the Festival TransAmériques in June.
Pia Bouman Youth Moves | June 6 | Choreographer: Unraveling
Young Movement Incorporated Dancing (YMI Dancing) is an established professional youth company (1991). Its mandate is to bring dance performance to the general community. The company performs at festivals, Public Schools, Libraries, for fundraising events and charitable organizations. The company has enjoyed the teaching of professional performers such as Julia Aplin, Susie Burpee, Meagan O'Shea, Malgorzata Nowacka, Julia Sasso and Darryl Tracy. Annually the Company presents Works in Progress and a show in April featuring works by noted Toronto dance creators.
Canadian contemporary dance artist Susie Burpee trained at the Professional Program of Contemporary Dancers, augmented her studies at the Limon and Cunningham Schools in New York and at L’Ecole Philippe Gaulier in Paris. Ms. Burpee was as a company dancer with the critically acclaimed Dancemakers, Le Groupe Dance Lab, and Ruth Cansfield Dance. As an independent artist, she continues to work closely with innovative choreographers Serge Bennathan, Sasha Ivanochko, Lesandra Dodson, and Tedd Robinson. In 2006, she received the K.M. Hunter Artist Award for Dance. As a creator, Ms.Burpee creates works that showcase ‘fully human characters, struggling for connection’ (The Toronto Star) and she has been awarded Dora Mavor Moore Awards for Outstanding Performance and New Choreography. 2009-10 projects include a Scotiabank Nuit Blanche commission for 24 dancers, an evening’s work at the Canada Dance Festival, and performing in a new creation by Tedd Robinson.
Powerful, risk-taking and fiercely contemporary, The Chimera Project creates visceral theatre experiences that break down the social veneer between audience and performer. Founded in 1999 by award-winning choreographer Malgorzata Nowacka, The Chimera Project confronts the audience with high-octane physicality, ferocious technique and darkly gritty themes. The choreographic works are immersive and exciting journeys that assault the senses.
The company’s performances in Toronto and throughout Canada have earned it critical and audience acclaim. The immediacy, athleticism and urban themes of the company resonate strongly with youth and general audiences. Repeatedly listed nationally as one of the Top Ten Performances of the Year by The Globe and Mail and locally in Toronto’s Now Magazine, The Chimera Project has made a distinct mark on the Canadian dance front. Exploring the paradoxes and underlying tensions of contemporary society, Artistic Director Malgorzata Nowacka’s choreography is complex, cinematic, dangerous and beautiful. Her artistic vision drives the company’s activities in creation, performance and production, film and education.
Relentless, dark and sexy, The Chimera Project continues to push the boundaries of contemporary dance in Canada.
Jung-ah Chung In the Park series | June 3, 5 & 6 | Choreographer: Courtyard for a Bird
Jung-ah Chung has worked with prominent BC dance artists including Wen Wei Wang, Constance Cooke, Alvin Tolentino, Battery Opera, and Suddenly Dance Theatre. Her own choreography has been performed at the The World Dance Stars Festival; at Tangente (Montreal); at fFIDA (Toronto); and at Romp! Festival of Independent Dance (Victoria).
Suddenly Dance Theatre is based in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada and produces dance works live on stage, for national television, and in a variety of media. www.suddenlydance.ca
Siobhan Collins Youth Moves | June 6 | Choreographer: 9Crimes
Siobhan Collins has been dancing for 15 years. She has trained in several styles ranging from Ballet to Hip Hop. The past four years she has spent as a part of Centennial CV's dance company, Dance Inc. Siobhan was given the opportunity to try her own choreography for the company's annual show. She quickly fell in love with contemporary dance and the power behind the movement. Siobhan credit's Dance Inc. and Ms. Sue Knox, the company's Artistic Director, for encouraging her to become the choreographer she is today.
Company Blonde Dance Projects In the Park series | June 3, 5 & 6 | Choreographers & Performers: Left, Right Left
Company Blonde has a unique and vital presence in the independent dance scene in Canada. Since it’s inception in 1999 Company Blonde has been dedicated to creating dance works that are accessible to a vast audience of all ages blending comedy and theatre with classical modern dance. Company Blonde strives to tell stories and share experiences that speak to our community and our culture, while always keeping the audience at the forefront of their work. www.companyblonde.com
Allison Cummings In the Gallery Series | May 1 & 2 | Choreographer: Familiar Song #1
Allison Cummings, Artistic Director of Sore for Punching You, is a performer/choreographer/director based in Toronto. She has worked as either an actor or dancer for many local indies and companies including, D.A. Hoskins, Michael Trent, DNA Theatre, Kate Alton and Bill James among others. Her choreography has been shown at many venues and festivals including The Theatre Centre (2002 residency program and independently), Hysteria, Edgy Women in Montreal, and Toronto Dance Theatre’s ‘Four at the Winch’. She has produced her own multi-disciplinary shows, 'Quiver' 2002 and ‘Clutch’ in 2006. She was the 2000 recipient of The Toronto Emerging Artist Award in Dance and short-listed for the K.M. Hunter Award in 2006 and 2008. Her first film installation, a collaboration with BlueMouth Inc's Stephen O'Connell, was co-produced by The Moving Pictures Festival and Trinity Square Video in November 2005. Recent and current projects include directing The Goblin Market at Equity Showcase Theatre, choreographing a piece for Okotobrigya Dance of Ghana, West Africa which was presented by the Canadian High Commission as part of Le Semaine de la Francophonie in Accra, Ghana, March 2008, 'Devouring Lions', a solo performance in collaboration with Nilan Perera and 'You Are Invited' a performance Installation at the Gladstone Hotel. She took part in the final Goat Island Summer School hosted by the School of the Art Institute of Chicago in July 2008. After three years in creation, she recently presented her solo work 'Devouring Lions' at Buddies in Bad Times, November 2009. Upcoming, Allison is participating in her first Artist in Residence program at Compeung Village in Thailand, March 2010.
Rachel Cyr In the Street | June 4 | Choreographer & Performer: When it Rains it Pours
Rachel Cyr is a graduate of the George Brown dance program and former artistic director of Silhouettes Dance Company ("Psychobabble", "Fantastic Contraption": The Betty Oliphant Theatre). She has performed and choreographed for performances in Ottawa (Centerpoint Theatre), Toronto (Betty Oliphant Theatre, Hart House Theatre, Toronto Centre for the Performing Arts, Squiggfest) and New York (Summer Stock Theatre, West Side YMCA). Rachel is thrilled to be performing and choreographing for the Guelph Contemporary Dance Festival for the first time and wants to thank her dancers for their beautiful interpretation of her choreography and their hard work on this project.
Originally from the Central African Republic, Ghislaine Doté is a dancer, choreographer, and composer. Eclectic in interpretative style, she has worked with Van Grimde Corps secret, Flak, and has now joined the Sinha Danse Company. Ghislaine has also established a solid reputation as an emerging choreographer having created 4 works to date (choreography and music). She is now working on her fifth creation, with her newly founded company Virtuo Danse.
David Ferguson In the Park series | June 3, 5 & 6 | Choreographer: Courtyard for a Bird
David Ferguson works in dance, film, and new media. As a Founding Artistic co-Director of Suddenly Dance Theatre Society in Victoria, B.C. (1992-present) David has been a producer/curator of numerous multi-media projects and dance productions, including the annual Romp! Festival of Independent Dance. He is seen as famed theatre director Tyrone Guthrie in GUTHRIE SWIMS THE LAKE, a new Bravo!FACT short.
Suddenly Dance Theatre is based in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada and produces dance works live on stage, for national television, and in a variety of media. www.suddenlydance.ca
Floating Seed In the Park series | June 3, 5 & 6 | Choreographers & Performers: Chrysalis
Based in Montréal, Floating Seed grows on the borders between contemporary dance and aerial circus arts, merging the horizontal nature of floor-based dance into the usually vertical form of the aerial fabric. Since 2007, co-artistic directors and choreographers, Andrea Legg and Gabrielle Martin, have applied a contemporary sensibility to the suspended body, anchoring it within a new and unique hybrid aesthetic. Their current works include Chrysalis and Puella Falling.
Laurel Koop (R Bodies Project) In the Street | June 4 | Choreographer: We, Now Everything
The R Bodies project was founded in Montreal by Laurel Koop in November 2009 with the aim to bring dance with a social component out of the theatre and into diverse performance venues. We aim to perform in site-specific series, on the street, in parks, in clubs, in schools and in community centres. We also have a mandate to give workshops introducing dance as a healthy means of physical and creative expression to youth.
Sasha Ivanochko is a Toronto based dance artist and Artistic Director of blackandblue dance projects. Since completing her training at the School of Toronto Dance Theatre in 1991, Ivanochko has performed with many of Canada's leading choreographers, and with Toronto Dance Theatre for nine seasons. An intense and intuitive performer, she has charmed audiences and critics with her explosive physicality and dramatic presence. As a choreographer, Miss Ivanochko is regarded as “a mover and shaker” (The Globe and Mail, 2001) with a body of work that speaks of the human condition with economy, passion and beauty. Her work has been presented by DanceWorks, CDF, Dusk Dances, Tangente, Dancing on the Edge, and at many festivals across Canada, Japan and the Dominican Republic. Ivanochko is a highly sought after teacher and has worked at universities, schools and festivals across Canada and abroad. She has been on the faculty at STDT since 1996, and has recently begun the process of formalizing a pedagogy that relates directly to her choreographic work. A warm and generous teacher, her highly physical and technically challenging classes reflect her own deep love of dance.
Larchaud Dance Project (Jennifer Robichaud & Jase Cozmic) In the Street | June 4 | Choreographer & Performer: Just Browsing
Founded in 2004, Larchaud Dance Project combines break dance aesthetics with contemporary technique to create repertoire based on strength, agility, and gravity-defying movement. Pioneers of this hybrid dance form; their highly stylized partnering is now recognized as Larchaud Technique. This Toronto based company guarantees to demand attention with high-voltage athleticism, and intriguing presence. Under the Artistic Direction of Jennifer Robichaud, Larchaud Dance Project has been recognized for its vibrant workshops, cutting edge choreography, and multimedia performances.
Eroca Nicols In the Park series | June 3, 5 & 6 | Choreographer & Performer: Ah! Mes Synchronettes!
After earning her Honors BFA in Film/Video/Performance and Sculpture from California College of the Arts (San Francisco and Oakland, CA), Eroca Nicols accepted a scholarship from Ballet Creole's Professional Training Program in Toronto. After studying at Ballet Creole, she trained at The School of Toronto Dance Theatre. Eroca founded Lady Janitor Productions in the fall of 2008. She is currently a Toronto-based choreographer, dance filmmaker, dancer, and producer. Since arriving in Canada from California in 2004, her work has appeared at: Nuit Blanche; The Cube (Bristol, UK); Dance in My Backyard (DIMBY); and Toronto's International Dance Day. In 2009 a BravoFACT of Ah! Mes Synchronettes! (co-created with Toronto filmmaker Andrew Munger) – aired on the BRAVO channel. In addition to her own work, Eroca has also performed in the work of, among others, Pam Johnson and Kaeja d'Dance.
Zita Nyarady In the Street | June 4 | Choreographer & Performer: The Sky Dress
Cryptozoology Playground is where dance-theatre artist and stilt walker Zita Nyarady explores multi-disciplinary, choreographic and improvisational-based projects. Working solo or with collaborators, Cryptozoology Playground is interested in creating dynamic work that is informed by environment, play, live interaction and embodied storytelling. Cryptozoology Playground has shown works at Ambi-valent Object Art/Science conference and Lab Cab at Factory Theatre and is excited to be participating in the 2010 Guelph Contemporary Dance Festival.
Born and raised in Toronto, Barbara began her dance training at George Brown College and continued at the School of Toronto Dance Theatre, graduating in 1995. Barbara is a noted independent dance artist originating roles in the works of Ame Henderson, Elizabeth Chitty, Tanya Crowder, D.A. Hoskins, Jessica Runge, Michelle Silagy and Heidi Strauss among others. Barbara has worked with OMO Dance Company, Atlas Moves Watching, CORPUS, and was a company member of Dancemakers from 1998-2000. She has also appeared in a dance films by Magali Charrier, Michael Downing, John Lauener and John Oswald. She is currently a member of Dance Theatre David Earle.
Montréal choreographer, Thea Patterson, has worked on a variety of projects either as a performer, director or collaborator, with a group of peers that include: Katie Ward, Peter Trosztmer, Audree Juteau, David Pressault, Bill Coleman, Erin Flynn, and Chien Perdu. She is a member of the artist group "The Choreographers" whose first work Man and Mouse has been presented in Halifax, Montréal, at the Joyce Soho in New York, in Lennoxville, and at selected Maison de la Culture in Montréal.
Her 2005 piece, A Soft Place to Fall was made into a BravoFACT film directed by Philip Szporer and Marlene Millar which continues to screen at international film festivals. She was co-choreographer and playwright for the multi-media work Norman produced by 4Dart and directed by Victor Pilon and Michel Lemieux, which premiered at the National Arts Centre in Ottawa in April 07, and has since toured to Mexico, Columbia, Europe, and Asia. Her newest work, Rhyming Couplets premiered at Tangente in May 2008.
Lucy is a multi-faceted performer whose interpretive skills have drawn her into a variety of disciplines. As Blue Ceiling dance, she has produced eight major dance concerts, commissioned solo work, and created a repertoire of a dozen contemporary dance works which have been performed in Germany, Montréal, New York City, Ottawa, in a basement bar in Kitchener-Waterloo and on a mountain top in Austria. Since 2001 Lucy has worked with Theatre Rusticle most recently in the company's five-Dora-nominated production of April 14, 1912 in which she played the ship Titanic. Other theatre and dance include work with Sashar Zarif, Andrea Nann, Peter Chin, Volcano Theatre, Puppetmongers Theatre, and on fire, literally, with Circus Orange. Lucy is currently Co-Chair for the Board of the Canadian Alliance of Dance Artists, Ontario Chapter. She had her first baby with long-time partner Dennes Pehadzic on July 1st, 2009.
Menaka Thakkar settled in Canada over 38 years ago at the peak of her career as an international soloist and is credited with being the first artist to introduce Indian culture to Canadian audiences. She opened the first school of Indian dance in Canada, Nrytakala and formed the Menaka Thakkar Dance Company comprised of graduates of her school. Many of her graduates have gone on to develop their own careers in dance such as Winnipeg’s “Manohar Dance Company”, Natasha Bakht, Niharika Mohanty, and Nova Bhattacharya. Today the Menaka Thakkar Dance Company is known as Canada’s premiere Indian dance company. It includes up to 20 professional dancers, most of whom have studied with Ms. Thakkar from 16 to 26 years. The company has a repertoire that ranges from classical Bharatanatyam and Odissi to contemporary and modern works that combine many different western and Indian dance styles and martial arts forms.
Zata Omm is 'Zen And The Actualization Of Modern Movement'. Zata Omm is committed to the creation of novel works, the development of a repertoire of choreographic works, and the dissemination of the products of our labours through performance, research, media and education. In the next three years, Zata Omm is launching multiple research in dance and new technology with a grant from the George Cedric Metcalf Foundation. Zata Omm and artistic director William Yong were profiled in an episode of the Bravo channel TV documentary 'Freedom'. Zata Omm's past works include Sugar and Snails, Alone On Paper, The Four Heavenly Kings, To Fly or Fall, Sirens in the City and Tenterhooks. Our two dance films of To Fly or Fall and Sugar & Snails are Bravo funded which were shown in many international film festivals. Zata Omm latest production Frames was premièred in March 2009 at the Enwave Theatre on DanceWorks' Mainstage as part of the Harbourfront Centre NextSteps. www.zataomm.org.
