I Dream in Wampum

Barbara is a member of the Kanien’keha:ka (Mohawk) nation of Kahnawake. She now resides in Montreal, where she is the artistic director and choreographer for A’nó:wara Dance  Theatre. Recipient of the Clifford E. Lee Choreographic Award 2025 from the Banff Centre, she has been a choreographer and performer for over 30 years, creating shows that bring Indigenous themes, stories, and perspectives to light. Her dance show, Sky Dancers, won Outstanding Touring Production (Dora Mavor Moore Awards 2022) and she was the recipient of the prestigious Prix de la danse de Montréal 2021 for most notable dancer of the year. Diabo takes pride in sharing her culture and performs across Canada and internationally. Her work has been seen at the National Arts Centre, Festival Quartiers Danse, Prismatic Arts Festival, Native Earth Performing Arts, Matriarchs Uprising, FODAR, Le Diamant, Waterproof Festival (France), and beyond.  

Barbara also collaborates with several organizations with whom she helps educate populations, create “safe spaces” and support Indigenous artists around the world. Diabo performs and creates for generations to come, to honour, for her ancestors, for a sense of community, for those who cannot dance, to inspire, to communicate, to encourage cultural pride, and to uplift spirits.

Olivier Arseneault is an artist from Sept-Îles who has worked in the professional dance world for over fifteen years, specializing in contemporary Quebecois step dancing. He has graced stages around the world in innovative choreographic and musical projects. An active member of the traditional dance network through numerous projects including Bigico, La Chasse-Balcon, l’Écho des Racines, Archétype Trad, and LaboTrad, he develops a hybrid artistic approach that blends movement, sound composition, and video creation. His artistic sensibility is also showcased in his work as a videographer specializing in motion capture. His work highlights the richness of traditions while projecting them into a decidedly contemporary aesthetic through several projects involving programming, interactivity, and intermediality. A unifying and passionate artist, Olivier enthusiastically shares his love for Quebec's living heritage.

Charlotte is a projection designer and animator who works in theatre, dance, and live events. Some credits include; Sakura (Centaur Theatre), Soutensions (TCM), Extra/Beautiful/You (Infinithéâtre) and Assistant Video Design for Hamlet 911 (Stratford Festival). Charlotte was nominated for both Outstanding Emerging Artist and Outstanding Video Design at the 2025 META awards. 

Charlotte does not include AI-generated content in this production.

Bri Bedard is a young, multidisciplinary artist from Tio’tia:ke (Montreal). He recently finished the Live Entertainment: Design and Production program at John Abbott college, specializing in Lighting, Sound, and Video design, as well as Stage Management. He has designed multiple shows as a part of his education at John Abbott, and has worked as a general technician since 2022. His skills lie also in sewing and costume design, which has allowed him to work with A’nó:wara Dance Theatre since 2025.

Graduated from the National School of Classical and Contemporary Dance at the National Institute of Fine Arts (2016, Mexico, City).
In her fourth year of the program, she received a scholarship from the Limón Institute in New York to attend an Intensive Limón Technique Workshop in Los Angeles, California (2015). She was part of the company Barro Rojo Arte Escénico, participating in national and international festivals in Mexico, Colombia, the United States, and Ivory Coast (Africa) (2014-2018). Since 2019, she is part of A'nó:wara Dance Theatre, directed by Barbara Diabo, dancer and choreographer from Kanyen'kehà:ka Nation, performing in the Quartiers Danses Festival (Montreal), Prismatic Arts Festival 2021 (Halifax), Harbourfront Centre (Toronto), and the "First Peoples Performing Arts Festival of the Thousand Islands" in 2019 & 2023. 
She performed at Fleck Dance Theatre with the company Newton Moraes Dance Theatre in 2022, in the piece « Life under my skin ».
She offered a masterclass for students and professional dancers at the KOYA 2023 Festival of Contemporary Dance (Chiapas, Mexico), where she also presented her piece "Son semilla," a choreography created in honor of women who have suffered gender violence and femicide. 
She participated in the Sherbrooke Contemporary Dance Festival (Quebec) 2023 & 2024, in collaboration with dancer and choreographer Gabriela Guerra Woo, creating the piece "Mujeres de tierra », and Alexander Herrera « La mujer dormida y la montana humeante »

Since 2023 and in the present she works with the company Red Sky Performance, performing at Canadian Stage,Vancouver, Oregon, Washington DC at the Kennedy Center, and in the Danse Danse Festival in Montreal.
 

Waabnookwe/Katie Couchie is an Anishinaabe artist from Nbisiing (Nipissing First Nation), waabezeshii ndodem. Katie has worked with companies & choreographers including Kaha:wi Dance Theatre, A’nó:wara Dance Theatre, Human Body Expressions, Alejandro Ronceria, Christine Friday, Simik Komaksiutiksak, Peggy Baker & Cameron Fraser-Monroe.
Katie is a Dora nominated artist for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in the productions of Homelands and SKéN:NEN by Kaha:wi Dance Theatre. She has also been in productions such as The Mush Hole and Oron’ónhta - Beings of Light over the past four years with the company.
Katie is also a proud cast member of A’nó:wara Dance Theatre’s, Sky Dancers and upcoming, I Dreams in Wampum.
Outside of her contemporary dance practice, Katie is currently pursuing her Bachelor of Arts in Indigenous Studies at Nipissing University, has a passion for beading and creating traditional crafts and enjoys dancing her ancestors Woodland style of dance.
 

Brenda Diabo is a multi discipline artist based in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, Canada.  Her practice includes sewing/costume design, one of a kind jewellery creation, and Ikebana.  She has had her work shown at NSCCD, and at a variety of galleries locally and in Toronto. 

Marshall is an award-winning Kanien’keha:ka (Mohawk)/mixed-heritage competitive dancer/choreographer who performs with dance troupes and as a soloist. He has been dancing powwow and urban dance styles for over 10 years, on stage and in film. Marshall also teaches dance regularly and coaches a competitive dance team. He has been seen dancing at Battery Dance Festival (New York, NY), Just for Laughs Festival in Montreal, the Olympic Stadium, on television, Montreal Pride, and various other festivals. He was invited to perform as a dancer with renowned Indigenous cellist, Cris Derksen. He was the subject of a documentary on TV about inspiring young First Nation’s children; danced in the new documentary series on Aboriginal People’s Television Network (APTN), PULSE; and has danced in Radio Canada’s Le Grand Solstice. He is also an instructor, mentor, and choreographer in the Indigenous teen dance program Watershed, as he believes it is important to pass on knowledge to the next generations. He takes pride in being 2-spirited and queer and hopes to inspire other youth to be proud of who they are and to go for their dreams.

Michael Tekaronianeken Diabo is a Kanien'kehá:ka (Mohawk) composer, arranger, guitarist, educator, and ukulele fanatic from Kahnawake, based in Punamu’kwati’jk (Dartmouth, NS).

He has been nominated for a Genie Award, and won the Atlantic Film Festival Craft Award. Many of his songs have been licensed for use in television, movies, and the web.

He works as a performer and composer with A'no:wara Dance Theatre, and has spent the last while looking at music through the lens of Indigenous Futurism.

Michael is also a member of Canada’s longest running, award winning instrumental surf band Urban Surf Kings.
 

Nicole Jacobs is a member of Curve Lake First Nation and a Montreal-based choreographer, teacher, and dance artist. Her movement research weaves contemporary dance with the embodied languages of floorwork and acrobatics. Her choreographic language is informed by her experience in theatre and circus, and an ongoing curiosity for lighting design. Her work emerges through physically and emotionally immersive experiences that confront perception and intimacy, vulnerability and control, and states of transformation and liminality.
She is a graduate of Concordia University’s contemporary dance program and has collaborated with creators and companies including Theatre Junction, A’nó:wara Dance Theatre, Corpuscule Danse, My-Van Dam, Ivanie Aubin-Malo, and Ange Loft. Nicole shares her methodology through classes and workshops at Espace Ouvert, Université du Québec à Montréal, Concordia University, Studio-303, and the Watershed Dance Program. In 2025, Nicole joined the curatorial
team at Centre de Création O Vertigo as Indigenous Curator.
Her choreographic work has been presented at the St. Ambroise Montréal Fringe Festival (2022), Festival Quartiers Danses (2023), Here&Now Festival (2024), 
Quai 5160 – Maison de la Culture Verdun (2024), and Tangente (2025).
 

Oliver performed over 1,400 times in 250 dance, theatre, film, and TV productions, reaching 10 million audience members across Canada, the US, and Europe. Recipient of The Elsa Bolam Award in Recognition of Outstanding Achievement by an Emerging Theatre Artist, and MyTheatre's Outstanding Ensemble Award for Factory Theatre's Banana Boys, he's had the opportunity to dance for various companies and choreographers such as PPS Danse (Bagne re-creation), George Stamos (Agora de la danse), Sursaut Dance (Festival des Arts de Saint-Sauveur), Ballet Ouest (Nutcracker), Willi Dorner (FTA), Cirque du Soleil (Tapis Rouge), Dynamo Theatre/YPT (Me Me Me), in 4 touring productions for Fleuve-Espace Danse (La Rotonde/Quartiers Danses) and 3 productions for A’nó:wara Dance Theatre. He also received 3 Montreal English Theatre Awards nominations for his solo Psycho 6 : Outstanding Lead Performance (PACT Production), Outstanding New Text and Outstanding Contribution to Theatre (Choreography). He was a lead performer in the video game Ancestors: The Humankind Odyssey - PS4/Xbox) which sold 2 million copies worldwide. Critics have mentioned his performances to be: "Frightening but magnetic." (Toronto Star), "fiercely physical" (Gazette), "has a scary intensity" (Globe and Mail), "the surgical Oliver Koomsatira vibrates with sexuality, strength and poise" (Dance Current).

Simik Komaksiutiksak is an Inuk artist from Rankin Inlet, Nunavut and now resides in Montreal. Their passion for dance emerged at an early age, later gravitating towards dance and circus arts. Simik learned most of their dance training in Ottawa, and began performing arts during their teen years. Simik is a contemporary dancer, circus artist, and a choreographer. Simik has appeared on the APTN documentary-series “Pulse”, modelled at the Indigenous Fashion Arts festival in Toronto, and tours with Anowara Dance Theatre. Simik is the artistic director of the "Anxiety", a contemporary dance production that explores generational trauma and healing through dance. Simik now works for The Arctic Rose Foundation as the Guest Artist Lead, where they teach dance, creative movement and expressive arts to youth all over Inuit Nunangat as apart of the Messy Book Program. Simik also teaches indigenous youth in the city through the Watershed Dance program and Tupic Act.

Beatriz Pantojo is a Montreal-based producer, coordinator, and multidisciplinary circus artist with over a decade of experience in the performing arts. She has collaborated with internationally recognized companies such as Cirque du Soleil, The 7 Fingers, Circus Cirkör, and Cirk La Putyka, gaining strong insight into large-scale artistic production environments.  

Her management experience spans Canada and Brazil, including projects with the École nationale de cirque, 100lux, Y2D Productions, and the Rojo Nova exhibition. She has led logistics, budgeting, scheduling, and administrative coordination for festivals, tours, and exhibitions.  Beatriz currently works as a producer coordinator with Anowara Dance Theatre, bringing a structured, efficient, and detail-oriented approach to production and artist coordination. 

Gregg toured extensively as an onstage performer before turning his focus to production. Since then, Gregg has significant experience managing, directing and producing for a variety of cultural organisations. Whether establishing a still flourishing annual performing arts festival or participating in the planning and production of international museum projects or creating award-winning performing arts productions, Gregg has accumulated a wealth of experience. 

Among the notable accomplishments are international Museum projects in Portugal, Belgium, Canada and the USA; Directing the operations of Montreal’s les 7 Doigts during their first 5 years; working with Berlin’s Chamaleon Theater producing original shows under their banner; and Creative Producing, then Producing on tour, LEO, awarded the BEST of EDINBURGH Award from among 2,600 productions and which has gone on to be presented in over 40 countries around the world.  

Currently, Gregg directs the operations of Y2D Productions Inc., a Montreal based production company, working with a variety of artists to develop original shows and tour them internationally. Gregg has had the honour, and pleasure, of collaborating with Barbara Kaneratonni Diabo, and A’nó:wara Dance Theatre, since 2020. 

Marianne Thériault is a Montréal-based costume designer specializing in garments for movement, with a focus on dance and circus performance. Trained in scenography at the National Theatre School of Canada, class of 2008, she develops costumes that merge aesthetic sensitivity with technical performance. Her work is rooted in a deep understanding of the body in motion, creating pieces that support flexibility, durability, and expressive freedom on stage. She has collaborated with a wide range of creators, artists and companies, including TNM, Le Théâtre de la Vieille 17, Le Théâtre Magasin, Le Carré des Lombres, Le Cirque de la Pointe-Sèche, Chants Libres and le Cirque du Soleil.

Aurora Torok (she/her/by name) is a queer and hard-of-hearing (using hearing aids) artist based in Montreal. Aurora's scenography experience is primarily in theatre after graduating from the National Theatre School of Canada in Production Design and Technical Arts, as well as from Concordia University with a BFA - Specialization in Design for the Theatre. Other designs for live arts include: contemporary dance, outdoor art installations, comedy and visual exhibitions. Aurora was nominated by the METAs for Outstanding Lighting Design in 2024 (as associate) and 2025.

Born in Mexico, Paco Ziel is a multidisciplinary artist, choreographer, dancer, teacher, rehearsal director, and artistic advisor based in Montreal. Since 2019, he has co-directed the company Vías with Diana León, with whom he has produced impactful works such as Sur ce chemin, tu es sûre de te perdre, Sabor de mi corazón, Flesh & Sound and Tout ce qu'il reste.
In 2024, Paco and Diana received the prestigious Prix de la danse de Montréal in the Revelation category, presented by the Agora de la danse and Tangente, recognizing their impact on the contemporary dance scene.
He danced with Rubberband for 10 years, where he also served as the artistic coordinator, contributing to the company's growth under the direction of Victor Quijada. He toured across Canada, the United States, Mexico, Germany, and Poland. Paco has also collaborated with PPS Danse, Anne Plamondon Productions, Martin Messier, Je suis Julio, Edgar Zendejas, and other independent choreographers.
Paco is also a passionate educator, having taught at the École supérieure de ballet du Québec, Springboard Danse Montréal, Domaine Forget, Transformation, Danse à la Carte, the École de danse de Québec, and the École de danse contemporaine de Montréal.
In parallel, Paco explores other art forms such as music, writing, and visual arts, focusing on the phenomenology of movement as a union with the natural world. His constant artistic indiscipline reflects his commitment to the search for new forms of expression.