Waihōna Kino (Body Archive)

Lisa Davies has been working in the professional dance field for over 30 years, in Quebec and internationally. Throughout her career, she danced on international stages as a performer (Les Grands Ballets, Édouard Lock/La La La Human Steps, Crystal Pite, Ohad Naharin, William Forsythe etc.), as a guest teacher and rehearsal director for over 15 different companies (Emily Molnar/Ballet BC, RUBBERBANDance Group, BJM Danse, Akram Khan Company, National Ballet of Canada, Ballet Zurich, Czech National Ballet etc.), and founded Danse à la Carte where she was general and artistic director for nearly a decade. Sought after for her expertise and renowned for her integrity, passion and her dedication to exploring and advancing the practice, she took over artistic direction of École de danse contemporaine de Montréal in 2023.

Medhi Walerski was appointed Artistic Director of Ballet BC in July 2020. His leadership tenure has been highlighted by an artist-centred approach and deep commitment to creation and innovation, an expanded global touring program, increased dancer compensation and equity, a world-renowned brand identity, and unprecedented audience growth. Raised in France, Walerski initially trained in Normandy with Laurie Bokobza and Christine Caroly before joining the Conservatoire Superieur de Musique et de Danse de Paris. He danced at the Paris Opera Ballet and the Ballet du Rhin before joining the Nederlands Dans Theater in 2001. Walerski was awarded the prestigious Dutch dance prize VSCD Zwaan in 2013. As an educator, he is regularly invited to lecture and give workshops at dance conservatories, intensives, and festivals around the world. 

Michel is a Designer / Technical Director currently based in Nova Scotia. Michel has designed over 100 productions and has been nominated for eight Dora Mavor Moore Awards (Toronto) one Sterling Award (Edmonton) and one Leon Rabin Award (Dallas). His work has been seen or heard in France, Haiti, Brazil and throughout North America at the Kennedy Center, the Lajolla Playhouse, Yale Repertory Theater, the Krannert Center for the Performing Arts, the Cultch, Alberta Theatre Projects, Canstage, Native Earth Performing Arts, Tarragon Theatre, Factory Theatre, Theatre Passe-Muraille, GCTC, National Arts Centre, Centaur Theatre, Roy Thompson Hall, Koerner Hall, the Stratford Festival and countless points in between. Michel also has an extensive teaching background and has worked at the Centre for Indigenous Theatre and at York, Laurentian, and Bishop’s Universities.

Sandy is thrilled to be stage managing Waihona Kino.  Her career has spanned over 40 years, across Canada and internationally.  From her early days in the dance world (Royal Winnipeg Ballet, Judith Marcuse Dance Company, Universal Ballet of Seoul, Korea) through a stretch of freelance work (Theatre Passe Muraille, Muskoka Festival, Stratford Festival) to many years with Pacific Opera Victoria, she has enjoyed a diverse and exciting career in stage management.  Sandy is happy to be freelancing once again, working with friends, old and new. She is grateful to her husband Graham and their cat Lucy for holding down the fort in Victoria.

(Tau) Peter Rockford Espiritu is the Executive & Artistic Director of Tau Dance Theater, the only professional dance company based in Honolulu founded by a native Hawaiian, marking its 30th anniversary in 2026. Tau choreographed the stage production of Disney’s ‘The Tale of MOANA’ on the ship, The Disney TREASURE. Tau is a 2023 ‘Dance USA Fellowship to Artist’; Western Arts Alliance Performing Arts Discovery Fellow; WESTAF BIPOC Fellow; Advancing Indigenous Performances Native Launchpad Fellow; and in 2022 was awarded the prestigious Intercultural International Choreographer’s Creation Lab residency at Banff Center for the Creative Arts in Canada. Tau choreographed the luau at the Disney’s ‘Aulani Resort and is a five-time Hawaii State Foundation for Culture and the Arts Choreographic Award winner. He has created three full evening length works: Hānau Ka Moku: An Island is Born; NAUPAKA: A Hawaiian Opera and POLIAHU: Goddess of Mauna Kea. The company presented five sold out performances at the Lincoln Center in New York City for the Festival of Firsts in 2022 and continues to be a driving force throughout of artistic realm of the greater Pacific and throughout our ‘Global Village’.

Born in Honolulu and raised in Los Angeles, Roberta Uno is a theater director and dramaturg. In 1979, she founded the New WORLD Theater in Amherst, MA, a theater dedicated to the works of artists of color, and served as its Artistic Director for 23 years, directing, producing or dramaturging over 200 works. In 2014, she was inducted into the College of American Theater Fellows at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. Her dramaturgy credits span over four decades, working with a range of artists including James Baldwin, Alice Childress, Chitra Divakaruni, Mark Bamuthi Joseph, thúy le, Pearl Primus, Dawn Saito, Sekou Sundiata,  Keo Woolford, and William Yellow Robe Jr.  Most recently, she directed and co-created Try/Step/Trip by Dahlak Brathwaite, with choreographer Toran X. Moore, nominated in 2026 for NY Drama Desk Best Book, Lyrics, and Choreography awards. In 2022 she directed the milestone We The Peoples Before at the Kennedy Center honoring the First Peoples Fund 25th Anniversary. Uno co-leads Pua Aliʻi ʻIlima o Nuioka, the NYC extention of Kumu Vicky Holt Takamine’s Oʻahu-based hālau, Pua Aliʻi ʻIlima. Her most recent publication is FUTURE/PRESENT: Culture in a Changing America with co-editors Daniela Alvarez and Elizabeth Webb. 

Marques Hanalei Marzan is a Hawaiian fiber culture bearer and contemporary visual artist raised in Kaneohe, Hawaii. His skills recognized throughout Hawaii and the Pacific where he serves as a mentor and advocate, promoting sustainable gathering practices, perpetuating Hawaiian fiber techniques, and instilling indigenous values in each of his students. Marques broadens his understanding of indigenous Oceanic perspectives through active cultural exchanges where he strengthens his commitment to his culture and champions the ideals of continuity and innovation.

Being a practicing artist for 30 years, Marzan’s work has been exhibited and collected by many prominent local, national, and international venues. When attending cultural and artistic gatherings, he regularly complements his visual art form with his cultural training in Hawaiian ceremonial protocol, dance, and chant. These activations contextualize Marzan’s work within the community and in doing so emphasizes the importance of function and intentionality.

Joan Osato is an award-winning visual and projection designer known for her innovative work in theatre and public art, often integrating technology to create dynamic, immersive experiences. Her notable collaborations include The Travelers, and Aztlán with Luis Alfaro, The River, Nogales and Translating Selena with Richard Montoya, We The People Before with Roberta Uno and First Peoples Fund, Last Days at Pu’unene Mill, and rasgos asiáticos with Tanya Orellana and Virginia Grise. She was the inaugural recipient of San Francisco Artist and Communities Grant, Theater Bay Area Award for Excellence in Video Design for Tribes, at Berkeley Rep, and the Surdna’s Artists Engaged in Social Change Award. Plays and films for Campo Santo include Garuda’s Wing and Richard II by Naomi Iizuka, Josephine’s Feast and Side Effects by Star Finch and Dirty White Teslas Make Me Sad by Ashley Smiley. Producing for The Living Word Project includes premieres and tours of Try/Step/Trip by Dahlak Brathwaite directed by Roberta Uno, and Word Becomes Flesh, Scourge, the break/s, red, black and GREEN: a blues and peh/LO/tah by Marc Bamuthi Joseph. Current work includes EARTH SEED by People’s Kitchen, Life is Living, and Waihona Kino.