Indigenous World Dance Residency Showcase

Originally from Mexico City, he is an artist with an interdisciplinary training; In the field of performing arts he has: Bachelor's Degree in Arts and Humanities from the Centro de Educación Artística “Frida Kahlo”; Bachelor's Degree in Acting from the Escuela Nacional de Teatro; Specialty in Dance Creation from the Centro de Investigación Coreográfica; as well as, Specialty in Movement Studies from the Escuela Nacional de Danza “Nellie y Gloria Campobello”, all  schools of the Instituto Nacional de Bellas Artes. He studied inter- and transdisciplinary artistic creation in the Tránsitos Diploma offered by the Centro Nacional de las Artes in Mexico City. He is certified in Adobe Photoshop: Visual Communication. He has worked as a choreographer, stage director, dancer, actor, teacher, lighting designer, stage manager and educational manager. His activity as an actor has been carried out mostly in theater; He was part of the theater groups ABCdidáctivo, Teatro x Teatro and El Pequeño Teatro de Valentiva Novoa. As a dancer he was a member of the group En Dos Partes directed by Gerardo Delgado; As well as Caída Libre under the direction of Ana Gonzáles and Oscar Velázquez, he has also collaborated on projects created by the performing artist Carlos Rivera. As a choreographer he was selected in 2006 and 2015 for the qualifying rounds of the INBA-UAM Contemporary  Choreographic Composition Award; In 2015 he was a finalist in the 1st Contemporary Stage Creation Contest organized by the Cultural Center “Un Teatro”; in 2104 he was a finalist in the Choreographic Creation Contest of the Festival Angelopolitano organized by the Benemérita Universidad Autónoma de Puebla. From the Fondo Nacional para la Cultura y las Artes he received the Artistic Residencies Abroad Scholarship on three occasions in the discipline of dance; All of them were performed in Canada, two of them at the Banff Center in 1999 and 2002 and one more in the City of Toronto with the choreographer Malgorzata Nowacka. Since 1996 he founded and directs his personal artistic project called Performing Arts ELEUSIS, with which he has created choreographic work in collaboration with different artists and groups. He was artistic director and guest choreographer of the dance groups Morpho-Azul Danza Contemporánea, YLEM Movimiento
Contemporáneo -both groups from the City of Puebla- and the DansEnica Collective of Mexico City, likewise, he collaborated with the collective Lenguajes Afectados, also from Puebla. Internationally he has collaborated with Canadian companies, The Chimera Project, Red Sky Performance, Kaha: wi Dance Theatre and is an international advisor to Tribal Crackling Wind. He has taught classes and workshops on dance, theater and interdisciplinary creation in various schools such as the Centro de Educación Artística “Luis Spota”, Universidad de las Américas Puebla, Benemérita Universidad Autónoma de Puebla, Escuela Nacional de Teatro de México Escuela Nacional de Danza “Nellie y Gloria Campobello”, Universidad Autónoma de Chihuahua, Universidad Veracruzana, National Theater School of Canada, among others. More than 30 years ago he entered the field of electronic music as a DJ, this led him to investigate the forms of digital music production and thus he created sound designs and original music for contemporary dance pieces and video dances. He is currently
a member of the Colectivo Cuerpo Abierto, he dances his own creations based on movement improvisation. In recent years he has delved into the work of movement improvisation and has established a personal methodology with which he provides advice and teaches courses related to movement for stage creation and stage improvement.

Recipient of Pitblado Family Scholarship for Dance Endowment.

Sonny-Ray Day Rider (B.A. Music) is a Blackfoot composer, pianist, from the Kainai Blood Tribe. Sonny-Ray has a broad musical palate working with many genres. He is currently pursuing advanced studies (M.mus) in music composition at the University of Lethbridge. He shows great promise in the field, having accumulated a large breadth of significant creative projects as an emerging Blackfoot artist in an impressively short time span. Day Rider has had works premiered and performed by the Penderecki String Quartet, the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra and the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra. He has formerly held a seat on the Indigenous Advisory Circle to the Library and Archives Canada and is guest faculty alumni to Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity.

Tasha Faye Evans is a dancer, theatre artist, creative consultant, cultural programmer, and educator from  Coast Salish, Welsh and European Jewish grandparents. Her work is an integration of dance, theatre and culture rooted in the sacred responsibility to care for the future of all of our relations.  Her current projects include Cedar Woman,  a dance honouring a  legacy of Coast Salish women spanning all the way back to a tree,  and In the Presence of Ancestors, a life -long exhibition of five Coast Salish House posts being carved and raised in Port Moody.  With decades of creation and production, Tasha  has participated in performances and festivals nationally and internationally. 

Recipient of Alice and Betty Schultz Scholarships Endowment Fund for Dance.

Jolane is a Calgary based artist and a graduate of the University of Lethbridge. She holds a BFA in Fine Arts as a theatre technician and a diploma in Fashion Design from Lethbridge College. She has worked in several capacities of costuming from Stitcher to Head of Wardrobe, including: New West Theatre (Lethbridge), Stage West Theatre (Calgary), and Alberta Theatre Projects (Calgary). With over a decade of working in theatre, Jolane is also an active member of IATSE 212 for film and television. Some union credits include Butcher (ATP), Alpha (Feature Film), Damnation (US Network), and most recently the TV series Lost in Space (Netflix). 

E.Macias (Amskapi Pikuni/Blackfeet & A'aninin/GrosVentre) is a dance maker and dance scholar. Macias holds a BFA in Dance with a Modern Emphasis from Utah Valley University, and a PhD in Critical Dance Studies from the University of California, Riverside. Her dance work centers Siksikaitsitapi ways of knowing to investigate familial lineage, embodied histories, relationships to land and the more than human. Macias has performed and shared dance with communities across Northern and Southern California, Montana, Utah, Massachusetts, New York, and Vancouver BC. She has worked with Native communities including: Sherman Indian High School in Riverside CA, Native American Student Programs at UCR, the Gathering of the Tribes Summer Residential Program at UCR, Title VI Lil Feathers program in Salt Lake UT, Native American Health Center San Francisco CA, and Ohketeau Cultural Center in MA.

Recipient of Ilona Diener Memorial Fellowship Fund Endowment.

Kelly McInnes (she/they), a settler of Irish, Scottish & British ancestry, is gratefully based on the unceded Coast Salish territories of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish), and səlilwətaɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) Nations. Kelly is a queer dance artist concerned with embodying care and creating as a way to remember connection to Earth and all that is sacred. As choreographer, performer and community-engaged facilitator, the intention of her work is to inspire collective healing. Her Biodynamic Craniosacral Therapy practice powerfully inspires her artistic process. Often multi-disciplinary, collaborative and site specific, Kelly's work has been presented in festivals in Canada, Germany and Mexico over the last decade. Community-engagement is integral to her practice. Her most recent project Late Stage Remedy, a collective dance meditation, invites folks to gather in public parks to share presence and care with the lands upon which they dance. Kelly also enjoys supporting the creative work of her colleagues, working as a graphic designer and as Festival Coordinator for Matriarchs Uprising. 

Recipient of Susan Glass and Arni Thorsteinson Fund for Dancers Endowment.

Edgardo Moreno is  a Canadian-Chilean composer based in Hamilton, Ontario.He has been commissioned  for projects in Canada, Venezuela, Mexico, Sweden, Norway, Argentina, Colombia, England and USA.  He has worked extensively with contemporary dance choreographers and artists including Penny Couchie,  Justin Manyfingers, Alejandro Ronceria, Allen Kaeja, Karen Kaeja, Olga Barrios, Tara Butler, Lilia Leon, Norma Araiza, Rulan Tangen, Starr Muranko,Tasha Faye Evans, Jeanette Kotowich, Carlos Rivera, Sara Roque, Diana Lopez.  He is presently working in creating video and live sound pieces that are part of his Fireflyproject. www.musicamoreno.com  www.fireflyproject.ca

After thirty two years working in education, Justino retired to work in his passion since childhood, farming and ranching. He settled his self in an small farm located in the foothills near to the well know active volcano the Popocatepeltl, in Mexico. An elder with a social concuss for helping small food producers of the region throughout managing power lines and hydro, advising the local government on managing water sources and pushed for the equitable distribution of government grants for local producers. At 86 years old, Don Justino, as people call him, still working in his farm, dividing his time between taking care of his farm and promoting equal rights on the use and approach of natural resources in the area where he lives.

Recipient of Pitblado Family Scholarship for Dance Endowment.

Multidisciplinary artist, teacher, director, manager and producer. Founder and Co-Director of Ts'ook Danza Plataforma Escénica A.C. She has collaborated with important contemporary dance companies in Mexico and international choreographers.

Benefited on more than 4 occasions by different programs of the Support System for Artistic Creation formerly FONCA.
Finalist in the Guillermo Arriaga National Dance Award INBAL- UAM 2019 and 2021 with works of her authorship.
In 2020 she won the Tour Award in Burgos within the SOLODOS DANZA Contest in Costa Rica.
Winner of the 4x4 Tj Night Choreography Award in Tijuana in 2018, where she also won the award for best performer.
In 2015 she obtained a mention for the best acting quality within the Contemporary Stage Creation Award.
Creator and manager of “Verano Machincuepero”, “3D Choreography Award” and “LA RUTA”

Recipient of Bobbye Ruth and Dewitt L. Potter Fund for Dance Scholarship.

Carlos Rivera is a director, choreographer, actor and a dancer, originally from Mexico City, based in Montreal. He graduated from the Indigenous Residency Program at National Theatre School in 2018 and recently graduated from the MFA in Directing for Theatre Program at the University of Ottawa. Carlos has worked and collaborated with several performing arts companies across Canada including: Red Sky Performance (Toronto), Globe Theatre (Regina), Raven Spirit Dance (Vancouver), MT Space (Kitchener), Puente Theatre (Victoria), Ondinnok (Montreal) Lemon Tree Creations (Toronto) Electric Company (Vancouver) Micro-Scope Productions (Montreal); among others. He is continuously working on numerous artistic projects in dance, film, theatre and performance.

Recipient of Bobbye Ruth and Dewitt L. Potter Fund for Dance Scholarship.

Alejandro Ronceria is an internationally acclaimed director/choreographer/dance dramaturge based in Toronto. He directs and produces dance/theatrical productions internationally and mentors Indigenous choreographers and productions.

Ronceria was the co-founder/Program Director of the first Aboriginal Dance Program in North America at Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity. During his five-year tenure, the groundbreaking program brought together Indigenous and Inuit performers from across Canada, the U.S., Mexico, Greenland, and New Zealand. His dance films have screened at TIFF and Sundance. Classically trained in ballet in Colombia, he holds an MFA in Dance Dramaturgy from York University. Ronceria was inducted into the Dance Collection Danse Hall of Fame.

Santee Smith, Tekaronhiáhkhwa/Picking Up The Sky is a multidisciplinary artist from the Kahnyen’kehàka Nation, Ohswé:ken/Six Nations of the Grand River. Her debut work Kaha:wi - a family creation story premiered in 2004 and one year later she founded Kaha:wi Dance Theatre which has grown into an internationally renowned company. Santee’s artistic work speaks about identity, Indigenous narratives, creative process, and representation. Conceiving and directing numerous productions, she also spearheads international Indigenous collaborative projects. She is the recipient of numerous awards and commissions and works as a guest curator/director. Smith's recent work includes Gardiner Museum's Indigenous Public Art for Talking Earth, 2022-23, Homelands Harbourfront Centre premiere and the theatreical premiere of SKéN:NEN 2024, presented by TOLive at the Bluma Appel Theatre. Santee resumes touring The Mush Hole, her production based on the truths of Canada's first Indian Residential School. Santee is a sought-after teacher and speaker on the performing arts and Indigenous performance, arts and culture. She is a leader in Indigenous land-based and creative research through her “Inviting the Land to Shape Us” series. She is the 19th Chancellor of McMaster University.

www.kahawidance.org
@kahawidance
@santeesmith
 

Photo credit: Make Emarthle/Shutter Shell Studios

Emily Solstice Tait’s practice is rooted in contemporary dance but happily crosses into theatre, stage management and screendance. She is of mixed settler and Ojibway ancestry (urban member of Berens River First Nation). Her choreography has been performed at The Manitoba Museum, The Forks National Historic Site, and along the shores of Lake Winnipeg. Select performances include The War Being Waged (Prairie Theatre Exchange), The Secret to Good
Tea (Royal Manitoba Theatre Centre), Actualize (Winnipeg Contemporary Dancers) Confluence (Raven Spirit Dance), and The___ Place video with CBC Arts.

Recipient of Susan Glass and Arni Thorsteinson Fund for Dancers Endowment.

David is a freelance lighting and video designer as well as audio/visual specialist for CAMH in Toronto, through which David works with Workman Arts as Technical Director.  Some of David's recent production credits include lighting design for Highlands Opera Studio’s production of La Boheme in 2018 and Cosi Fan Tutte and Mishaabhooz Realm in 2017, lighting and video design for Manidoog with Trio D'Argento and Barbara Croall, lighting design for Amalgama which was part of the Panamania presentation in Toronto in 2015, and lighting design for Spirit of The Drum presented at Northern Scene at the National Arts Centre in 2013.  When David is not working on projects, he spends time photographing nature/wildlife and historic subjects, as well as volunteering for a heritage railway.

Janine Windolph (Atikamekw/Woodland Cree) is a Saskatchewan-based filmmaker, video editor, educator, fine-craft artist, and storyteller. She is the Director of Indigenous Arts at Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity. Prior, Janine was the Curator of Community Engagement at the MacKenzie Art Gallery in Regina, Saskatchewan. She has her Master of Fine Arts: Interdisciplinary in Indigenous Fine Art and Media Production.

Janine was a co-producer for RIIS Media Project Inc wherein she co-directed RIIS from Amnesia: Recovering the Lost Legacies (feature-length documentary) that features the history of the Regina Indian Industrial School (RIIS). 

Janine’s filmography includes roles as producer, director, narrator, writer and/or editor.  She directed Stories Are In Our Bones, Lifegivers: Honoring Our Elders and Children, The Land of Rock and Gold, Ayapiyâhk ôma niyanân “Only us, we are here at home,”

Janine is working with Buffalo Mountain Banff; a community group to Buffalo Mountain, and providing production support to the Buffalo Mountain Video Project that is part of her sons’ homeschooling.