FRESH BLOOD - Choreographers 2012

Paul Charbonneau

Waawaate Fobister

Waawaate Fobister is an award-winning actor and playwright. In 2009, his production of "Agokwe" - a one-man play which he wrote and starred in - won six Dora Awards. He is also a choreographer, dancer, and producer. A proud Anishnaabe from Grassy Narrows First Nation, he is a graduate and winner of the Distinguished Performance - Male award from Humber College's Theatre Performance Program. Waawaate has received grants from the Canada Council for the Arts, National Aboriginal Achievement Foundation, and several from the Ontario Arts Council.

Justin Many Fingers is currently in the Soulpepper Academy. He trained at Centre for Indigenous Theatre Conservatory, University of Lethbridge, also with Marion de Vries, Jock Soto, Neil Ieremia, Troy Twigg, Santee Smith, Bill Coleman, Penny Couchie, Alejandro Ronceria, and Amanda Chaboyer. Credit's Include: Jumping Mouse (Centre for Indigenous Theatre) Red Romance (Centre for Indigenous Theatre), Red Moon (Centre for Indigenous Theatre) Coyote City (Centre for Indigenous Theatre), Potato Foot (Centre for Indigenous Theatre).

Alex Twin is a proud Plains Cree Injun from Edmonton, Alberta. He is 23 years old and is in his 2nd year of study at CIT (Centre for Indigenous Theatre) and is loving it. Since Alex 1st year of study he has found a new love for theatre, and dance. This past summer Alex attended the Banff Dance Residency Program where he studied under the famous Jock Soto from New York Ballet Company, lara Kramer in contemporary dance, and Javier Dzul in modern dance. There, Alex really found his love for dance and plans on being a dancer for the rest of his life. He has studied with Toronto Hip Hop choreographer Amanda Chaboyer and contempary teacher Troy E. Twigg and Bill Coleman. Alex is a chicken dancer as well.

Kyra Jean Green

Bridging the gap for emerging artists, Cadence Bridges Ballet offers developing artists, aged sixteen and over, performance and creation opportunities in an environment that nurtures their creativity, autonomy and gives them the tools to refine their craft.

Kyra Jean Green was born in France and raised in West Palm Beach, Florida. She obtained her BFA in dance from The Juilliard School in May of 2006. Upon leaving Juilliard she has danced with CityDance Ensemble, Culture Shock D.C., Cas Public, Destins Croisés, Ballet Creole, and Kaha:wi Dance Theater. She has set choreography on Hubbard Street II, Eisenhower Dance Ensemble, Bosma Dance, Alexander W. Dreyfoos School of the Arts, Bridges of Cadence Contemporary and was commissioned by the Kennedy Center to present an evening of her choreography. Kyra currently dances for and works closely with Cadence Progressive Contemporary Ballet and Jasmyn Fyffe Dance, both based in Toronto. She has recently presented work with Jasmyn Fyffe for Dance Matters and Labspace. Kyra has also recently choreographed a music video for local Toronto music producers Torro Torro.

Originally from the small town of Leamington, Marisa Ricci made the move to Toronto in 2007 to attend the BFA Performance Dance Program at Ryerson University's Theatre School. Graduating with honours, she has begun her career as a professional dance artist. Marisa is now performing as a freelancer with various companies around the city. She is a member of Cadence Progressive Contemporary Ballet, as well as performing for Cadence Bridges Ballet in works choreographed by the companies' Artistic Director, Courtnae Bowman and Principal Dancer, Kyra Green. She is also currently working on projects with Hanna Kent's company, Skindivers, and doing some commercial performance work.

Michelle Fox received her training from Donita Ballet School and trained further at Cardinal Carter Academy for the Arts. After high school she was accepted into Ryerson University's BFA Dance Program where she had the privilege of working with artists like Nadia Potts, Karen Duplisea, Vicki St. Denys, Kenny Pearl, Matjash Mrozewski, and Allen Kaeja. After graduation, she danced in ProArteDanza's SIP where she was invited to audition for Cadence Progressive Contemporary Ballet. With Cadence, she apprenticed for a year and was promoted to a company member this past summer. With Cadence she has performed "Ne Me Quitte Pas", "In.Tension", "Frost", and most recently, "She Flies Without Wings" and "II I" for Dance Ontario Weekend 2012. Michelle is currently working on pieces for FRESH BLOOD and Guelph Contemporary Dance Festival 2012.

Tess O'Hare happily joined Cadence Bridges Ballet in the fall of 2011 and since then has performed in multiple works, including Courtnae Bowman's newest ballet "Frost". Previously, she trained at the Oakville School of Dancing under Debbie Wilson and Amanda Bayliss, before graduating from the School of Alberta Ballet's Professional Graduate program in the summer of 2011. While training with the School of Alberta Ballet she performed alongside the Alberta Ballet Company in Kirk Peterson's "Sleeping Beauty", as well as the school's rendition of "Don Quixote" and other works.

www.kyrajeangreen.com

www.cadenceballet.com

See Cadence Ballet on Youtube!

ILL NANA / DiverseCity Dance Company

Jelani Ade-Lam was born in Devonshire, Bermuda. As a child into his early youth he was a competitive track athlete achieving medal standings on the island. At 17, Jelani began training in dance at the United Dance Productions (UDP) in Bermuda, under Suzette Harvey. Here he studied everything from hip hop, African, Horton, Limon, jazz, musical theatre, and Irish dance. Through UDP he studied at the Duke Ellington High School of Performing Arts in Washington DC, and at The University of the Arts in Philadelphia, where he trained in Ballet, Dunham Technique, Horton and jazz technique. Jelani moved to Toronto to attend Ballet Creole where he also performed with the company. Upon graduating, Jelani began training at The School of Toronto Dance Theatre, before training and performing for Xing Bang Fu of Xing Dance Theatre. He has received two full scholarships to the American Ballet Theatre's summer intensive. He has worked with Ontario Ballet Theatre, Newton Moraes Dance Theatre, and InDance.

Jelani Co-Founded ILL NANA/DiverseCity Dance Company in 2007 with his husband and best friends. Together the company has performed at The Art Gallery of Ontario, The Gardiner Museum, FRESH BLOOD, and PRIDE Toronto: TD Wellesley Stage, Blockorama.

Sze-Yang Ade-Lam was born and raised in Vancouver. At 13, he began training in Wushu Chinese Martial Arts under Sifu Zhang Peng. He finished secondary school with the highest achievement in visual arts of his graduating class. To find a medium between his love of athleticism , art, and self expression he found dance. Sze-Yang is a graduate of The School of Toronto Dance Theatre. Post graduation he studied intensively with Xing Bang Fu in Ballet. He has danced with InDance, Earth in Motion, The Little Pear Garden Collective, Menaka Thakkar Dance Company, and Newton Moraes Dance Theatre. Sze-Yang has also danced in three productions of The Nutcracker with Xing Dance Theatre and Ontario Ballet Theatre in various roles including: The Mor: Soloist, Harlequin/Columbine: pas de deux, the Russian and the Mouse King. In 2009, he was a finalist in So You Think You Can Dance Canada. Outside of classical technique Sze-Yang has admiration for many movement languages including hip hop, wushu kung fu, vogueing, tai chi, capoeira, house, and waacking as they have all moved him. He is a proud co-founder, dancer, and choreographer for ILL NANA/DiverseCity Dance Company, a dance company that embraces difference as strength.

Kumari Giles started dancing at age 4 in a local dance studio, and at the age of 8, began ballet training at the Conservatory of Dance and Music with the direction and instruction of Cynthia Fisher. Within three years, her training expanded to Irish dance, Jazz and Lyrical. She continued her training at Earl Haig Secondary School, adding modern to her stylistic toolkit and continued dancing throughout University. In the past two years, Kumari has choreographed and performed as a contemporary solo artist creating and sharing a small body of work. As someone who is interested in writing, piano, painting and video art, she has been heavily influenced by spoken word artists and is interesting in exploring the possibilities of creating dance works that integrate multiple arts disciplines and speak to personal narratives and histories.

Born in Jamaica, Byron M. Beckford began dancing with The Tivoli Gardens High School Dance Troupe and the Movements Dance Company under Monica Campbell. Since moving to Canada in 2003, he has graduated from both Ballet Creole and The School of Toronto Dance Theatre. He has also attended Jacob's Pillow Summer Intensive Program. Byron has worked with COBA, Caribbean Folk Performers, Ballet Creole, and Newton Moraes Dance Company. He then trained in ballet and chinese dance and performed with Xing Dance Theatre. He has taught African and Modern Contemporary dance to the Toronto Children's Choir, Warden, and Driftwood Community Centre's and the YMCA. He is the recipient a gold medal from the Jamaica Cultural Development Commission for the best male solo artist in The National Festival of the Arts. Mr. Beckford continues to strive for excellence in dance, his efforts in helping youth realize their potential through the arts, empowering them to explore their creativity and in the process helping them build their self esteem. Byron was also a performing apprentice with Garth Fagan Dance and is currently seeking other dance opportunities for the near future.

Originally from Calgary Alberta, Whitney Mah travelled to Toronto to attend The School of Toronto Dance Theatre. After three years of sweat, blood, and tears, Whitney was invited to intern with Toronto Dance Theatre. She was lucky to perform and tour with the company. At the end of her contract with TDT, she married her high school sweetheart, following him to Ottawa, Ontario. While living in Ottawa, she dedicated more time to her yoga practice, completing her Hatha certification in 2011. Since moving to London, Ontario, Whitney is sharing her love of yoga and her passion for dance through teaching and hopes to pursue her career as a professional dancer creating her own work this coming year.

www.illnana-dcdc.com

See ILL NANA-dcdc on YouTube

Kayt MacMaster

Kayt MacMaster is a freelance choreographer and performer currently based in Detroit, MI. Her unique movement vocabulary is derived from an eclectic background of disciplines ranging from tap dance to yoga. MacMaster's passion for dance and music of West African cultures lead her to travel to Ghana in the summer of 2011 as a Maggie Allesee scholar. Among many other projects, she is planning a return trip to set a work of choreography on the Saakumu Dance Troupe of Accra, Ghana. MacMaster is currently earning a BFA in Dance from Oakland University, and she was recently awarded the Maggie Allesee Dance Award for Outstanding Choreography.

Jacob Niedzwiecki

Jacob Niedzwiecki is a Toronto-based choreographer and filmmaker. He trained at the National Ballet School and performed with the National Ballet of Canada for several years before leaving the company in 2007 to focus on his independent practice. In addition to presenting his work, he has choreographed for the National Ballet of Canada and Ballet Jörgen in Toronto, and for Chung-Ang University in South Korea. His work, "Bastard Fugue", was an honourable mention for the 2009 Paula Citron FRESH BLOOD Award. His installation work "Ego Echo" premiered in beta at the 2011 Dance: Made in Canada festival. His most recent stage work, "Always Be Closing", premiered in February as part of "At The Wrecking Ball V" at the Lower Ossington Theatre.

His short films (Superposition, Helioscape, and Love in Vain) have been shown at the Worldwide Short Film Festival, the REELWorld Film Festival, and Edinburgh's DANCE:FILM09. Superposition is distributed through Ouat! Media and Helioscape is included in TenduTV's Essential Dance Films. He has worked as a theatrical projection designer on Whetstone Productions' Wingéd, Esmerelda Enrique's Espejo de Oro, and Young Peoples Theatre's 2011 remount of the Dora-award winning tap musical, "i think i can".

Jacob is currently in post-production on his fourth short film (with assistance from Bravo!FACT and the Canada Council for the Arts) and a music video for Buck 65's cover of Leonard Cohen's song 'Who By Fire' (with assistance from MuchMusic).

www.jacob-n.com

Marlowe Porter and Julie McLachlan

Marlowe Porter is a Toronto based dance artist, choreographer and teacher. She studied dance at George Brown College and recently graduated from York University's BFA program. She has worked with many renowned artists such as Kathleen Rea in her piece 'Close Knit' for Nuit Blanche and with Ida Meftahi's company, Vashton Dance, where she worked with choreographer Farzeni Kabouli for an Ontario-Quebec tour. She has performed with Dave Wilson's "Parahumans", and recently in Meftahi's 'Visions of Anahid'. Marlowe has been presenting her choreographic works at venues throughout Toronto.

Earning her BFA from York University's dance program in April 2010, Julie McLachlan is an emerging dance artist specializing in contemporary, jazz, and gymnastics. Julie has had the pleasure of working with choreographers such as Meagan O'Shea, Susan Cash, Susan Lee, Tracey Norman and Cirque du Soleil's Debra Brown. Julie collaborated with Ten Toes' Hanna Greyson-Gaito and Emma Letki to co-choreograph and perform in "Life Games" at the 2010 Toronto Fringe Festival. Julie has also performed with Stand Up Dance, LR Productions and York Dance Ensemble. Performance credits include Toronto Fringe Festival, Nuit Blanche, and Dance Ontario Weekend, York University's 50th Anniversary Gala, and The Special Olympics Gala.

Auja Ragnarsdottir

Auja Ragnarsdottir is in her final year in Concordia University's contemporary dance program which focuses primarily on choreography. Her background is mainly in ballet and Graham technique. She started her dance training at a young age in Wisconsin and later trained at Ballet Divertimento in Montreal. She then did a 3-year modern dance program in her native country of Iceland. During her final year there she was also a member of the Icelandic company Spiral Dansflokkur.

Alongside her University studies, she has been awarded funding for two dance projects in Iceland. One was a dance trio funded by the EU and the City of Reykjavik that created and performed dance pieces for a 3-month period. The other, funded by the Norwegian-Icelandic cultural fund, was a project in which she and another Icelandic choreographer made pieces on dancers in Norway. The project culminated with a show in Iceland this past December. Currently, Auja is very focused on choreography and developing her own style of movement

Anjelica Scannura | Ritmo Flamenco

Anjelica Scannura began her dance training at the National Ballet School of Canada and her training in Flamenco at the family-operated school and company of Ritmo Flamenco. Anjelica's modern dance training blossomed during her secondary school attendance at Etobicoke School of the Arts, where she had the privilege of studying with Danny Grossman and Milton Myers. Anjelica has appeared in National Commercials as well as guest-starring spots on Canadian TV. She appeared in Disney's Camp Rock, alongside the Jonas Brothers and played Manson girl Susan Atkins in TIFF 2009 headliner "Manson, My Name is Evil." She has toured and competed in Toronto, Nashville, Boston, Malta, Spain, England, Ireland, Los Angeles, Sonoma Valley, and Mexico. In May 2009, Anjelica developed a deep passion for Middle Eastern Dance and studied intensely at Arabesque Academy. A recipient of the Chalmer's Professional Development Award (OAC) in May 2011, Anjelica studied dance all over Spain. She a board member of Dance Ontario and has been co-producing a new dance series since September 2011 alongside members of the Outreach Committee entitled "Dance Expeditions." Anjelica has choreographed for and taught at various secondary schools and and for McMaster University. Her most recent appearance was in Diasporic Genius Productions' "Tumbling Into Light" and she is currently working towards Ritmo Flamenco's new production "Vida Flamenca."

"Anjelica is a wild child of dance whose fusion performances radiate a passion that belies her age." - Paula Citron, Globe and Mail.

www.ritmoflamenco.ca

See Anjelica's work on youtube

Elke Schroeder

Liisa Smith | Random Acts of Dance

A prairie girl at heart, Liisa Smith grew up dancing in Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan. During her high school years she relocated to Karachi, Pakistan and Zug, Switzerland. Liisa's curiosity for modern dance was ignited by teacher Sophie Gavard and spurred post-secondary studies in York University's dance department. Liisa was honoured to study under Carol Anderson, Julia Sasso, Donna Krasnow, Claire Wootten, Keiko Thompson, and Karen Bowes-Sewel l during the completion of her Honours BFA. Liisa has had the privilege of working with choreographers such as Peggy Baker, Meghan Cafferky, Darcey Callison, Alicia Grant, Julie Grant, Viv Moore, and Hannah Naiman. Interest in spontaneous composition and fusing dance forms, has led to Liisa's diverse physicality in her creative and pedagogical pursuits.

Julie Grant has developed her artistry through training in ballet and contemporary dance forms. Most notably at Etobicoke School of the Arts, Springboard Danse Montreal, and York University where she attained a BFA Honours degree in dance. Grant's work, Biome was performed at both the Toronto and Saskatoon Fringe Festivals 2010 to critical acclaim. As an interpreter, Grant has collaborated with a range of emerging and established choreographers including Laura Bolender, Caitlin Brown, Andrea deKeijzer, Danièle Desnoyers/Carré de Lombes Danse, Colleen Freidman, Danny Grossman, Gabby Kamino, Emma Kate Millar, Liisa Murray, and Julia Sasso. As a performer, choreographer, and teacher, Julie Grant pursues an interest in exploring dynamically charged physical movement vocabulary.

Random Acts of Dance

Juanita Suárez | Warm Laundry

Juanita Suárez was born in Bogotá, Colombia. She started her ballet training very early in her native country where she was taught and strongly influenced by Claudia Sanchez. She studied contemporary dance at ASAB Superior Academy of Arts of Bogotá. She moved to Toronto and in 2011 she graduated of the Professional Training Program at The School of Toronto Dance Theatre. While at the School she worked most notably with Elizabeth Auclair, Marc Boivin, Sasha Ivanochko, Eddie Kastrau, and Lucy Rupert. Currently Suárez is in her final year of her BFA in dance at York University. During her time at York, she began teaching dance to seniors of the community. She found this to be an amazingly rewarding experience and is eager to continue. Suarez is a founding member of Warm laundry, a collective created to produce work with her friends. With her work Suárez would like to contribute to the development of professional dance in Colombia. She is excited to be presenting "Muy cerca Is this too close to you?" in FRESH BLOOD. She is currently working on a new piece that will be presented in March at York University.

Andrew Hartley grew up in Moncton, New Brunswick, where he was a member of the DancEast Young Company. With the company he worked with artists such as Debra Brown, BaKari Lindsay, and Andrea Nann. After studies in biology and dance at York University, he graduated from The School of Toronto Dance Theatre. At the School he danced in works by Conrad Alexandrowicz, Danny Grossman, Susanna Hood, and Sasha Ivanochko. Hartley has participated in workshop intensives in Toronto, Guelph, and Montreal studying several forms of improvisation and contemporary technique with teachers such as Chris Aiken, Sarah Bild, Marc Boivin, David Earle, Andrew Harwood, Benoît Lachambre, Kenny Pearl, Alban Richard, and Suzette Sherman. He particularly enjoyed working with Dave St-Pierre during the Transformation workshop of 2010. He has studied on scholarship with Dancemakers and Dance Theatre David Earle. Independently, Hartley has danced in work by Serge Bennathan, Robyn Breen, David Earle, Noémie Lafrance, and Meagan O'Shea. Hartley is a founding member of Warm Laundry and is excited to create and perform work with his colleagues of the collective.

Emma Kerson began her dance training in Nova Scotia, where she became a member of The Young Company of Halifax Dance. Kerson graduated from Dalhousie University in 2008 with a B.A. in Honours English, and from The School of Toronto Dance Theatre in 2011. She is constantly searching for new ways to marry her passions of writing and dance, and is currently interning at The Dance Current, and writing independently. She is a grateful recipient of a Millennium Excellence Award, the Kathryn Ash Leadership Award, and a Nova Scotia Talent Trust Scholarship. While at school she worked with Marc Boivin, Dancemakers, Danny Grossman, Sasha Ivanochko, Lucy Rupert, Sharon Moore, and Julia Sasso. She has attended O Vertigo's summer intensive and Transformations, where she had the joy of studying with Louise Bédard. Since graduation, Kerson has danced independently with Kemi Contemporary Dance Projects, Toronto Heritage Dance in a solo piece by Patricia Beatty, NewFoundDance, and in a solo project with Sharon Moore, which is currently being transformed into a full-length work for five dancers set to open this July. Kerson continues to work as a guest artist with Kemi Contemporary Dance Projects, and is a proud founding member of Warm Laundry.

Warm Laundry

Jamee Valin | Valence Movement (dance theatre)

Jamee Valin is currently working for Ballet Jörgen Canada with the Nutcracker Youth, choreographing for Toronto Youth Ballet Ensemble, performing for Valence Movement (dance theatre) and exploring dance on film. Recently she has collaborated and performed with 37 artists from across the country at the Canada Winter Games in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Miss Valin also produced, performed in and choreographed her second full length show alongside a collective of visual artists, jazz musicians and actors in March 2011. Jamee performed in Dawson City, Yukon with the "Diamond Tooth Gerties" in the spring/ summer of 2010. Prior to the CanCan show, Jamee attended George Brown College for Dance Performance Studies. She was a class representative and one of twelve dancers in the touring performance ensemble. Her work includes performing and/or choreographing for independent companies like Jay9 Dance Projects, Back Burner Productions, EROS Thanatos & the Avant-Garde ~ The Cabaret Series, Cadence Progressive Contemporary Ballet, RS Divas, etc. Miss Valin has also danced as a lead in Aida Verdi with La Scala Opera Company and the Canadian Royal Opera Company. Jamee has recently performed in Tumbling into Light with Andrea Nann and Eroca Nicols at the Enwave Theatre.

Valence Movement (dance theatre) is based on the idea of physical bonds and the positive and intrinsic aspects of a personality. It is our mission to relate the bonding characteristics of individuals to the stage/ dance setting. Valence Movement is about the quality and drive to perform in intimate settings and inspire audiences. It is our goal to accomplish new ways of sending messages as well as educate audiences on a style of dance that is thoroughly entertaining when engineered to change, develop and captivate. Each project requires ways to shift and display what we all take part in. A truth that is as basic as addition and subtraction in mathematics and as complex and interesting as cellular biology. Details in hands, shoulders and wrists add layers of interesting ideals and revelation as well as set the body language of our story.

Alison, Ellen, and Rachel have performed with VM(dt) since its first full length show in March, 2010. Victoria began working with the company during the creative process of Racing in August, 2011. The team of dancers met during their studies at George Brown Dance and continue to work in the Toronto community of performance and education. All of their work can be seen at www.valence-valin.com

Thank you to Series 8:08 and its audience members for helping this piece during the development stage.

www.valence-valin.com

Niki Wozniak | Desiraeda Dance Theatre

Niki Wozniak is internationally sought after as a dancer, choreographer and teacher. Born and raised in Saskatchewan, now based in Toronto, she is the Artistic Director and co-Founder of Desiraeda Dance Theatre since 2007. Niki has appeared in the works of Robert Desrosiers, Peggy Baker, Shawn Hounsell, Siona Jackson, Linda Garneau, and more. Most recently, she danced in the Canadian Opera Company's productions of Aida, Nixon in China, and Iphigenie en Tauride. Niki continues to pursue her love of dance in many styles and forms, performing and choreographing in film, television, and music videos.

Laura Ovcjak is an Acting graduate of AMDA New York, is studying Finance and Marketing at the University of Toronto and is on faculty at Canada's National Ballet School. Notable performance credits include: 'Weight,' Desiraeda Dance Theatre; 'Young Romance,' Creative Habitat; 'Dissonance,' TNSP (NYC); 'Angels Twice Descending,' Lizzie Leopold/Brian Spitulnik (NYC); 'Slow,' Serena Ryder.

Tyler Evan Webb graduated with a B.A. Honours in Theatre from York University. Recently he danced in the Canadian Opera Company's productions of Iphigenia in Tauris and Nixon in China. He's a principal dancer with Desiraeda Dance Theatre (featured in WEIGHT). Television credits include Feist's 1234 music video, a national commercial for ItalPasta, and international commercials for Nokia and Snickers. Tyler produced and appeared in Toronto's Fringe Festival collectively created Lifeline. He also produced and directed two short films, 202 and The Interview.

Nicholas D. Melymuk is a 2009 graduate from the Ryerson Theatre School with a B.F.A. in dance performance. There, he studied under the direction of Nadia Potts, Karen Duplisea, and Vicki St. Denys. While at Ryerson he has had the privilege of working with D.A. Hoskins, Darryl Tracy, Robert Glumbek and William Yong. He has performed with Zata Omm Dance Projects, Typecast Dance Company, Toronto Heritage Dance and danced David Earle's Sacra Conversazione, Maelstrom, and Miserere.

www.desiraeda.com

See Desiraeda Dance Theatre on Youtube