collaborators

Gregory Harrison (Grej), Grej is a Toronto-based percussionist and Dora-nominated composer Gregory Harrison is emerging as one of Canada’s finest talents in contemporary music. His extensive resume spans artists and groups including Jeremy Dutcher, Cirque du Soleil, Video Games Live, R. Murray Schafer, and Fred Penner. He has performed extensively internationally at notable venues such as Massey Hall, NPR Tiny Desk Concerts, the JUNO’s, and The Kennedy Center. Described as a “percussion & electronics wizard” (Bob Boilen - NPR Music), Harrison’s performative and compositional style merge his classical music background with his passion for electronic music.

In recent years, Harrison's commissions have been coveted by Kaeja d'Dance, ProArte Danza, Toronto Dance Theatre, Human Body Expression, Architek Percussion, Fifth Wind Quintet, CCDT, Dr. Morris Palter (University of Arizona), Popular Demand Pictures Inc., NB Tourism, and Division 85 Films. Harrison is also co-founder of his groups Mear and Taktus marimba duo.

(Photo by Jen Squires)

Susie Burpee, is a performer, choreographer, teacher, and rehearsal director whose work traverses both dance and theatre. She was a company member of Toronto’s Dancemakers, under the artistic direction of Serge Bennathan, and she received Dora Mavor Moore Awards for her choreography in collaboration with artists Linnea Swan and Dan Wild. Susie studied Bouffon and Character with Philippe Gaulier, and her alter ego, Allegra Charleston, has been called upon on occasion to host (Dusk Dances Festival 2016-18) or write a Master’s thesis (2020). Susie is currently Artistic Producer of Theatre Direct’s Balancing Act, a national initiative to support parents and caregivers who work in the performing arts. She is very grateful to be able to work and live with her family in Tkaronto/Toronto.

http://susieburpee.com/

Diana Tso, is a theatre artist, storyteller, actor, playwright and a theatre faculty member at

George Brown College. She graduated from the University of Toronto with a BA hons in English Literature and Ecole Internationale de Théâtre de Jacques Lecoq in France. 

Her Red Snow Collective empowers women’s voices and re-imagines mythologies through

female perspectives (www.redsnow collective.ca)

Upcoming her new play, “carried by the river”, is a story about mothers and daughters and their connection to the river, memory, identity, loss and love. Her plays are available at PGC’s Canadian Play Outlet: https://www.canadianplayoutlet.com/pages/search-results-page?q=Diana+Tso

Her piece, “unwavering”, commissioned by a Convergence Theatre’s COVID Confessions series can be accessed free online; read or listen at the link below:

https://www.convergencetheatre.com/covid-commissions-art/unwavering-by-diana-tso

(Photo by Denise Grant)

Jarkko Mandelin, is a Finnish choreographer (MA), is the founder and artistic director of Kinetic Orchestra Dance Company. Jarkko has founded Kinetic Orchestra in 2009 and has been performing and teaching acrobatics, contemporary dance and partnering for 20 years while working as a dancer and choreographer in Finland and abroad (Sweden, Russia, Czech Republic, Iceland, Estonia, Austria, France, Italia, Norway, Portuguese, England, Netherland, Serbia.)

https://www.kineticorchestra.fi/

(Photo by Khalid Mohtaseb)

Born in Tehran, Mohammadreza is a dance artist based in Montreal and Toronto. His eagerness toward episteme leads him to study Physics, Dramatic literature, Contemporary dance and practicing martial arts such as Wing Chun, Escrima and Chi Qong. His experience in performance art spans from choreographing, dancing, acting, singing, and to pure performances. He has worked on butoh, flying low, passing through, and rituals and its music as roots of performance art.

(Photo by Arnaud Beelen)

Irma Villafuerte is a dance artist, emerging choreographer and educator based in Tkaronto from Nahuat Territory Kuskatan, post-colonial El Salvador. She serves as an educator at Randolph College for the Performing Arts,Toronto Film School, and Casa Maiz’ Semillas Latinas. She’s been part of festivals across the Americas and the Caribbean. She has collaborated and performed works by Kaha:wi Dance Theatre, Jaberi Dance Theatre, Kaeja d’Dance, Victoria Mata, Aria Evans, Alejandro Ronceria, and Arsenio Andrade. Her passion for social justice and her identity as a Salvadorian in the diaspora is the driving force for creation in Irma’s choreography, performance work and pedagogy. www.irmavillafuerte.com 

(Photo by Kevin Jones)

Nickeshia Garrick is a settler on the stolen land of Tkaronto and has performed on this land for over 25 years. They are unapologetically a Black, Queer Artist, who believes in the healing power of breath through raw emotion and movement and teaches this breathwork at the Toronto Film School. Along with teaching at TFS, Nickeshia is a Certified Personal Trainer and Pilates Instructor and often offers free and discounted sessions to the IBPOC LGBTQ2S+ community in Toronto. Nickeshia holds her BFA in Dance from Simon Fraser University (Vancouver) and is very excited to show her work, ‘To My Past, Present, and Future…’ at Nightfall.   

(Photo by Kevin Jones) 

Corynne Bisson is a filmmaker, choreographer, and dancer based in Toronto. She received her undergraduate degree at the University of Calgary majoring in Dance. Since beginning her professional career in Toronto she has begun to produce, direct and choreograph dance short films with co-founder Raine Kearns under the company name GALPAL Productions. Some of her most recent films include Blade&Silk (2017), Let Her Out (2018), Us (2019), What Do You See (2020) and Praire Girl (2021).

(Photo by Aidan Tooth)

Sadie Cahill is a Toronto-based dance theatre artist, possessing a versatile performance background, and a passion for creating across many mediums. Sadie holds a BFA degree in Dance from York University, where she was a 2-year member of the York Dance Ensemble, while training under professional dance artists such as Julia Sasso, Syreeta Hector, Susan Lee, and Helen Jones. In the summer of 2021, Sadie was a virtual Artist in Residence with Belgrade Studio Art, where she created and premiered her dance film ‘Artist on Standby’.  

(Photo by Natasha Smith)

Fernando "Grillo" Camacho, is a Mexican Artist. Born in Mexico, they had the opportunity to train at CENADAC, college under the direction of Guillermina Bravo,  

where they develop his graham technique. They continued their studies and professional career at the Conservatory of Contemporary Dance of Yucatán, under the direction of Lourdes Luna. 

There they had the opportunity to take workshops with people like Karen de luna, Dominik Borucki, Adrian Arriaga Francisco Cordoba Kristie Simson, Martin Piliponsky,

among others. 

Their studies at The Toronto Dance Theatre. In 2018 they started a collective under the name of COSE (Collective of Scenic Exchange). COSE has allowed him to be the artistic director, organize workshops, shows, podcasts and video/dance productions. 

(Photo by Elvia Jacquez)

Audrianna (she/they) is a photographer and movement artist currently based in Toronto, Ontario. She is inspired by radical authenticity and mystical creation across artistic mediums. Audrianna strives to capture stories and concepts in a unique and compelling light that lends a new perspective to the viewers imagination.   

(Photo by Laura Farneti)

Seibold is a movement researcher, performer, choreographer, and dance educator who received a Bachelor of Fine Arts Dance Performance Degree from X University and, more recently, completed her Master of Fine Arts at York University for Dance, Choreography & Collaboration. She was awarded the Lipson Family Endowment Award for the most promising choreographer. Her most recent works include: Meeting at R9, featured in Dance Ontario’s Dance Weekend’21 Festival, Toronto ON; and Texture Play 2, presented at Luminous Digital Festival, Toronto ON. Most recently Seibold has been commissioned to create a film on 31 dance performance students at X University.
(Photo by Maxim Bortnowski)

Bow Echo Collective consists of Beata Rasitsan and Kristian Fourier, two interdisciplinary artists based in Toronto, Ontario. Together, they create works that are innovative and timeless, pushing the boundaries of film and performance. Their work has been supported by the Canada Council for the Arts, the Ontario Arts Council, the Toronto Arts Council, the Banff Centre for the Arts and the SOCAN Foundation.

(Photo by Beata Rasitsan and Kristian Fourier)

Karen Kaeja is an Ashkenazi, Tkaronto born, award-winning choreographer, project instigator, performer and mentor. She develops platforms for collaborative relationships between dancers and everyday people. Co-Artistic Director of Kaeja d’Dance with Allen Kaeja, she is commissioned and presented by performance series around the world, and collaborates with many of Canada’s brilliant choreographers. 

Allen Kaeja is an internationally recognized and award-winning Choreographer and DanceFilm Director. He is the child of a refugee and Holocaust survivor, Allen has created over 210 stage works and choreographed over 30 films that have been featured in commercials, films and festivals around the world. Co-Artistic Director of Kaeja d’Dance with Karen Kaeja. He has received numerous national and international commissions, teaches Kaeja Elevations and Dance Film master classes worldwide. 

(Photo by Drew Berry)

Eilish Shin-Culhane (she/her) is a half-Korean, Tkaronto based dancer and choreographer. She is additionally a dance educator and certified Pilates instructor. She received her BFA in Dance from Marymount Manhattan College.  As a dancer, Eilish has performed in works by Peter Chu, Bill T. Jones, Frog in Hand, Anton Lachky, Theatre Oculus, and Adam Barruch. Eilish has presented choreography at Marymount’s ‘Dancers at Work’, NYU’s Choreofest 2020, and Aeris Körper's 'PROSPECTS'. Her choreographic mentors include Bonnie Kim, Elisabeth Motley, Linda Garneau, and Alyssa Martin. Her work is foundationally based in the nuance of authenticity as it interacts with identity. 

Nicola Adilman was born and raised in Toronto, Ontario. A 2017 graduate of The School of Toronto Dance Theatre, Adilman received The Kathryn Ash Leadership Award and Second Prize in the Winchester Prize for her choreography of “inanimated.” Since her graduation, she has performed in the Summer Works Festival, the Dance Made in Canada Festival and Fall for Dance North. She completed a 4 month international and UK tour with London based EDGE Dance Company out of London Contemporary Dance School (2018-2019) (LCDS), under the artistic direction of Jeanne Yasko. Her dance films have been featured in festivals such as FORM Vancouver (Honourable Mention) and Dance Made in Canada Festival. She was recently awarded her MA in Dance with Distinction from LCDS (2020) which included a final dissertation focused on the long take in filmic storytelling.

Emma Morris is a storyteller who works within contemporary dance and film to craft surreal encounters inspired by abstracting her personal history. She is a graduate of the contemporary dance program at Concordia University and has studied with La Fabrique de la Danse in Paris, France. She works to question how movement can express memory and expose the underbelly of the human experience. Emma's work has been presented at the Festival of Recorded Movement, Silver Wave Film Festival, and Festival International du Film Ethnographique du Québec. She now works in Toronto where she is continuing to develop her artistic voice.

Rumi Jeraj is an ismailli muslim hailing from Sherwoodpark Alberta (the world's largest hamlet). Over quarantine his practice has shifted from the studio to the outdoors and he has found joy in interacting with natural landscapes. During his professional studies at Ryerson University, he studied Contemporary dance with Louis-Laberge Cote, Kate Hilliard and Robert Glumbeck. As a student, he has also worked with: Heidi Strauss, Peter Chin, Hanna Kiel, Hannes Langolf and Valerie Calam. Rumi has trained in tap dance with Travis Knights and Dianne Montgomery. He aspires to create and be a part of work which mixes forms in order to better tell stories. 

Kristi Cole is a Queer performer and choreographer with a BA in Dance and Political Science from George Washington University. She founded Kristi Cole & Guests in 2019 with the mission of bringing together artists to create powerful and thought-provoking interdisciplinary work.  Her stage and film work has been presented in the tri-state area as well as Atlanta, Georgia.  Kristi was a 2020 New Work Grant recipient through the Queens Council on the Arts. In 2021, Kristi was selected as Artist-in-Residence through The Jonah Bokaer Arts Foundation. Additionally she received the Foundation for Contemporary Arts Emergency Grant.

Caryn Chappell is a Toronto-based contemporary dancer and a graduate of Ryerson University’s Performance Dance Program. She most recently traveled with Kaeja d’Dance to the Banff Centre for a creation residency and Japan to perform in Xtraordinary TO Dances. She had the pleasure of being mentored by Marie-Josée Chartier through the facilitation of Older and Reckless. Chappell and Chartier spent a year working on choreographic structures and developing solo work. Chappell participated in Adelheid’s re:research 2019 and collaborated with Vancouver-based choreographer Jamie Robinson. In 2020, Caryn will be a part of the acting company at the Stratford Festival, performing in Wendy and Peter Pan, and Frankenstein Revived.

(Photo by Drew Berry)

Drew Berry is a Toronto-based multidisciplinary performance artist and teacher. Her mediums include dance, theatre, photography, videography, and classical piano. In 2016, Drew joined Rock Bottom Movement as a company member and since has participated in residencies at the Banff Centre, Canadian Stage, Canada’s National Ballet Open Space Program, and Toronto Dance Theatre as well as performing in five full-length works. Her most recent production with Rock Bottom Movement, hollow mountain, was awarded two Dora Mavor Moore awards for Outstanding Production and Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble. Other collaborators include: Jaberi Dance Theatre, Portal Dance, Milo Dance Projects, Emma Kerson, Nico Contreras, Irma Villafuerte, Kate Hilliard, Opera 5, Alias Dance Project, Nostos Collective, and Kaeja d’Dance. Drew is the resident photographer/ videographer with Kaeja d'Dance and has done freelance photo/ video work with Fall For Dance North, Canadian Contemporary Dance Theatre, X University, Kaya Usher, Reason d’Etre Danse, Alias Dance Project, Ace Dance Theatre, and Human Body Expression to name a few. Drew was an artist in residence for the 2020/21 season at Guelph dance where she created a short film Portraiture, which premiered at the 2021 Guelph Dance Festival and will be shown at Hillside Homeside and Dance Made in Canada this summer. Drew is on faculty at Centennial College teaching Ballet and Choreography and is working for Quinte Ballet School of Canada as their Social Media Manager. A graduate from Quinte Ballet School of Canada’s post-graduate program, Drew holds her BFA (Honours) from the Performance Dance program at X University.

Kylie Thompson (She/her) is a contemporary Dance Artist and photographer residing in Toronto, Canada. She holds an honours degree in Kinesiology from McMaster University. Some of her stage and screen performance credits include; Hanna Kiel (with the Garage), Gadfly Dance Company, Marie Lambin, Kiesza, Martin Huss, Jennifer Mote, Jenn Edwards, Patricia Allison, Valence Movement and more. She continues to perform and also directs her project-based company, Kylie Thompson Dance. The company's short film “Versus” (2018) was an official selection at four festivals in North America. Her stage work has been presented at Dance: Made in Canada, Toronto Fringe, TIFF programming, New Blue Festival, The Garage, The Canadian National Exhibition, Fresh Blood, Dance Matters and Toronto Original Choreographer’s Ball. She has been serving on the CADA-East board of Directors since 2017 and is currently in the role of Co-Vice President. Besides dance, she loves her plants, watching youtube docs about abandoned places, interior design magazines, photography (@no_humansallowed) and cooking.