National Council
2025 - 2026

Liliona A. Quarmyne

My body is a conduit, a link to past and to future generations. 

It takes me back, it takes me forward, it carries the present. 

My body is story.

Based in Kjipuktuk (Halifax), on the powerful, unceded and unsurrendered land of the Mi’kmaq people, Liliona is a dancer, choreographer, actor, singer, community organizer, and activist. Originally from Ghana and the Philippines, she has an eclectic background that has taken her through many performance styles on four different continents. Liliona performs across the country and internationally, creates original works as an independent artist, facilitates community programming, and is the Artistic Director of Kinetic Studio. The scope of Liliona’s artistic work is broad, but is particularly focused on the relationship between art and social justice, on the body’s ability to carry ancestral memory, and on the role the performing arts can play in creating change. Liliona loves to work in collaboration and community, and is mom to two wonderful kids.

Edward Esguerra

Edward Esguerra is the Director of Finance & Administration at the Royal Winnipeg Ballet. A leading cultural institution, the RWB has earned a national and international reputation for its extraordinary performances and top-class training programs. At the RWB, Esguerra helps with managing project budgets and reporting. Working closely with the CEO and Managing Directors, he has guided the organization through difficult financial periods.

Esguerra has volunteer experience as an English Teacher with Manitoba School Improvement Program, helping newcomers to Canada adapt to their new surroundings. Esguerra also serves as Treasurer for Creative Manitoba.

Harmanie Rose

Harmanie Rose is a disabled dance artist living and working on the unceded territory of the Musqueam, Sḵwx̱wú7mesh, and Tsleil-Waututh Nations. She is curious about the choreographic possibilities of the disabled dancing body. Harmanie co-founded iDance Edmonton in 2009 as a way of creating ongoing learning and performance opportunities in dance for people with and without disabilities. Since 2014, Harmanie has been working as a performer, choreographer, and facilitator for All Bodies Dance Project. She is excited to be co-facilitating Ready Dance Youth Project with Danielle Wensley. She has created four outdoor, site-specific pieces for Vines Art Festival and was a featured performer in world-renowned dance artist Alice Sheppard’s short dance film Inclinations. Harmanie participated in UCLA’s inaugural Dancing Disability Lab, which aims to answer questions around the culture and aesthetics of disabled dance. In May 2020 Harmanie was featured in The Dance Current. Harmanie has recently joined the board of directors of CRIPSiE in Edmonton and the InterdepenDance collective of disabled dance artists in BC. She is excited to be a part of the discussion of decolonizing the idea of what dance is and what it can be.

Charlotte Newman

Charlotte (she/her) is a dance artist, teacher, arts worker, and producer with over ten years of experience engaged in the arts in Vancouver. She currently works as the General Manager at New Works, and is honoured to support and collaborate with a diversity of BC dance artists through this role. She is passionate about accessible community building, play and craft as practice, and championing the arts within education. She previously produced a year-long live cross-campus performance series for Simon Fraser University, and has worked with DanceHouse, Eponymous, and Vancouver New Music. She was born and raised in Seattle, is humbled to now call the unceded and ancestral lands of the xʷməθkwəy̓əm (Musqueam), Skwxwú7mesh (Squamish), and Səl̓ílwətaɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) Nations home. Contact: charlotte@newworks.ca

Marc Lalonde

After training at the École supérieure de danse du Québec, Marc Lalonde danced from 1987 to 1992, mainly for Les Grands Ballets Canadiens (J. Kudelka, F. Nault, B. Nijinska), the Calgary City Ballet (J. Léger, L. Lambrou, H. Richard) and Howard Richard Danse.

He holds a combined Major in Philosophy and Economics from Université de Montréal and earned a Master of Business Administration from HEC Montréal.

Successively Director of Development and Marketing for I Musici de Montréal Chamber Orchestra from 1993 to 1996, he then undertook its general management until 1999. He was then appointed Executive Director of the National Circus School, a position he held until his appointment as Executive Director of Conservatoire de musique et d’art dramatique du Québec in 2015. He has been Executive Director of Les Grands Ballets Canadiens since 2018. 

Co-Founder and long-time Secretary and Treasurer of the presenter Tohu – La Cité des arts du cirque, Marc Lalonde has served on many other boards of the cultural sector, notably those of the Association des écoles supérieures d’art du Québec, the Conseil québécois de la musique, En Piste – National Circus Arts Alliance, the European Federation of Professional Circus Schools (FEDEC),  the Conseil des arts et des lettres du Québec and the Regroupement québécois de la danse. He is currently a member of the advisory committee of the Carmelle and Remi-Marcoux Chair in Arts Management at HEC Montréal and of the board of directors of Adélard – Visual Arts.

Jose Miguel ‘Miggy’ Esteban

Jose Miguel ‘Miggy’ Esteban is a dance/movement artist and educator based in Tkaronto/Toronto. Miggy’s artistic work develops improvisational practices of navigating mad and queer routes to embody Filipinx remembering and belonging. Currently a PhD candidate at the Department of Social Justice Education, OISE/University of Toronto, Miggy’s research and teaching is oriented through disability studies, black studies, and dance/performance studies. Influenced by disability arts and culture, black radical traditions, indigenous storytelling, and queer performance, Miggy’s dissertation project engages in embodied practices of improvisation to (re)interpret curriculum as a choreographic site for inspiring pedagogies of/through dance. Miggy’s work has been published in Canadian Theatre Review, Disability Studies Quarterly, Journal for Literary and Cultural Disability Studies, Liminalities: A Journal of Performance Studies, Theatre Journal, TOPIA: Canadian Journal of Cultural Studies, and in various edited volumes.

Victor Vân Tran/Savage Rock

Victor Vân Tran, known in the underground as B.Boy Savage Rock, is a prominent Vietnamese-Canadian dance artist recognized for his multifaceted work in competing, performing, organizing, teaching, and producing. Specializing in street and social dance practices, Victor is a fresh choreographer focused on transposing these forms onto the stage, bridging genres and audiences. Based between Tiohtià:ke/Montreal and so-called Vancouver, Victor leverages his dual creative bases to elevate national dance expressions. His leadership within the community has helped shape the history of street dance, especially in breaking and hustle dance. As an emerging choreographer, Victor premiered his first full-length production, GRAND SAUT [plastic orchid factory, Vancouver 2024], showcasing three new works that reflect the culmination of his evolving career as it transitions into stage spaces. In addition to his artistic work, Victor serves as the Executive Director at CADA/West, where he advocates for fair standards in dance.

Collette "Coco" Murray

Collette “Coco” Murray is a multi-award-winning dance artist-scholar, cultural arts programmer, educator, and arts consultant whose work bridges performance, education, and advocacy. With over 25 years in the Canadian performing arts sector, Coco specializes in Afro-diasporic dance forms, including West African, Caribbean folk, carnival arts, and stilt-dancing as Coco Moko Jumbie. Her multifaceted practice is rooted in reclaiming cultural narratives and amplifying African diasporic traditions through performance, community engagement, and scholarship. Miss Coco’s dance artistry spans teaching, guest lecturing, mentorship, and publishing, with a focus on equity and anti-racism. She is currently pursuing a PhD in Dance Studies (York University), deepening her commitment to integrating African diasporic arts into Canadian public education and advancing culturally relevant dance pedagogy. For the past five years, Coco is Board Chair of Dance Umbrella of Ontario. She developed DUO’s decolonial and equity framework. Recognized by Urban Alliance for Race Relations with a 2022 Award for Racial Justice in Creative Arts and the 2023 Award recipient of the National Dance Education Organization’s National Award for Outstanding Leadership in Justice, Diversity, and Inclusion.

As the artistic director of Coco Collective, she curates culturally relevant and responsive programming that draws from African and Caribbean aesthetics, collaborating with intergenerational artists to foster inclusive cultural experiences. Coco’s dance engagement and leadership are recognized for their impact on arts organizations, community empowerment, cultural preservation, and education reform.

Tatum Wildeman

Tatum Wildeman is a Saskatchewan based independent contemporary dance artist and artistic director of The Saskatchewan Dance Project. She is dedicated to advancing safe and professional level dance training and performing opportunities for dancers in Saskatchewan. Tatum is committed to safe dance practice and is in the final stage of completing her Safe in Dance certificate through Healthy Dancer Canada. Tatum also dedicates her time to outreach dance-based programs focused on mental wellness for Indigenous youth living on reserve and is currently working with the community of Wollaston Lake to establish and deliver a permanent dance program. Tatum is a practicing Registered Nurse and is currently working towards a masters in nursing at the University of Saskatchewan focusing on the use of dance to improve mental wellness in Indigenous youth living in northern Saskatchewan. Tatum is passionate about the use of dance to improve mental health and advancing safe dance practice for professional independent dance artists.