IBPOC Artist-Curators in Dance
IBPOC ARTIST – CURATORS
IN DANCE
The Project:
The Canadian Dance Assembly, in partnership with DanceWorks, is hosting a project that invites 10 Indigenous , Afro-descendant, and Person of Colour Artist-Curators in dance to gather in Toronto between May 12-17th, 2025. The aim of this project is to resource the careers of IBPOC Artist-Curators and support equity-driven transformation within existing models of dance presentation.
For the purposes of this project, we are considering Dance Curation as an act of care, being in relation, connected to dance practice, and culturally informed. We also consider curation as an action of selecting artists and/or constructing a space to gather; recognizing that cultivating a space, encounter, event, or opportunity for performance and creative exploration are all aspects of curatorial practice.
The 1-week gathering will offer the selected participants a paid opportunity to engage in discourse, develop skills and build relationships amongst peers. 5 Artist-Curators from the Greater Toronto Area and 5 from across Canada will be invited through this open call.
The shared values of those stewarding this project are; Care, Intersectionality, Access, Transparency and Collaboration. This project will be conducted with a commitment to Equity and Anti-Oppression.
The Cohort:
We are thrilled to announce the cohort of our Indigenous, Afro-descendant, and Person of Colour Artist-Curators in dance project
🥰 We received 70 applications, we were supposed to welcome 10 persons.
Here we are, we will hold the space for 14 Artist-Curators May 12-17th, 2025.
💫
Ziyian Kwan (she/her), Vancouver
Mpoe Mogale (they/them), Calgary
Shrina Patel (she/they), Edmonton
Lindsay Cottin (she/her), Regina
Jasmine Liaw (she/her), Toronto
Christina de la Cruz (she/her), Toronto
Nova Bhattacharya (she/her), Toronto
Nidhi Baadkar (she/her), Toronto
Jena Alma (she/they), Mississauga
Angie Cheng (she/her), Montréal
Samantha Hinds (she/her), Montréal
Victor Vân Tran (he/him/they), Montréal
Raven Davis (they/them), Halifax
Reequal Smith (she/her), Charlottetown
The Open Call:
* THE CALL IS CLOSED*
Please find the application form and details about remuneration here.
Accepting applications between December 16th 2024 and January 24th 2025
Applicant must be fully available May 12th – May 17th 2025
Applications can also be sent to shelby@cda-acd.ca as video or audio files, duration no longer than 15 min.
The Assessment Committee:
Dedra McDermott, David Norsworthy, Karla Etienne, Olivia C. Davies, and Pam Tzeng
Based in Tkarón:to/Toronto, Dedra McDermott (she/her) is a new-generation artist-researcher, emerging curator, and movement dramaturg interested in performance and choreographic methodology, visual and media arts, and divergent approaches to engaging with archival practices. Her artistic research explores identity, memory, and grief—utilizing autoethnographic methodology to weave movement and literary choreographies to
create live, filmed, and installation works. As a movement artist whose cultural positioning places her at the intersection of Black (Jamaican, First-Generation Canadian) and woman-identifying, all of her knowledge coalesces into her dancing body—a vessel that holds an accumulation of embodied practices and unwavering resilience. She holds a BFA in Choreography and Performance (York University) and an MA in Drama, Theatre and Performance Studies (University of Toronto). Through curatorial practice, Dedra aims to supportively challenge artistic communities—shaping and serving creative environments to encourage fellowship. McDermott is currently an MFA candidate in Criticism and Curatorial Practice at OCAD University.
David Norsworthy (he/him) is a Tkarón:to/Toronto-based dance artist, choreographer and producer of mixed Japanese immigrant/British settler descent who is “an exceptionally lucid performer, impressive and articulate” (Globe and Mail). A graduate of The Juilliard School where he trained in Euro-American contemporary dance, David delights in asking questions, and believes deeply in the transformative power of dancing. David has performed with dance companies and collaborated with dance creators in Canada, USA, Sweden and Australia, and his choreographic career has included independently produced full-length works, international tours, and commissioned projects for companies, universities and schools. His choreographic work has focused on community-building through co-creation; cultivating participatory environments that work with the materiality of emotion and dialogue through improvisational scores. David is the grateful recipient of the Living Arts Centre’s Ron Lenyk Award and was one of three finalists for the Toronto Arts Foundation’s Emerging Artist Award. David is a Co-Founder/Co-Director of TOES FOR DANCE, a Board Member of CanAsian Dance, and a part-time Rehearsal Director for Norrdans, a contemporary dance company in Sweden.
Karla Etienne is the Executive Director of the Canadian Dance Assembly and Co-Artistic Director of Furies Dance Festival in Gaspésie. A graduate in cultural management (HEC Montreal) and environmental sciences (UQAM), Karla Etienne, a marathon runner in every sense of the word, has travelled
the plurality of roads and pathways which lead to a deeper and more accurate appreciation of what today constitutes the strengths and the potential of our artistic and cultural community in Canada. She is a dance artist who has worked with Zab Maboungou/Compagnie Danse Nyata Nyata for more than 20 years. She has collaborated as a dancer in projects by George Stamos, Kimberley de Jong, Katya Montaignac, Sophie Corriveau and Priscilla Guy. Her commitment is recognized today, notably for the renewal of cultural policies concerning equity in the field of art, on all levels of practice, management and dissemination with the institutions and organizations that are responsible, including the Conseil des arts de Montréal. In 2021, she received the Nyata Nyata Stellar Award for service to the greater dance community.
Olivia C. Davies creates and collaborates across multiple platforms including choreography, dance, directing, writing, and sound design. Davies’ body of work explores the emotional and political relationships between people and places, often investigating the body’s dynamic ability to transmit narrative, seeking to traverse boundaries and challenge social prejudice by conveying concepts and impressions that open different ways to experience the world. Her work has been presented in BC, Alberta, Ontario and Quebec since 2011. She is the Managing Artistic Director of O.Dela Arts, and creator and curator of the Matriarchs Uprising Festival series that celebrates the work of Indigenous women dancing stories of transformation. Recent projects include Maamawi: Together through the Fire ~ in collaboration with Peppers Ghost New Media Collective that is a virtual reality immersive experience and live performanceretelling the Anishinaabe 7 Fires Prophecy through the lens of Indigenous Futurism; where you go ~ in collaboration with the choral ensemble Music Intima; and Straight, No Chaser ~ a biomyth monodrama that explores Olivia’s blood memory and the lessons passed down to her from her mother. She honours her mixed Anishinaabe, French-Canadian, Finnish and Welsh heritage. www.oliviacdavies.ca
Pam Tzeng 曾小桐 (she/they) is a second-generation Taiwanese-Canadian choreographer and change work multi-hyphenate based in Mohkinstsis / Calgary, Treaty 7 Territory. Pam is a commitment to offering the breadth of their creativity and intelligences to the work of equity and anti-oppression in the arts and cultural sector. They are dedicated to transforming conflict into connection through the many dimensions of their practice including their work as an artist, facilitator, conflict resolution practitioner, somatic coach and consultant. Currently, Pam is an advisor with the Canadian Dance Assembly, an embodied leadership consultant with Generator Toronto, a member of the Cultural Instigators – a collective of artist activists visioning an anti-racist future for Calgary and part of Calgary Arts Development’s EDIA working group.
The Full Team:
Ann-Marie Williams – CanDance Network: Project Collaborator
Brandy Leary – Anandam Dance: Project Collaborator
David Norsworthy – DanceWorks: Project Partner/Facilitator
Dedra McDermott – DanceWorks: Project Partner/Facilitator
Karla Etienne – CDA: Project Ideator/Facilitator
Olivia C. Davies – O.Dela Arts : Project Advisor
Pam Tzeng – CDA: Project Advisor
Shelby Wright – CDA: Project Coordinator
Timea Wharton-Suri – dance Immersion: Project Advisor
This project is made possible by the Canada Council for the Arts with a Sector Innovation Grant.
Funding from Metcalf Foundation
And Sponsorship from the Alberta Dance Alliance and Dancer Transition Resource Centre (DTRC)
