Danah Rosales, known as Maldita Siriano 007 (she/her/siya) is a Tkaronto based queer millennial; 2nd-gen Canadian-Filipinx; a daughta; a cister; a solo mama of two little humans; legendary women’s performance motha of the kiki house of siriano; and a dora nominated artist in which her work encompasses dancing, teaching, producing, collaborative and interdisciplinary choreography and performance. Danah aspires to bring more ballroom arts to different stages with ballroom specific works, “The Grand March of the House of Siriano” that was commissioned by Fall for Dance North in Fall 2021 and “GIVE ME ONE” commissioned by Toronto Dance Theatre in Spring 2023, where the cast was nominated for the ‘Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble’ Dora Award.

https://www.instagram.com/rdanah/

Photo by Joshua Rille @jjjjjjjoshua

CinnaMoon Collective, co-founded by dance artists Nickeshia Garrick and Irma Villafuerte, is a Central American and Afro-Caribbean contemporary dance duo that is dedicated to reclaiming and honouring ancestral stories from a decolonial perspective, with the mission to ignite collective healing and recontextualize identity through the lens of black, indigenous and racialized femme presenting queer bodies.

https://www.instagram.com/cinnamoon.collective/

Photo by Enzo Romero / @enzoromero

Emily Cheung is an educator, performer, and choreographer who holds degrees in B.F.A., B. Ed., and M.A. from York University, with a specialization in Dance. Her extensive training took place across China, Hong Kong, the United States, and Canada. Currently serving as the Artistic Director of Little Pear Garden Dance Company in Toronto, Ms. Cheung is an active member of the board of directors for Dance Ontario. Her expertise encompasses both Chinese Classical dance and Chinese Contemporary dance. Emily Cheung is deeply committed to preserving the essence of traditional Chinese dance, crafting contemporary expressions that pay homage to Chinese heritage, and engaging in collaborative ventures with artists from diverse backgrounds and disciplines to create works imbued with distinctive aesthetic values.

https://www.instagram.com/littlepeargdc/

Mel Hart is an dance artist and emerging curator who loves creating and bringing joyful, vibrant stories to unique spaces through movement. Mel has always believed that dancing can bring people together to stir conversation, emotion and engagement. Most recently, her collective SaMel Tanz premiered their full length work “CHAMPIONESS” at the Harbourfront Centre Theatre, presented by DanceWorks. Mel also toured with Nova Dance for the performance of “Svāhā” at the Vancouver Playhouse and danced for Teria Morada at Summer Soulsa Festival in New Brunswick. This residency is an opportunity for Mel to dive into her Trinidadian heritage through music and movement, discovering parallels and contradictions to her training in Hip Hop and western Contemporary dance.

https://www.instagram.com/melhart1/

Photo by Jerick Collantes

Seeking Giants Collective is a circus-theatre-dance collective led by: Zita Nyarady, Vanita Butrsingkorn, Hayley Landry and Caitlin Morris-Cornfield. As interdisciplinary artists our collective came together through a love of stilt-walking, spectacle and of playful performance. Whimsy and the unexpected are key elements of our work. Our immersive stilt performances have been presented at Theatre Direct's Forward March Festival and Springworks digital tapashta Festival.

https://www.instagram.com/seekinggiantscollective/

Katya Kuznetsova is a dance artist, founder of the Dance Together Project and Artistic Producer of the Dance Together Festival. Her work as a dance artist anchors on nurturing human connection and building communities through dance. Through the Dance Together Project, she create dance with “non-dancers” in a way that embraces vulnerability, builds confidence and opens access to the joy of human connection. She develops and facilitates dance programs for adult learners, including mixed abilities dance programs for Wheel Dance, Canadian National Institute for the Blind, Sarah Elizabeth Centre, Sunnybrook Veterans Centre and various retirement communities in the GTA. Since 2019, together with several Toronto dance and visual artists, she has been co-producing the Dance Together Festival, which transforms city neighbourhoods through large scale dance floor murals and community dance workshops that celebrate positive and accessible dance experiences.

katyakuznetsova.com

Photo by Mirna Chacin

Zahra Badua is a bilingual multi-hyphenated artist from Ghana who started dancing as a means to understand and learn more about her African heritage, she is a trained Traditional West African, Afro Caribbean Folklore dancer as well as other West African and Caribbean street styles.

Whether it is through teaching movement, lectures, seminars, podcasts or her administrative work, Zahra is dedicated to disseminating knowledge about the vast beauty and history of Afro-Diasporic dance and to use the arts to promote happiness, self-expression, and confidence.

Zahra is also a movement coach for adults with different developmental abilities and children living with autism. Lastly, she is the Administrative and Engagement Coordinator for dance Immersion. A black led arts organization that produces, promotes and supports Black dances and artists from the African Diaspora.

https://www.instagram.com/zahra_moves/

Photo by @inthesoulof

Alli Carry is a Toronto-based emerging multidisciplinary dance artist. Her artistry is explored through the mediums of choreography, film, photography, and theatre. She celebrates collaboration as a pillar for her art practice and creates work through a feminist lens. Alli aims to make work that is meaningful to a diverse audience while remaining authentic to her unique voice. She holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Performance Dance with distinction from Toronto Metropolitan University.

https://www.instagram.com/alli_carry/

Photo by Calvin Thomas @calvinthomasstudio