Join Miss Coco Murray and Coco Collective in movement and rhythms rooted in community and social life of the Western region of Africa. Let's dance together in relationship to live polyrhythms!

Collette "Coco" Murray is a multi-award-winning artist-scholar, cultural arts programmer, dance educator and arts consultant. With over 20 years in the Canadian arts sector, she specializes in Afro-diasporic dance forms from the West African region, Caribbean Folk, carnival arts and stilt-walking explorations. Born in Toronto with South American heritage, she studied with master teachers from West Africa, the Caribbean, and the USA and performed with several Toronto-based dance companies. As an advocate for equity in the arts, her artistry extends beyond performance to teaching, arts education, mentoring, curation, community arts engagement and publications. Miss Coco Murray is her mobile dance education business, informed by her research and praxis in advancing cultural dance education, anti-racism in dance and inclusion of African diasporic arts knowledge. She is the artistic director of Coco Collective, an intergenerational team of artists offering culturally relevant and responsive projects to connect participants to African and Caribbean arts. Murray received international recognition by the National Dance Education Organization's 2023 Outstanding Leadership in Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion in Dance Education. Murray's dedication to the dance sector extends to significant contributions of collaboratively working with culturally diverse communities and creating access to arts and culture in Toronto.

This workshop is free for everyone to attend thanks to the support of Arts in the Parks program, funded by Toronto Arts Foundation in partnership with Toronto Arts Council and the City of Toronto.