Rita Barieieva
Curator
Rita Barieieva is a Ukrainian-born, Vancouver-based street dance artist, DJ, and curator whose practice centers on music, street dance, community exchange and relationship-building. She is the founder and curator of Cypher Killa Dance Festival, an event focused on cyphers as a social structure and using dance as a tool for conversation, preresented in Ukraine, Sweden, China, and most recently Vancouver. Rita travels extensively to engage with dance communities worldwide, building connections and exchanging knowledge with fellow artists. Alongside her dance and curatorial practice, she is an internationally active DJ, with sets rooted in funk, hip-hop, and house music.
Curatorial Statement
The cypher is not only a battle setting, but a living artistic and social structure. Through the cypher, dancers listen, exchange knowledge, test ideas, witness one another, and learn how to enter, respond, and make space for others.
Street dance is often made visible through battles, entertainment, and social media, while its deeper systems—lineage, musical knowledge, community responsibility, and the relationship between dancers and DJs—are less often presented with context.
The programming would be developed collaboratively with Toronto- and Vancouver-based artists to highlight the educational, historical, and community-based practices within street dance, while creating space for exchange, experimentation, and collective learning.