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
Curatorial Statement
Who and what become visible when street dance is understood not only through battles, entertainment, and social media? Cypher Killa begins from this question, considering the cypher as a practice of cultural exchange, collective learning, and relationship-building across artists, audiences, cities, and institutions.
These choices reflect Rita’s interest in exploring street dance beyond performance or competition, and in returning attention to the people in the room, the music, and the reasons dancers gather. Through the cypher, street dance becomes visible as a living artistic and social structure where dancers listen, respond, witness one another, test ideas, exchange knowledge, and build relationships.