“Garba is more than a dance—it is a moving meditation. With every turn of the circle, we release, reconnect, and rediscover our place within a larger community.”
Fri Sept 4 2026
4pm | workshop
5pm | showcase & party
Small Arms Inspection Building
(1352 Lakeshore Rd E #1352 Mississauga)
RangaMandal is a participatory dance and visual art experience inspired by the Gujarati folk tradition of Garba. Blending community gathering, movement, and collective artmaking, the project transforms a simple circle dance into a living canvas.
Throughout the evening, participants dance on a large canvas with paint-covered feet, creating layers of colour, pattern, and texture through their movement. As the circular pathways of Garba unfold, individual traces merge into a vibrant mandala—a collective artwork shaped by rhythm, repetition, and shared intention.
Rooted in the spiritual and communal foundations of Garba, RangaMandal explores the circle as a symbol of connection, renewal, and belonging. The project reimagines ritual as contemporary participatory art, blurring the boundaries between performer and audience, dance and visual art, individual expression and collective creation.
The resulting artwork serves as both a record of the gathering and a reflection of the community that created it while capturing a fleeting moment of movement in a lasting visual form.
Curator: Purawai Vyas
Workshop Leader: Shivani Joshi
Garba Performance Artists: Anjali Tanna, Team Nritya and Omkara Dance
Live Music: Vrunda Upadhyay Garba Ensemble
Production Team: Rajvi Dedhia, Bistro Renwarin, Anisha Manyal, Parth Ganatra, Helee Mehta, Dhruv Naik, Jay Patel
Sound Technician: Gandhaar Amin
Lighting Designer: Emerson Kafarowski
Photographer: Abhishek R.Drone
Videographer: Aditya Rajendra
cUraTor & Artists
Purawai Vyas
Purawai Vyas is a Canadian dance artist based in Toronto, with a practice rooted in over two decades of Bharatanatyam training under Guru Lata Pada at Sampradaya Dance Academy.
Vrunda Upadhyay’s Garba Ensemble
An energetic Gujarati folk ensemble presenting authentic live Garba and Raas through powerful vocals, traditional rhythms, and vibrant musicianship.
Shivani Joshi
Shivani Joshi is an Indian Classical and Folk dancer, exploring form with pieces that incorporate fragmented narratives, prop work, and cultural ritual as practice.
Gandhaar Amin
Gandhaar Amin is a music composer and producer, known for his innovative reimagining of the Indian fusion music genre.
Rajvi Dedhia
Rajvi Dedhia is a Toronto-based dancer, choreographer, educator, and arts administrator from India, dedicated to cultural sharing and community engagement.
Bristo Renwarin
Toronto-trained dancer blending hip hop foundations with Bollywood, Afro, and Latin dance team performances across shows, weddings, and competitions.
Anisha Manyal
Anisha is a Bharatanatyam-trained choreographer working across South Asian and contemporary collaborative performance in Toronto.
Parth Ganatra
Real estate agent by profession, dancer by heart, always chasing the feeling that only music and movement can bring.
Helee Mehta
Helee Mehta has participated in various Garba competitions and dance performances, immersing herself in the joyful and energetic rhythms of this traditional folk dance.
acCessibilIty
Is the venue wheelchair accessible?
We prioritize wheelchair accessible spaces for all of our events. The Small Arms Inspection Building is wheelchair accessible.
Will the event be ASL Interpreted?
All live events will offer ASL interpretation (upon request). Please contact us to request ASL Interpretation.
Will the event be described for Blind and low vision audiences?
This performance does not include audio description.
Co-presented with
Tales of those who move.
A dialogue between music and dance.
Connecting. Reconnecting.
A community call.
Sat Aug 29 2026
7pm
Underpass Park
(29 Lower River Street)
NKABOM, Choreographic Works that push the boundaries of movement, culture, and community.
A dynamic dialogue between tradition and innovation, individual expression and collective experience.
Connecting. Reconnecting. Building community through movement
NKABOM brings together artists from Toronto and Montreal to support and celebrate African street dance in Canada, fostering collective expression through the blending of diverse movement forms and perspectives.
The local artists involved in NKABOM will engage in a residency that promotes the exploration of movement, with each artist contributing their individual expression rooted in African street dance to a collective choreographic work. Drawing from their unique movement languages and personal experiences, the artists will collaboratively develop a shared creation that explores themes of re-connection while pushing the boundaries of their creative journeys and artistic practices.
Curator Kwasi Obeng-Adeji
Dancers Athena Lucie Assamba & Leah Danga
Dancer Rose-Mary Harbans
Drummer Amosun Adeifa
DJ TrayBaby
Local Dancer Martin Prempeh
Local Dancer Monique Pascall
Local Dancer Janice Ellis
Local Dancer Bairen Oluwashola
Sound Technician Lamar Ferguson
Lighting Designer Theo Belc
Technical Assistants Jason Ball, Husseine Esmail & Rowan Campbell
Inspiration for this includes:
cUraTor & Artists
Kwasi Obeng-Adjei
Kwasi Obeng-Adjei is a Canadian multidisciplinary artist, emerging choreographer, and dance educator based in Brampton, Ontario.
Athena Lucie Assamba
Athena Lucie Assamba Montreal based interdisciplinary artist exploring dances of African source as living practices of ancestral memory, liberation, healing, and collective transformation.
Leah Danga
Leah Danga is a multidisciplinary artist based in Montreal, specializing in contemporary and traditional African dances, with a background in hip-hop and popping.
Rose-Mary Harbans
Rose-Mary “Rosie” Harbans is a Dora-nominated performer, choreographer, and dance educator based in Toronto. Rosie’s practice approaches movement as a vessel for liberation, healing, and storytelling.
Bairen Oluwashola
Nigerian-born Afro Fusion choreographer and educator inspiring global connection through movement, culture, and authentic African dance.
Janice Ellis
Janice Ellis is a first-generation artist of Jamaican and Ghanaian descent whose practice is rooted in African diasporic dance forms, including Azonto, Nigerian street styles, and traditional African dance.
Martin Prempeh
Born in Kumasi, Ghana and raised in Toronto, Canada, King Martin Luther Prempeh also known as PREMPZ.
Monique Pascall
Monique Pascall is a Toronto-born performer, choreographer, and educator
acCessibilIty
Is the venue wheelchair accessible?
We prioritize wheelchair accessible spaces for all of our events. This venue is outdoors and is wheelchair accessible.
Will the event be ASL Interpreted?
All live events will offer ASL interpretation (upon request). Please contact us to request ASL Interpretation.
Will the event be described for Blind and low vision audiences?
This performance does not include audio description.
Curating with values: Dancemakers Annual Symposium is our second annual symposium exploring the craft, practice and plurality of dance curation.
This year’s theme “Curating with Values” explores the ideological force behind curatorial decision making, asking both panellists and participants “what would it be like to curate using your values as a guide?”
Join us in person or online for two panels, a workshop, a reading circle, and a party as we celebrate going into our 4th year of Dancemakers’ Guest Curator Model.
Thursday July 2
7:00-10:00 | Opening Night Party at Cinecycle! (In person only) music by Bibz
Friday July 3
12:30-2:30 | Curating with Values (Across Disciplines) with Scott Miller-Berry, Sanjeet Takhar, Reza Nik, Sofi Gudiño & Johnny Forever Nawracaj
3:00-5:00 | Adventures in Curation with Independent Dance Curators Holly Chang, Kwasi Obeng Adeji, Purawai Yvas & Maxine Heppner
5:00-6:00 | Call for Curators Info Session with Co-Artistic Producers Christina de la Cruz and Cara Spooner (free of charge – show up in person or email artistic@dancemakers.org to participate virtually).
Saturday July 4
12:30-2:00 | Conflict in Curation Workshop with Pam Tzeng
2:30-4:30 | Curator’s reading group hosted by Shani K. Parsons & Christina de la Cruz
cUraTorS & ArtiSts
Bibin “Bibz” George
Bibz is a dancer-first DJ whose sound is deeply rooted in movement, groove, and connection.
Scott Miller Berry
Scott Miller Berry is a filmmaker and cultural worker who has worked in the arts in Toronto since 2001.
Sofí Gudiño
Sofi Gudiño is a dance artist, drag king and community organizer based in Toronto.
Johnny Forever Nawracaj
Johnny Forever Nawracaj is a non-binary Polish-born performance and media artist.
Sanjeet Takhar
Sanjeet Takhar is a music curator, event producer and dj based in Toronto.
Reza Nik
Reza Nik is the founding director of SHEEEP – a licensed architect, artist and educator based in Toronto, Canada.
Holly Chang
Holly Chang is a Toronto based artist, curator, and researcher. Her practice is focused on topics of hybridity, craft, and ecology.
Kwasi Obeng-Adjei
Kwasi Obeng-Adjei is a Canadian multidisciplinary artist, emerging choreographer, and dance educator based in Brampton, Ontario.
Maxine Heppner
Curator Maxine Heppner is a dance & inter-medial artist & educator known for her dedication to collaboration and community building since the 1970’s.
Purawai Vyas
Purawai Vyas is a Canadian dance artist based in Toronto, with a practice rooted in over two decades of Bharatanatyam training under Guru Lata Pada at Sampradaya Dance Academy.
Pam Tzeng
Pam Tzeng 曾小桐 (she/they) is a second-generation Taiwanese-Canadian choreographer, performer, arts worker.
Shani K. Parsons
Shani Khoo Parsons (she/her) is an independent curator, designer, mother, and founding director of Critical Distance Centre for Curators.
Christina de la Cruz
Christina de la Cruz is a Hip Hop dancer, artistic producer, curator of dance and performance and waitress.
Cara Spooner
Cara Spooner is a choreographer, caregiver and caretaker as well as one of the Co-Artistic Producers at Dancemakers.
acCessibilIty
Is the venue wheelchair accessible?
Critical Distance (and all of 401 Richmond) is wheelchair accessible.
CineCycle is almost a fully wheelchair accessible space. The laneway entrance beside 129 Spadina has two steps and no automatic doors (but does have a ramp we can put out)! The rear entrance has no steps, but the path is uneven. Inside, the space (including gender-neutral washrooms) is all on one level. If you have any specific access needs, please get in touch.
Will the event be ASL Interpreted?
All live events will offer ASL interpretation (upon request). Please contact us to request ASL Interpretation.
Will the event be described for Blind and low vision audiences?
If you require audio description, please get in touch.
Curating with values: Dancemakers Annual Symposium is our second annual symposium exploring the craft, practice and plurality of dance curation.
This year’s theme “Curating with Values” explores the ideological force behind curatorial decision making, asking both panellists and participants “what would it be like to curate using your values as a guide?”
Join us in person or online for two panels, a workshop, a reading circle, and a party as we celebrate going into our 4th year of Dancemakers’ Guest Curator Model.
Thursday July 2
7:00-10:00 | Opening Night Party at Cinecycle! (In person only) music by Bibz
Friday July 3
12:30-2:30 | Curating with Values (Across Disciplines) with Scott Miller-Berry, Sanjeet Takhar, Reza Nik, Sofi Gudiño & Johnny Forever Nawracaj
3:00-5:00 | Adventures in Curation with Independent Dance Curators Holly Chang, Kwasi Obeng Adeji, Purawai Yvas & Maxine Heppner
5:00-6:00 | Call for Curators Info Session with Co-Artistic Producers Christina de la Cruz and Cara Spooner (free of charge – show up in person or email artistic@dancemakers.org to participate virtually).
Saturday July 4
12:30-2:00 | Conflict in Curation Workshop with Pam Tzeng
2:30-4:30 | Curator’s reading group hosted by Shani K. Parsons & Christina de la Cruz (access readings here)
cUraTorS & ArtiSts
Bibin “Bibz” George
Bibz is a dancer-first DJ whose sound is deeply rooted in movement, groove, and connection.
Scott Miller Berry
Scott Miller Berry is a filmmaker and cultural worker who has worked in the arts in Toronto since 2001.
Sofí Gudiño
Sofi Gudiño is a dance artist, drag king and community organizer based in Toronto.
Johnny Forever Nawracaj
Johnny Forever Nawracaj is a non-binary Polish-born performance and media artist.
Sanjeet Takhar
Sanjeet Takhar is a music curator, event producer and dj based in Toronto.
Reza Nik
Reza Nik is the founding director of SHEEEP – a licensed architect, artist and educator based in Toronto, Canada.
Holly Chang
Holly Chang is a Toronto based artist, curator, and researcher. Her practice is focused on topics of hybridity, craft, and ecology.
Kwasi Obeng-Adjei
Kwasi Obeng-Adjei is a Canadian multidisciplinary artist, emerging choreographer, and dance educator based in Brampton, Ontario.
Maxine Heppner
Curator Maxine Heppner is a dance & inter-medial artist & educator known for her dedication to collaboration and community building since the 1970’s.
Purawai Vyas
Purawai Vyas is a Canadian dance artist based in Toronto, with a practice rooted in over two decades of Bharatanatyam training under Guru Lata Pada at Sampradaya Dance Academy.
Pam Tzeng
Pam Tzeng 曾小桐 (she/they) is a second-generation Taiwanese-Canadian choreographer, performer, arts worker.
Shani K. Parsons
Shani Khoo Parsons (she/her) is an independent curator, designer, mother, and founding director of Critical Distance Centre for Curators.
Christina de la Cruz
Christina de la Cruz is a Hip Hop dancer, artistic producer, curator of dance and performance and waitress.
Cara Spooner
Cara Spooner is a choreographer, caregiver and caretaker as well as one of the Co-Artistic Producers at Dancemakers.
acCessibilIty
Is the venue wheelchair accessible?
Critical Distance (and all of 401 Richmond) is wheelchair accessible.
CineCycle is almost a fully wheelchair accessible space. The laneway entrance beside 129 Spadina has two steps and no automatic doors (but does have a ramp we can put out)! The rear entrance has no steps, but the path is uneven. Inside, the space (including gender-neutral washrooms) is all on one level. If you have any specific access needs, please get in touch.
Will the event be ASL Interpreted?
All live events will offer ASL interpretation (upon request). Please contact us to request ASL Interpretation.
Will the event be described for Blind and low vision audiences?
If you require audio description, please get in touch.
Curating with values: Dancemakers Annual Symposium is our second annual symposium exploring the craft, practice and plurality of dance curation.
This year’s theme “Curating with Values” explores the ideological force behind curatorial decision making, asking both panellists and participants “what would it be like to curate using your values as a guide?”
Join us in person or online for two panels, a workshop, a reading circle, and a party as we celebrate going into our 4th year of Dancemakers’ Guest Curator Model.
Thursday July 2
7:00-10:00 | Opening Night Party at Cinecycle (In person only) music by Bibz and beers by our friends at Burdock Brewery!
Friday July 3
12:30-2:30 | Curating with Values (Across Disciplines) with Scott Miller-Berry, Sanjeet Takhar, Reza Nik, Sofi Gudiño & Johnny Forever Nawracaj
3:00-5:00 | Adventures in Curation with Independent Dance Curators Holly Chang, Kwasi Obeng Adeji, Purawai Yvas & Maxine Heppner
5:00-6:00 | Call for Curators Info Session with Co-Artistic Producers Christina de la Cruz and Cara Spooner (free of charge – show up in person or email artistic@dancemakers.org to participate virtually)
Saturday July 4
12:30-2:30 | Conflict in Curation Workshop with Pam Tzeng
2:45-4:30 | Curator’s reading group hosted by Shani K. Parsons & Christina de la Cruz – reading materials available here
cUraTorS & ArtiSts
Bibin “Bibz” George
Bibz is a dancer-first DJ whose sound is deeply rooted in movement, groove, and connection.
Scott Miller Berry
Scott Miller Berry is a filmmaker and cultural worker who has worked in the arts in Toronto since 2001.
Sofí Gudiño
Sofi Gudiño is a dance artist, drag king and community organizer based in Toronto.
Johnny Forever Nawracaj
Johnny Forever Nawracaj is a non-binary Polish-born performance and media artist.
Sanjeet Takhar
Sanjeet Takhar is a music curator, event producer and dj based in Toronto.
Reza Nik
Reza Nik is the founding director of SHEEEP – a licensed architect, artist and educator based in Toronto, Canada.
Holly Chang
Holly Chang is a Toronto based artist, curator, and researcher. Her practice is focused on topics of hybridity, craft, and ecology.
Kwasi Obeng-Adjei
Kwasi Obeng-Adjei is a Canadian multidisciplinary artist, emerging choreographer, and dance educator based in Brampton, Ontario.
Maxine Heppner
Curator Maxine Heppner is a dance & inter-medial artist & educator known for her dedication to collaboration and community building since the 1970’s.
Purawai Vyas
Purawai Vyas is a Canadian dance artist based in Toronto, with a practice rooted in over two decades of Bharatanatyam training under Guru Lata Pada at Sampradaya Dance Academy.
Pam Tzeng
Pam Tzeng 曾小桐 (she/they) is a second-generation Taiwanese-Canadian choreographer, performer, arts worker.
Shani K. Parsons
Shani Khoo Parsons (she/her) is an independent curator, designer, mother, and founding director of Critical Distance Centre for Curators.
Christina de la Cruz
Christina de la Cruz is a Hip Hop dancer, artistic producer, curator of dance and performance and waitress.
Cara Spooner
Cara Spooner is a choreographer, caregiver and caretaker as well as one of the Co-Artistic Producers at Dancemakers.
acCessibilIty
Is the venue wheelchair accessible?
Critical Distance (and all of 401 Richmond) is wheelchair accessible.
CineCycle is almost a fully wheelchair accessible space. The laneway entrance beside 129 Spadina has two steps and no automatic doors (but does have a ramp we can put out)! The rear entrance has no steps, but the path is uneven. Inside, the space (including gender-neutral washrooms) is all on one level. If you have any specific access needs, please get in touch.
Will the event be ASL Interpreted?
All live events will offer ASL interpretation (upon request). Please contact us to request ASL Interpretation.
Will the event be described for Blind and low vision audiences?
If you require audio description, please get in touch.
In partnership with
This is the third instalment of a series of talks Zackery Hobler has done related to his recently-published photobook Beneath Two Skies.
Sunday May 31
1pm-2pm
High Park
Walking High Park with photographer Zackery Hobler, participants will be shown evidence of prescribed burning, they will gain an understanding of how the process works, and be shown how it concretely benefits the rare black oak savannah of High Park.
Starting near Hawk Hill, the group will walk through some of the burn blocks, delineated in partnership with the City of Toronto and Lands & Forest Management, the forestry service who started the prescribed burn program in High Park in 1997, whom Hobler has partnered with for the creation of his photobook.
The walk will end near the north end of High Park next to Bloor Street where participants will see two very different aspects of the park: markers of poor forest management and markers of abundant biodiversity, the latter of which prescribed burning is fundamental.
Throughout the walk, participants will be encouraged to ask questions as we walk.
Participants are also encouraged to attend the two other events surrounding Hobler’s photobook: his book launch at the Contact Gallery on April 9 and his talk with the City of Toronto Archives on May 9. More information about those events can be found linked below.
Curated by Holly Chang
Facilitated by Zachery Hobler
This workshop is offered in conjunction with Soil Study by sarah koekkoek
cUraTor & Artist
Holly Chang
Holly Chang is a Toronto based artist, curator, and researcher. Her practice is focused on topics of hybridity, craft, and ecology.
Zachery Hobler
Zackery Hobler is a Toronto-based photographer whose practice is a means of learning about the external world and how it informs his internal one.
acCessibilIty
Is the venue wheelchair accessible?
Though High Park has many paved paths and walkways, this walk will take place on unmanicured trails, paths, and moderate slopes. The paths are cleared, but uneven. Those with difficulty traversing small rocks or roots are encouraged to bring walking sticks. Wheelchair access is very limited in many parts of the trails.
Will the event be ASL Interpreted?
All live events will offer ASL interpretation (upon request). Please contact us to request ASL Interpretation.
Will the event be described for Blind and low vision audiences?
This performance does not include audio description.
“Nietzsche has expressed that very beautifully: ‘You shall become friends of the immediate things.’ And the immediate things are this earth, this life.” -C. G. Jung
Saturday May 30
3pm-4:30pm
High Park
What are earth pigments? How do we find and process them? Join us for a hands-on paint-making workshop!
In this session, the participants will learn how to process raw earth materials by grinding, washing and drying to achieve fine pigments that are suitable for paint-making. Together we will investigate both natural and waste colour sources in our surrounding area to find ochre (iron-oxide earth pigment).
During the first half of the workshop, the artist Gizem Candan will demonstrate the full process of pigment and paint-making. Then, the participants will have the chance to make their own water-colour paint using fine earth pigments and gum arabic solution.
Participants will also receive handouts with detailed explanations of the paint-making process, including a basic recipe, a list of materials, and some safety instructions.
Curated by Holly Chang
Facilitated by Gizem Candan
This workshop is offered in conjunction with Soil Study by sarah koekkoek
cUraTor & Artist
acCessibilIty
Is the venue wheelchair accessible?
We will be on a paved path and picnic area within High Park.
Will the event be ASL Interpreted?
All live events will offer ASL interpretation (upon request). Please contact us to request ASL Interpretation.
Will the event be described for Blind and low vision audiences?
This performance does not include audio description.
Spending time together on the land, especially within urban city centres, is incredibly important in these trying times, and this gathering intentionally creates room to slow down and enjoy food, joy, and laughter in kinship.
Saturday May 30
1pm-2pm
High Park
Guests are invited to gather for a relaxed afternoon of visiting at High Park. Grounded in relational practices, the gathering offers intentional time for connection and community. Spending time together on the land, especially within urban city centres, is incredibly important in these trying times, and this gathering intentionally creates room to slow down and enjoy food, joy, and laughter in kinship. Alex Jacobs-Blum will share about her artistic practice and participants are welcome to share their own stories, listen, and simply spend time together without pressure or expectations…except having fun!
Alex Jacobs-Blum will share about her most recent body of work, Living and Lost Connections, which documents her return to her ancestral homelands and reflects on the responsibilities that come with carrying ancestral Haudenosaunee knowledge. The land holds memory and history, and her artistic practice has become a way of listening and paying attention to those teachings while visiting the territory of her Gayogohó:nǫʼ ancestors. Through visual storytelling, her work explores how spending time on land can guide us to remember, reconnect, and carry knowledge forward for future generations.
Curated by Holly Chang
Facilitated by Alex Jacobs-Blum
This workshop is offered in conjunction with Soil Study by sarah koekkoek
cUraTor & Artist
acCessibilIty
Is the venue wheelchair accessible?
We will be visiting together on the grass so there may be uneven ground, but we will aim to find a flat spot that is close to the sidewalk. Please feel free to bring a chair or blanket to make yourself comfortable. You may also want to bring a water bottle and a hat or sun protection in case it’s a warm day.
Will the event be ASL Interpreted?
All live events will offer ASL interpretation (upon request). Please contact us to request ASL Interpretation.
Will the event be described for Blind and low vision audiences?
This performance does not include audio description.
“The land is to the people what blood is to the body” – Tránsito Amaguaña (1909-2009)
Sat May 30 | 7pm | High Park
Sun May 31 | 3pm | High Park + post show discussion
Soil Study (2024) is an ongoing series by artist sarah koekkoek of discursive experiments, processes, interventions and conversations between the human body and soil/soil memory.
sarah has been deeply engaged in these explorations over the past 3 years, working through an array of artistic mediums including sculpture, photography, screen printing, movement, choreography, digital GIFs and ASCII art. Much like our bodies, soil hosts ecological life, political struggles and cultural memory through slow accumulation, care and violence. This presentation of a process based performance is situated on the ancestral lands of many First Nations, including the Mississaugas of the Credit, the Anishnabeg, the Chippewa, the Haudenosaunee, and the Wendat. The audience is invited to witness a weaving together of personal memories etched into mine and the performers bodies together with 9,000 years of collective, historical and biological narratives of soil bodies. These memories, embedded in both human and soil archives, collide, converge, resist, mourn, celebrate and repair in unison.
Engaging with soil in this way means confronting questions of repair, responsibility, and futurity. Together we resist the damage of industrial, agricultural and colonial extraction. Manifesting alternative time scales, where like the soil, we accumulate memory through repetition, sedimentation and decay.
Curated by Holly Chang
Choreographed by sarah koekkoek
Performed by sarah koekkeok & Eve Tagny
Sound design by Eva Lev Myers & Julian Myers
Outside eye support by Amanda Acorn & Aisha Sasha John
Indigenous Consultation by Alex Jacobs-Blum
Inspiration for this includes:
sarah’s practice and the performance Soil Study is inspired by nature, environmental systems, queer and feminist theorists like Donna Haraway, Sylvia Fredrici, Leanne Betasamosake Simpson and Maria Puig de la Bellacasa as well as deep and non linear timescales
cUraTor & Artists
Holly Chang
Holly Chang is a Toronto based artist, curator, and researcher. Her practice is focused on topics of hybridity, craft, and ecology.
sarah koekkoek
sarah koekkoek is an ecology focused multidisciplinary artist working with movement, dance, flora and biomaterials from Tkarón:to (Toronto).
Eve Tagny
Eve Tagny is a Tiohtià:ke/Montreal-based artist.
Eva Lev Myers
Eva Lev Myers is a multidisciplinary artist from Tkarón:to/Toronto working across an array of intermodal expressive art forms.
Julian Myers
Julian Myers is a sound designer and composer currently based in Tiohtià:ke/Montréal.
Amanda Acorn
Amanda Acorn is a dance artist, researcher and choreographer currently based in Toronto, Canada.
Aisha Sasha John
Aisha Sasha John is a performer, choreographer and poet.
Alex Jacobs-Blum
Alex Jacobs-Blum (she/her) is a Gayogo̱hó꞉nǫʼ (Cayuga) and German visual artist and independent curator living in Hamilton, ON.
acCessibilIty
Is the venue wheelchair accessible?
We will be moving around the park in slightly uneven terrain.
Will the event be ASL Interpreted?
All live events will offer ASL interpretation (upon request). Please contact us to request ASL Interpretation.
Will the event be described for Blind and low vision audiences?
This performance does not include audio description.
“The best way to know each other is to be together. The only way for art to flourish is to do it.” – Curator Maxine Heppner
Thursday April 16 2026
7pm at Intergalactic Studio
9pm at Small World Music
180 Shaw Street in Toronto
In gaming, CrossPlay refers to the ability for players on different systems to come together and play simultaneously, expanding possibilities and creating new shared worlds.
In that spirit…
Curator Maxine Heppner created CrossPlay as a 2 month exploratory residency for dance and live music artists to be in the game of creating shared worlds.
Maxine facilitated, from an open call, dance-music partnerships of artists curious about the infinite possibilities within their chosen collaborations.
The artists are a cohort who are curious about how sound and movement live in their forms and influence each other, excited to connect with other artists across disciplines, across generations, across backgrounds, and open to open to experimentation, dialogue and discovery.
In a culminating event, the artists shared their discoveries.
From Curator Maxine Heppner:
”It’s a pleasure to be in the studios with these 30 gifted artists and their curiosities and approaches. The 9 groups have each found convergences, each group following its own course, some digging into expressiveness, some expanding ways of interacting, some riffing on themes, images. Working from knowledge, experience, sensation, inspiration, each partnering is original.”
7pm sharing in Intergalactic Studio:
– Alicia Grant, Aisha Sasha John, George Stamos + Ali Massoudi
– Chantelle Mostacho, Ori Chacon + Fedor Bondar
– Rachana Joshi + Luis Anselmi
– Mafa Makhubalo (with Lucy Rupert) + Honey Paw
– Oriah Wiersma + Grace Scheele
9pm sharing in Small World Music:
– David Norsworthy-Shibatani, Rakeem Hardy, Patrick O’Reiley + Just Prince
– Rumi Jeraj, DIVKA + Ooldouz Pouri
– Pulga Muchochoma, Newton Moraes, Andrea Kuzmich + Shalva-Lucas Makharashvili
– Brianna Maltais, Tarek Ghriri + Gandhaar Amin
Essay by Gitanjali Kolanad
cUratOr & Artists
Maxine Heppner
Curator Maxine Heppner is a dance & inter-medial artist & educator known for her dedication to collaboration and community building since the 1970’s.
Gitanjali Kolonad
Gitanjali Kolonad, researcher and writer on creative process and performance-making.
Alicia Grant
Alicia Grant is a dance, performance, video and installation artist.
Aisha Sasha John
Aisha Sasha John is a performer, choreographer and poet.
George Stamos
George Stamos is a celebrated Montreal-based transdisciplinary dance artist and filmmaker, acclaimed for genre-crossing works.
Ali Massoudi
Ali Massoudi is an Iranian-born percussionist, composer, and educator based in Canada
Chantelle Mostacho
Chantelle Mostacho (she/her) is a Filipino-Canadian multidisciplinary dance artist bridging street dance and contemporary concert forms
Ori Chacon
Ori Chacón is a singer, songwriter and healing arts facilitator, co-creator of Sonic Breath
Fedor Bondar
Fedor Bondar is a multi-instrumentalist and live-looping artist, co-creator of Sonic Breath
Rachana Joshi
Rachana Josh i is an independent dance artist based in Tkaronto. She completed her Bharatanatyam arangetram under the tutelage of Lata Pada in 2017 and is currently a company dancer and teacher at Sampradaya Dance Centre.
Luis Anselmi
Luis Anselmi blends Venezuelan roots and world music, performing with GRATITUD to create vibrant, rhythmic, uplifting Latin-World sounds
Mafa Makhubalo
Mafa Makhubalo is a Movement Poet trained in folk forms from the Regions of African tradition, Southern African contemporary, and Western-Contemporary.
Lucy Rupert
Lucy is a dancer, choreographer, art-science researcher, and writer.
Honey Paw
Honeypaw’s vision is to explore the connection between Finnic and Baltic cultures to create rich and enchanting soundscapes.
Oriah Wiersma
Oriah Wiersma is a multidisciplinary dance artist and actor based in Tkaronto.
Grace Scheele
Grace Scheele is an unconventional electroacoustic harpist and composer noted for her innovative take on experimental and ambient forms.
David Norsworthy-Shibatani
David Norsworthy-Shibatani is a dance artist, choreographer, and artistic director. His work deals with improvisation, co-creation, dialogue, and transformation.
Rakeem Hardy
Rakeem Hardy is a dance artist, creator, and educator. They received their BFA from Purchase College, SUNY, and currently dance with Kidd Pivot.
Patrick O’Reiley
Patrick O’Reilly is a composer, artist, and community-driven fixture in the Toronto creative music scene.
Just Prince
Toronto-based singer-songwriter Just Prince blends Western and Eastern traditions through genre-defying, soulful songwriting and experimental expression.
Rumi Jeraj
Rumi Jeraj is an Ismailli muslim hailing from Sherwood Park Alberta.
DIVKA
DIVKA uses folk songs from Ukrainian and global women’s music-making traditions
Ooldouz Pouri
Ooldouz Pouri is a Toronto based Iranian singer who has implemented her voice in Azeri, Persian folklore songs.
Pulga Muchochoma
Pulga Muchochoma, Dance artist born and raised in Mozambique and founder of Pulga Dance based in Toronto.
Newton Moraes
Newton Moraes is a Brazilian/Canadian choreographer and movement director blending contemporary dance, storytelling, and cultural rhythms for stage and screen.
Andrea Kuzmich
Singer/guitarist Andrea Kuzmich’s signature style is to tickle the listeners’ senses into an irresistible, groove-driven experience.
Shalva-Lucas Makharashvili
Shalva-Lucas Makharashvili is a Toronto-based vocalist specializing in Georgian polyphony, performer, workshop leader, and cultural ambassador blending tradition with jazz.
Brianna Maltais
Brianna is a tap dance-based artist whose work explores textural soundscapes, cross-disciplinary collaboration, and fosters opportunities for youth in her hometown of Barrie.
Tarek Ghriri
An awards nominee for Canadian and Ontario Folk Music Awards.
Flamenco and fretless guitarist with over 22 years of experience in the music industry
Gandhaar Amin
Gandhaar Amin is a music composer and producer, known for his innovative reimagining of the Indian fusion music genre.
acCessibilIty
Is the venue wheelchair accessible?
Youngplace is a fully accessible building and both studios are wheelchair accessible.
Will the event be ASL Interpreted?
Please contact us to request ASL Interpretation.
Will the event be described for Blind and low vision audiences?
Please contact us about audio description.
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