[Image Description: A gradient purple and green background is foregrounded by a splotchy grey shape and various texts. Near the top in black capital letters, the date June 21st, 12pm EST is centered. “Why Curate Dance?” in large capital letters is to the right of event information reading “Join artist curators Ralph Escamillan, Nithya Garg, Jaleesa Coligny and Christina Paquette for conversations on their experiences in curating dance and performance. If you require ASL, CART or other access support, please email artistic@dancemakers.org”. In black font, the writing continues: “Learn more & register at www.dancemakers.org/whycuratedance” followed by the Dancemakers Logo.]
Join us on June 21st at 12pm EST for a conversation on curating dance!
In anticipation of Dancemakers 2024/2025 call for Guest curators, we host 4 Canadian artist curators in a conversation about curating dance.
Curation, a field long associated with the visual arts, is becoming increasingly common in the field of performance and live arts. As Dancemakers continues its mission to incubate dance curators at every step in their career, we offer an opportunity to learn what the practice of curating can offer dance through the eyes of these bright and adventurous curators.
We think this panel would be great for:
Dance artists who are curious about innovating the way dance is presented
Folks interested in showing dance outside of traditional environments
Curious thinkers with a desire to be in residence to explore dance related questions
Choreographers practicing forms that have not been traditionally shown in "black box theatres"
Artists considering applying to the Dancemakers Guest Curator call for the first time!
If you require ASL, CART or other access support, please email artistic@dancemakers.org
Panelist: Nithya Garg
[Image description: Nithya stands smiling at the camera with one hand in her pocket. She wears all black, and her hair hangs over her left shoulder. The background is white with grey delineating panels.]
Nithya Garg is an emerging artist, curator, and producer with over a decade of training in Bharatanatyam, a South Asian classical dance form. Her training was guided by Lata Pada at the Sampradaya Dance Academy and the Sampradaya Dance Creations professional company. Through Sampradaya, she has toured Canada, India, and Indonesia. Nithya was a featured artist in ĀNANDAṀ’s public artwork "Ephemeral Artifacts: Scarborough," which premiered at Nuit Blanche in 2019, and in Padmini Chettur's commissioned work "Chalking." In collaboration with Tanveer Alam, she premiered "In Multiplicity" for the 2022 Nuit Blanche Humber College Galleries. In 2023, they were Guest Curators with Dancemakers, creating a residency initiative called "Engaging in Repertoire." Nithya received the 2020/21 Metcalf Internship to specialize in Curation and Production with ĀNANDAṀ and served as their Curation and Production Director from 2021-2023. She has curated the annual Collective Practice Festival for the past four years, a significant event for South Asian dance and music practitioners in the GTA and Canada, central to her curatorial work.
Panelist Ralph Escamillan
[Image Description: Shades of indigo blue are broken up with thin, fiber like strokes of white. The strokes converge in the centre of the picture to create a silhouette of Ralph kneeling on one knee with his arm bent behind him. ]
Ralph Escamillan is a queer, Canadian-Filipinx performance artist, teacher and community leader based on the unceded territories of the xwməθkwəy̓əm, Skwxwú7mesh, Səl̓ílwətaʔ/Selilwitulh Nations - on so called Vancouver, BC. With his company FakeKnot he creates work that strives to understand the complexities of identity using sound, costume, technology and the body. Also known as ‘Posh’ Gvasalia Basquiat making in the Ballroom scene - he is founder and Artistic/Executive Director of the VanVogueJam, a non-profit sharing Vogue and Ballroom culture through weekly pay-what-you-can classes and Ballroom Functions, acting as a beacon for the from and community in Western Canada. Ralph is a recipient of the Inaugural Miriam Adams Bursary fund at the DCD Hall Of Fame in October 2022 in Toronto, as well as the Inaugural National Arts Centre RBC Emerging Artist Award at the 2023 Governor General Performing Arts Awards in Ottawa.
Panelist Jaleesa Coligny
[Image Description: Jaleesa stands with her hair pulled back in front of a brown wall. She stares calmly forward, with silver septum jewellery. She wears large silver hoop earrings and a black, brown and beige coloured shirt. Her arms are folded, revealing a tattoo on her right wrist.]
Jaleesa “Tealeaf” Coligny has trained diligently in street dance: 15 years in hip hop and 3 years in krump under the mentorship of several pioneers and community leaders in Montréal and New York. Since 2018, she has been a dancer for the Ebnflōh Dance Company, led by Montréal hip hop pioneer Alexandra “Spicey” Landé. She has also performed for several artists, including Victoria Mackenzie (Never Not Moving aka d**gs), director Phillip Boutin (The Rise of the BlingBling – La Genèse), and Dana Gingras (Creation Destruction and Frontera). Jaleesa is devoted to expanding her global understanding of hip hop culture, closely following its rapid evolution. She is invested in her community and in strengthening her ties with its members and leaders through collaborations and teaching. She is also interested in pushing her expertise in dance theatre while ensuring that her street dance values remain an integral part of her artistic development.
Panelist Christina Paquette
[Image Description: Christina wears her hair in a blunt cut that ends at her shoulders, a patterned blouse and has multiple facial piercings. She gazes discerningly at the camera.]
Christina has been charting her place in the streetdance community for the past ten years. She has been involved as a performer, production manager, teacher and project manager. She takes part in several artistic projects while honing her skills as a cultural worker. These projects have taken her across Canada, the United States and Europe. She works as a performer with the Ebnfloh dance company, and has been B-Side's production manager since its inception. She helps organize battles for the new generation of bgirling/bboying with Break the Plateau. A graduate of UQAM's bachelor's program in contemporary dance, she is now a fully-fledged streetdancer. Christina made her debut at 100Lux as a volunteer in 2015. For the past six years, she has worked closely with Axelle Munezero (co-founder of the organization). She has managed the project managers for Les Soirées 100Lux and the 100Lux Festival. Since 2021, Christina has been Co-General and Artistic Director, a role she shares with Axelle Munezero.
Banner Image Description: A gradient purple and green background is foregrounded by a splotchy grey shape. On top of the grey shape are the words “WHY CURATE DANCE” in capital letters. The bottom of the Dancemakers Logo peeks out from the top of the image reading “Centre for Creation” in capital letters as well.