Shannon Litzenberger

CONCEPT, CHOREOGRAPHY AND DIRECTION

A choreographer, dancer, producer, director and embodiment facilitator, Shannon Litzenberger is known for creating live performance experiences at the intersection of forms. Rooted in dance, Litzenberger’s innovative collaborations come to life in conversation with theatre, literary and visual arts. Her perspective is decidedly feminist, philosophical and socially conscious. Her roots in Canada’s rural prairies inspire recurring themes of connection to land, environment, belonging, identity and place. Her work has been presented across Canada and the US, in collaboration with some of Canada’s leading artists including Marie-Josée Chartier, Lorna Crozier, Christopher Dewdney, Renelta Arluk, David Earle, Ravi Jain, Don McKay, charles c. smith and Michael Greyeyes, among others. She has been an invited resident artist at Soulpepper Theatre, Toronto Dance Theatre, Harbourfront Centre, Atlantic Ballet Theatre, Banff Centre, and Saskatoon’s Remai Modern and Memorial University. She is a frequent collaborator with the wind in the leaves collective, the co-founder of the interdisciplinary Looking Glass Ensemble, and a member of the Wild Soma embodied research collective. Her recent work has been supported by the CreativAction program at the National Ballet of Canada, and by Peggy Baker Dance Projects' space grant program at Canada’s National Ballet School. She was the first ever Arts Innovation Fellow at the Metcalf Foundation. She is the recipient of the Jack McAllister award for accomplishment in dance, the recipient of a 2019 Chalmers Arts Fellowship, a 2021 Arne Bengt Johansson Fellow, a 2023 Johanna Metcalf Prize nominee, and a twice-shortlisted finalist for the prestigious KM Hunter award.

www.shannonlitzenberger.com 

Arun Srinivasan

ASSOCIATE LIGHTING DESIGN

Arun Srinivasan has worked extensively in the performing arts. Dance collaborators include Robert Desrosiers, Peter Chin, Danny Grossman, Kaha:wi Dance Theatre, Tiger Princess Dance Projects & ProArteDanza.  Theatre credits include Soulpepper, Tarragon, Pleaides, Crow’s, The Stratford Festival, Factory, The Canadian Stage Co., The Globe Theatre, Cahoots Theatre Projects, Musical Stage Co., Luminato & Buddies In Bad Times Theatre.  His career has garnered him 9 Dora Mavor Moore Award nominations for Outstanding Lighting Design in both the theatre and dance categories. Arun has had the privilege of teaching lighting design at York University, Ryerson University, the University of Waterloo and mentorship at The National Theatre School.  Productions have taken him to Ukraine, Malaysia, Singapore, India and China.  Arun will be designing 3 premiers for ProArteDanza this fall and returning to Stratford for Much Ado About Nothing.

Guillermo Verdecchia

WRITER / DRAMATURG

Born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, and educated in Ontario. RESIDENT ARTIST, SOULPEPPER 2017: Animal Farm; Of Human Bondage (Toronto, New York). FOR SOULPEPPER: Blood Wedding (translator, 2016); Fronteras Americanas (2011); The Barber of Seville (dramaturge, 2013); Of Human Bondage (dramaturge, 2014). OTHER THEATRE: Line in the Sand (Factory Theatre); The Art of Building a Bunker (Revolver Fest, Vancouver). OTHER: Soulpepper Academy Head of Playwriting; Curator for Summerworks Festival 2016.

Alexandra Lord

COSTUME DESIGN

Alexandra Lord trained in the bilingual set and costume design program at The National Theatre School of Canada and was mentored by designer Lorenzo Savoini in the Soulpepper Theatre Company Academy.  She most recently designed costumes for the new musical Rose at Soulpepper, music and book by Mike Ross, book by Sarah Wilson and directed by Gregory Prest. Check out other past projects at www.alexandralord.com.  Alexandra strives to create from a place that takes into consideration human relationships with ourselves and others within diverse environments. She is particularly drawn to collaborative projects that demand a discourse that transcends difference, engaging in the liminal space of gender, race, and socio-economic definitions.  Alexandra is establishing Triga Creative with Shannon Lea Doyle and Michelle Tracey and working collectively to innovate sustainable approaches to design.  She has most recently worked with Triga to design costumes for Paradigm Productions’ The Philosopher’s Wife, written by Susanna Fournier and directed by Leora Morris. 

Follow along @trigacreative.

Marie-Josée Chartier

CREATIVE CONTRIBUTOR

A multi-faceted artist, Marie-Josée Chartier moves easily between the worlds of dance, music, opera, and multi-media in her roles as choreographer, performer, director, vocalist, or teacher. Her choreographic works have been presented in festivals in Canada, Europe, and Latin America and have been featured on documentary films and national television. She is the recipient of the 2015 Jacqueline Lemieux Prize and the 2001 K.M. Hunter Artist Award. She has been nominated nine times for Dora Mavor Moore Awards, having won twice, for fifty-one pieces of silver and with the Collective Urge for And By the Way, Miss. Marie-Josée has choreographed and/or directed productions with Queen of Puddings Music Theatre, The Gryphon Trio, Toca Loca, Tapestry Opera, l’Ensemble Contemporain de Montréal, le Théâtre français de Toronto, and others. She is a frequent guest teacher in modern dance, movement for singers, voice exploration and improvisation in Canada and abroad. Through her company Chartier Danse, acclaimed productions include petites danses, Stria, Red Brick celebrating composer Michael J. Baker with Arraymusic, Contes pour enfants pas sages with PPS Danse, Screaming Popes with fabrik Potsdam, and Bas-Reliefs with Danse-Cité. www.mariejoseechartier.com www.chartierdanse.com

Louis Laberge-Coté

PERFORMER and CREATIVE COLLABORATOR

Louis Laberge-Côté is an Assistant Professor at Toronto Metropolitan University, School of Performance since July 2018 and is an active Toronto-based dancer, choreographer, teacher, and rehearsal director. An acclaimed performer, he has danced nationally and internationally with over thirty companies and has been a full-time member of Toronto Dance Theatre (1999-2007) and the Kevin O’Day Ballett Nationaltheater Mannheim (2009-2011). He has created over eighty choreographic works, which have been presented and commissioned in Canada and abroad. His work has garnered him a Dora Mavor Moore Award for Outstanding Choreography and ten other individual and ensemble nominations for Performance or Choreography. He is a triple KM Hunter Award nominee and has received several grants from all three levels of government, the Chalmers Foundation, the Metcalf Foundation, the Laidlaw Foundation, and the Dancer Transition Resource Centre. He holds an MFA in Creative Practice from the University of Plymouth (UK) and the Transart Institute (USA). His research is centred on contemporary dance and somatic training. He continues to be a sought-after interpreter and investigator of new dance creations.

Kathia Wittenborn

PERFORMER

Originally from Montreal, Kathia Wittenborn is a Toronto based dance artist and certified Barre, Pilates and Yoga movement teacher. She is a graduate from Ballet Divertimento and The School of Toronto Dance Theatre where she was the recipient of the Kathryn Ash Scholarship Award. Kathia has trained, created and performed throughout North American and Europe; collaborating with many critically acclaimed artists and companies including Amanda Acorn, Sylvain Émard, Aria Evans, Marie Lambin Gagnon, Jane Alison Mckinney, Sharon B. Moore, Yvonne Ng, Sashar Zariff Dance Theatre, JD Dance and Tribal Crackling Wind (Peter Chin). Her work in Chin’s Woven received a Dora Mavor Moore Award for Outstanding Performance (ensemble). 

Lindsay Harpham

PERFORMER

Lindsay Harpham is a Toronto-based dancer, dance educator, choreographer, and adjudicator. Following post-secondary education, she has had the pleasure of working with companies such as Red Sky Performance, Larchaud Dance Project, Gadfly, ACE Dance Theatre, Nimii Project, Hit and Run Productions, Remai Modern, and RSD performance. Grateful to have experienced professional dance tours throughout Canada, the United States, Europe, and Australia, she searches for opportunities that feel comparably inspiring. Amongst her most notable performance moments, Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival, Australia Joint Dance Congress, performances with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, and CINARS opening, have expanded her perception of what is possible as an artist. As a creator, Lindsay has choreographed and directed dance films entitled Synonymous Red, Bones, SHH, and most recently Behind Us which was screened at Remai Modern’s LUGO. Using her Bachelor in Kinesiology, personal training certification, and professional dance experience, she aims to integrate her knowledge of human kinetics into the art she creates and participates in.

Nikolaos Markakis

PERFORMER (PREMIERE) | REHEARSAL DIRECTOR (REMOUNT)

Nikolaos Markakis was first introduced to dance at the Cretan Association of Toronto, where he studied Cretan Folkloric dance. He followed his passion of movement to York University where he completed his BFA in 2013. Post his undergraduate degree, he has performed and choreographed with Half Second Echo and performed for; Susie Burpee, Valerie Calam, Marie-Josee Chartier, Alison Daley, David Earl, Hanna Keil, Shannon Litzenberger, Tracey Norman and Peter Randazzo. Recently Nikolaos completed his MFA at York University where he researched the possibility of hybrid choreography between Cretan Folkloric and Contemporary dance practices. His main objective is to use his two embodied dance recourses in his creative practice to allow an organic approach, and a cultivating environment for his two worlds of dance to live in his choreography. Currently he is the Co-President of CADA-East, contract faculty at York University and Dance Director of the Cretans’ Association of Toronto.

Dan Wild

CREATIVE CONTRIBUTOR and NARRATOR

Dan Wild (1965-2020) worked professionally for the stage for over 25 years. His company credits include his 23-year history with the Caravan Stage Company, nine seasons with Winnipeg’s Contemporary Dancers under the artistic direction of Tom Stroud, and eight seasons with Dancemakers under the artistic direction of Serge Bennathan. As a freelance dance artist, he worked with some of Canada’s finest creators and performers including Susie Burpee, Marie Josée Chartier, Fides Krucker, Tedd Robinson, Ginette Laurin, Guillaume Bernardi. Claudia Moore, James Kudelka and Susanna Hood. He was nominated for a Dora award for outstanding performance. His most recent choreographic credits include A SIMPLE STATEMENT FOR THIS MOSAIC, a solo for Marie Josée Chartier, TABLE and SKY two works created for 2013 Nuit Blanche EVERYDAY MARVELS with dance artist Shannon Litzenberger. Dan was also a teacher of contemporary dance and facilitated classes and workshops in Movement Expression and Presence in Performance for artists of all disciplines. Das also worked in the roles of Artistic Facilitation, Rehearsal Direction and Performance Coaching for Dance Artists. Dan passed away in March 2020. He is dearly missed.

Laura Cournoyea

STAGE MANAGER

Laura Cournoyea is a Toronto-based arts manager and administrator. Some credits include: tiger princess dance projects & dance:made in canada, adelheid, Michael Caldwell, Tribal Crackling Wind, Fujiwara Dance Inventions, Dreamwalker Dance Company, Toronto Dance Theatre, Dusk Dances, Ontario Dances, Lucy Rupert, and CanAsian. Laura is currently back at school, working toward a degree in Social Work. 

Elysha Poirier

VIDEO DESIGN

Elysha Poirier is a multidisciplinary artist working with animation, film and video. Combining digital and analog techniques she creates intrinsic worlds that dabble between 2D animation, mixed media and 3D environments. Based in Tiohtiá:ke/Montréal, Elysha is currently experimenting with generative platforms for virtual and mixed reality, including experimental web design. Elysha's realized a wide range of installations and engaged in live performances for dance, experimental music, film, theatre and web.

www.elyshapoirier.com

Ken Mackenzie

LIGHTING AND SET DESIGN

Ken’s most recent design credits include the set and costumes for The Royale (dir. Guillermo Verdecchia) and set and lighting design for Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom (dir. Mumbi Tindyebwa) at Soulpepper, set design for Once (dir. Andrew Shaver) at The Segal Centre, the set and lighting design for Phantom of the Opera (dir. Corey Agnew) at Sheridan and The set designer for Angels in America (dir. Kim Collier) at the Arts Club in Vancouver. Ken was also the set and lighting designer for Spoon River as well as Kim’s Convenience and is one of the creators and original performers of Alligator Pie at Soulpepper. Ken is a resident Artist at Soulpepper Theatre Company and is the Board President of the Associated Designer of Canada. Ken Holds an MFA from California Institute for the Arts.

John Gzowski

SOUND DESIGN

Composer, sound designer, musician and instrument maker John Gzowski worked on over 200 theatre, dance and film productions for which he has done composition, sound design, live foley, live music and as musical director. He has played banjo for opera in Banff, studied Carnatic classical music in India and played oud and guitar in jazz and folk festivals across Canada and Europe. His theatre work has won him 6 Dora’s, from 18 nominations for companies like Stratford, Shaw Festival, Luminato, National Arts Centre, the Mirvishes, MTC, the Arts Club, Canstage, Soulpepper, Dancemakers, Red Sky, Tarragon, Factory Theatre and YPT. Gzowski has played on numerous CD’s, with recent releases with Patricia O'Callghan, Tasa, and Autorickshaw as well as a Juno nomination with Maza Meze. He has run Canada’s first microtonal group, touring Canada playing the works of Harry Partch, composed and performed with several new music groups and worked as co-artistic director of the Music Gallery.

Gerald Trentham

OUTSIDE EYE / CREATIVE ADVISOR

Gerry Trentham, is Artistic Director of lbs/sq" performance now in its 27th year. He has written, choreographed and directed over 40 works for the stage including the Dora nominated Four Mad Humours (2011) with live feed performances between Chicago, Buffalo, Toronto and Montreal, the game changing CAN/US bi-national co-creation installations Art of Peace: Invitation & Arrival (2016/2021) and The Apology Project (2017) and Trees (2018). Recent film awards included international acclaim for his work Monument (2021).  Over three decades he has been internationally acclaimed with rave reviews from NYC to Berlin, L.A., Cannes, Linz and in Toronto has received eight Dora Mavor Moore nominations or awards most recently as a cast and voice director of Denise Fujiwara's hit EUNOIA.  With an M.F.A. in Theatre and a Graduate Voice Teaching Diploma from York University, he has taught, choreographed, dialect/ speech coached, directed internationally and mentored/coached many dance and theatre professionals in the creation of new works.  He has, over the past 25 years researched performance as core faculty at Canada’s National Voice Intensive now the Moving Voice Institute.

Linnea Swan

PERFORMER and CREATIVE COLLABORATOR

Linnea Swan is a multidisciplinary artist whose work lives at the intersection of dance, theatre and film. As a performer and creator, she has been an active contributor to the Canadian arts ecology for over 25 years, living and working in Vancouver, Winnipeg, Toronto and now Calgary. A former company member of Ruth Cansfield Dance, TRIP dance company and Dancemakers, she has worked with many esteemed creators including Serge Bennethan, Rachel Browne, Susie Burpee, David Danzon, DA Hoskins, Tedd Robinson, and Jordan Tannahill among others. Her extensive body of work has been acknowledged with the Dora Award for Outstanding Performance in Dance, as well as the K.M. Hunter Artist Award in Dance. Linnea is Co-director of ReLoCate, and was Associate Artist with Dancers’ Studio West (2018-2021). www.vimeo.com/linneaswan

Yui Ugai

PERFORMER

Yui Ugai was born in Hiroshima, Japan. She majored in drama at high school and studied dance and music at Kobe Collage. During her study, she performed in internationally well-known choreograph- er, Toru Shimazaki’s contemporary dance works. Yui obtained professional ballet training at the Roy- al Academy of Dance (RAD) and she was awarded a prize for excellence in dance by the magazine, Dance Dance Dance in 2008. Yui holds a BFA in honours and an MFA in Dance from York Universi- ty in Toronto. She has danced and toured with York Dance Ensemble, Limitless Productions, Parahumans, The Little Pear Garden Dance Company, Ballet Creole, Kashe Dance Company, Anima Inc. (Mexico/Peru) in Japan, Taiwan, Jamaica, The United States and England. Yui worked for The Toronto Blue Jays in the In-Game Promotion as a JForce for three seasons. Yui also focuses on the community engagement through dancing. She has performed Arts in the Parks with Ballet Creole and Porch View Dances with Kaeja d’Dance. Yui also has her career as an actress began with the film “Summer Days,” directed by Nobuhiko Obayashi, and she worked with the Hollywood casting direc- tor Yoko Narahashi. Yui was a heroine for the short film “Raptura” premiered in imagineNATIVE Film+Media Arts Festival at TIFF and ReelWorld Film Festival. In Japan, she produced the annual dance festival, "Dance Kotoen" sponsored by Nishinomiya City in order to support youth dance artists and community since 2011.

Michael Mortley

PERFORMER

Michael Mortley graduated from the university of Trinidad and Tobago in 2015. He Attended Beijing Dance Academy from 2015 to 2016. When he first arrived in Canada, he worked with KasheDance and performed in Re: Imagining TPM in April 2018. He also worked with Cultural Pluralism in the Arts Movement Ontario (CPAMO) at The Gathering in 2018, 2019 and 2020.

Michael has also had the pleasure of working for Wind in the leaves Collective on the Searching for Eastman project as a dancer and collaborator in the creation of that full length work. He has also work with Ronald Taylor Dance on a project entitled Psychosis in June 2019 and then again in October 2019 for Rendezvous with Madness festival as a dancer and costume designer. Michael has also travelled to Winnipeg and New Brunswick respectively to perform in NAFRO Dance Presents: Moving Inspirations Dance Festival with KasheDance and Impact Festival by Atlantic Ballet with Wind in the leaves collective.

Michael is also a photographer for Ronald Taylor Dance as well as other noted dance companies. He also does social media and administrative work as well.

Aryana Malekzadeh

PERFORMER

Aryana Malekzadeh is a Toronto based dancer, teacher, choreographer and performing artist. She trained at The School of Toronto Dance Theatre, where she graduated with both attendance and academic awards. In addition to her training at the school, she is also a recent graduate of York University’s Dance BFA program, where she was awarded numerous scholarships for her excellent work ethic. Aryana has worked with many renowned choreographers such as David Norsworthy, Peggy Baker, Roberto Campanella, Syreeta Hector, and Christopher House. Throughout her career, Aryana has been performing professionally in works such as Emily Cheung’s, “Spectrum of Connection” at Dance Ontario DanceWeekend, Charles Moulton’s, “72- Person Ball Passing” at the Fall For Dance North festival, and looks forward to performing Shannon Litzenberger’s remount of “World After Dark” at Nuit Blanche!

Syreeta Hector

PERFORMER (PREMIERE)

Syreeta Hector began her career with Toronto Dance Theatre (TDT), and is currently an independent dancer and choreographer. She is proud to be a graduate of The National Ballet School’s Teacher Training Program, and recently achieved her Master of Arts in Dance Studies from York University. As a creator, Syreeta most recently choreographed a musical film series that won the Best Ensemble Award at the Toronto Web Series Festival. Besides being a dancer, she is committed to sharing her dance expertise as an adjunct faculty member at York University.

Emily Law

PERFORMER (PREMIERE)

Emily Law is a contemporary dancer, street dancer, and choreographer. She graduated from The School of Toronto Dance Theatre and The Etobicoke School of the Arts. She has trained and competed in house dancing and waacking. Emily is a founding member of Mix Mix Dance Collective, the Toronto house dance crew Warehouse Jacks and Parks N’ Wreck. Emily has had the pleasure of working with companies and artists such as: Kaha:wi Dance Theatre, The Dietrich Group, The Chimera Project and Alias Dance Project. Her choreographic work has been showcased on companies and in festivals such as: Toronto Dance Theatre, The Next Stage Theatre Festival, Toronto Fringe Festival, CanAsian Dance Festival, The Reel Asian Film Festival, Guelph Dance & Fall For Dance North. She has been nominated for two Dora Mavor Moore awards, a Gemini, & the 2017 Premier’s award. Also, she recently represented Canada in the hip hip category at Jeux de la Francophone with Mix Mix Dance Collective in Abidjan.

Shannon Farrell

ASSOCIATE STAGE MANAGER

Shannon Farrell is a free-lance Stage Manager/Playwright and Co- Artistic Director of Start The Riot Theatre. After finishing York University’s Playwriting program, Shannon focused on Stage Management. Some of her credits as a Stage Manager include Brain Storm (Lucid Ludic Productions), hang (Obsidian Theatre), Top Girls (Alumnae Theatre), Nocturnal Space (Emily Rapley), (In)dispensable (Madison Burgess) and Clinic (A Collective of 7), Belle Darling: Klondike Queen (Alumnae Theatre), and Tales of a Cocktail (House of Van Hunt). Her playwriting credits include North Of Orion and Silence Sil Vous Plais. Outside of theatre, Shannon is a co-writer on a podcast series, Howl. They also write poetry and short stories focused in horror and science fiction.