2024 NATIONAL SHOWCASE OF CANADIAN BLACKS IN DANCE
The dance Immersion Showcase Presentation is back!
For the dance Immersion 2024 National Showcase of Canadian Blacks in Dance, we are bringing you the works of artists of different generations from Vancouver, Calgary, Montréal, Ottawa, and Toronto.
The 2024 Showcase highlights the diversity of interdisciplinary African Diasporic expressions from across the country.
Join us for an exciting exploration of dance that spans the breadth of contemporary aerial dance, Krump, African street dances, hip hop/contemporary fusion, tap dance, Afrofusion, and contemporary African.
Choreography by: Corporeal Imago, Marie-Nëika Obas, Vladimir “7Starr” Laurore, Ambrose Tjark, BaKari Lindsay, Esie Mensah, and Lisa La Touche! Master of Ceremonies – Nicole Inica Hamilton.
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 5, 2024 @ 8:00 – 10:00 PM
SUNDAY, OCTOBER 6, 2024 @ 2:00 – 4:00 PM
Both performances include an intermission and a post-show talk-back
TICKETS: $24.99 + taxes and fees
HARBOURFRONT CENTRE THEATRE
231 Queens Quay W, Toronto, ON
Accessible by TTC & Onsite Parking
Access Note: On Saturday, October 5, Harbourfront’s Nuit Blanche programming will significantly increase traffic around the venue. Please allow for extra travel and check-in time. Toronto’s waterfront is a featured area in this year’s Nuit Blanche festival, so there will be a higher-than-normal volume of activity and traffic along Queens Quay West from York Street to Bathurst. The eastbound lane of Queens Quay West between Bathurst Street and Lower Spadina Avenue will be closed for cyclist diversion. We suggest you give yourself ample time to reach our venue and check-in. Nuit Blanche begins at 7:00 PM and will run through to 7:00 AM.
Showcase Programme
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FULL PROGRAMME BOOKLET
1. “THROE” (excerpt) By Corporeal Imago – Vancouver: Aerial/Contemporary Dance
2. “RETRACED” (excerpt) By Vladimir “7Starr” Laurore – Laval: Krump
3. “BEHIND THE SCENES” (extended remount) By Marie-Neïka Obas – Montréal: Hip Hop/Contemporary
4. “SOOT YOURSELF” (premiere) By Ambrose Tjark – Ottawa / International: Contemporary African Street Dances with live music
~15-MINUTE INTERMISSION~
5. “TRINIDAD & TAP DANCE: AS FOLKLORE” (premiere) By Lisa La Touche – Calgary / New York: Tap Dance with live music
6. “MANIFESTATIONS” (remount) By BaKari I. Lindsay – Toronto: African Contemporary
7. “ZAYO: Emergence” (excerpt) By Esie Mensah Creations – Toronto: Afrofusion Dance/Theatre with live music
Choreographer Biographies
Gabrielle Martin & Jeremiah Hughes for Corporeal Imago: Brought together by their shared background in dance and theatre, choreographers Gabrielle Martin and Jeremiah Hughes co-founded Corporeal Imago in 2018. They started collaborating while performing as principal characters with Cirque du Soleil’s TORUK – The First Flight. For two artists used to performing circus as entertainment, CI has become a carte blanche to explore the shadow side of our human experience. CI’s work has been presented at Montréal Complètement Cirque and La Chapelle Scènes Contemporaines (2019), Assembly Festival, Edinburgh Festival Fringe (UK, 2019), Dancing on the Edge Festival (Vancouver, 2021), Toronto International Dance Festival (2021), The Dance Centre’s Global Dance Connections (Vancouver, 2022) and Shadbolt Centre for the Arts (Burnaby, 2023). CI was nominated for a TOTAL THEATRE AWARD in Physical and Visual Theatre (UK, 2019), and won The Dance Centre’s Isadora Award for excellence in choreography (2022). The company was also a 2021-22 Artist in Residence of The Dance Centre, and will be returning as Artist in Residence in 2024-25.
Marie-Neïka Obas is from Haïti and was born and raised in Montreal. She is a versatile artist. Her journey as a performer, choreographer, and dance teacher showcases her dedication and passion for the performing arts. Her experience in various dance styles has certainly allowed her to develop a diverse array of skills and artistic perspectives. She has had the opportunity to dance alongside local and international artists. Furthermore, her experiences of traveling abroad and making appearances on local TV programs have contributed to enhancing her visibility and expanding her audience. She is an ambitious artist, eager to share her passion with others. Her determination to share her art suggests that she has a positive impact on the artistic scene and inspires those around her.
“7Starr” Laurore is a multidisciplinary artist born in Montreal, Quebec. He is recognized as one of the first Canadian krump artists and an ambassador. Since 2005, he has taught, lectured, choreographed, and mentored at over 200 schools, community centers, and events in Canada. He is the founder and president of the Montreal Krump Alliance and has been a competitor, judge, and guest instructor at some of the most prestigious krump events in the world. In 2017, he received the Victor Martyn Lynch Staunton Award given by the Canada Council for the arts. In 2018, the Black Theatre Workshop awarded him the Gloria Mitchell-Aleong Award. His one-hour solo performance, Anima/Darkroom, which he co-choreographed alongside dancer/choreographer Lucy M. May, opened the door for him to perform at Théâtre LaChapelle in Montreal, and to be on the program for the prestigious Festival TransAmérique. He also received the Prix découverte awarded by Les prix de la danse de Montréal for his work on this groundbreaking project. 2020 was also the year in which 7Starr decided to reinvent himself as a krump music artist by going back to his initial love of rapping. Collaborating with several krump producers from all around the world and Montreal’s own Shash’U, he released his first solo krump album, titled Diff Diff.
Ambrose Tjark is a Nigerian born dance performer, choreographer, and multi-faceted artist currently residing in Ontario, Canada. Founding member of Westsyde Lifestyle, a major propagator of the afro-urban culture in Lagos, Nigeria. Known for his vigorous yet sublime movement that originates from the Nigerian (Naija) street dance styles called “Konto” and “Shaku”, fused with afro-diasporic dance influences such as Hip-hop and Afro-Caribbean. Through his endeavors, he traditionally shares his knowledge and vision of Naija street dance styles. Ambrose’s afro-fusion style is a free movement, lyrically expressive, contemporary with afro-oriented representation, and unorthodox sound representation. As a dance performer and choreographer, Ambrose has been fortunate to work with many popular music artists such as SKEPTA, MAJOR LAZER, and WIZKID over the years. He was featured in the critically acclaimed production, Re:incarnation – produced by Qudus Onikeku (QDance Company – a contemporary dance company in Nigeria), which toured worldwide from 2020 to 2021. As a multi-faceted artist, he also functions as a curator, co-organizer, content creator, and educator for major international afro dance festivals such as GREC festival 2020, OYOFE Festival 2022 and 2023 (Spain), and AFRO BOOM 2023 (Russia). Ambrose is now a renowned afro dance artist and educator worldwide. He’s been fortunate to share his passion and stories to many dance artists across the globe, and currently on a world tour with Oulouy’s “Afrikan Party”’ produced by Africa Moment based in Barcelona, Spain as a performer and stylist.
Lisa La Touche: As a proud Canadian and New Yorker, Lisa’s credits are world renowned. She was an original cast member in Broadway’s Shuffle Along, choreographed by Savion Glover and Directed by George C. Wolfe, where she received both the Fred Astaire Award and the Actor’s Equity Award for Outstanding Broadway Chorus. She is also currently a multiple Dora Award nominee for her performance, choreography and co-direction (alongside Travis Knights) of the Tap Dance Legacy Concert with dance Immersion and Canadian Stage. She is the founder of production company Tap Phonics, and currently an artist in residence at the Louis Armstrong House as well as with the Apollo Education program in Harlem. She teaches at PACE University and Marymount Manhattan College and curates her own programing as well as travels internationally teaching those who want to learn the fundamentals of Tap Dance in connection to Cultural History. Lisa recently premiered her film TRAX encompassing important American and Canadian Black history through Tap Dance. Her proudest achievement is being a mom.
BaKari Ifasegun Lindsay was born in Trinidad, West Indies, has refined his diverse talents for over 32 years. As a dancer, choreographer, singer, musician, costume designer, and researcher, he has trained at the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre and The School of Toronto Dance Theatre. He holds a Craftsman Diploma in Style and Design, a Master’s in Dance Ethnology, and a Bachelor’s in Education from York University, Canada. His master’s thesis developed “A-Feeree – The Physical Language,” an innovative method for Africanist movement aesthetics and the choreographic foundation of BaKari‘s creations and Afeeree Project. BaKari co-founded COBA Collective of Black Artists and has performed with the Danny Grossman Dance Company, Jubilation Dance Co, and Artcho Danse Repertoire. He was an original cast member of Disney’s The Lion King and was nominated for a Dora Mavor Moore Award for his solo in “Ancestral Calling.” His choreographic works include pieces for Les Enfants Dance Company, Entre Deux, The National Dance Company of Trinidad and Tobago, and COBA. He has choreographed dance films such as “Rites,” “Ase,” and “Orisha Suite,” and directed D’bi Young Anitafrika in “Esu Crossing the Middle Passage,” which won a Dora Mavor Moore Award. BaKari has taught at Metropolitan University, York University, Humber College, Lester B. Pearson School for the Performing Arts, and various dance schools and community groups. Currently, he is a vice-principal with the Toronto District School Board, advocating for equity and arts education. His artistic vision seeks to harmonize contemporary artistic practice with traditional cultural values, creating a legacy that bridges past and future.
Esie Mensah is an award winning choreographer, director, dancer, movement director, educator, and TEDx speaker. A member of the Canadian Guild of Stage Directors and Choreographers, was the choreographer of Canada’s Got Talent Million Dollar Finale as well as a four-time Dora nominated artist. She has worked with megastars like Rihanna, Howie Mandell, Kenny Ortega, Janelle Monae, Nelly Furtado, Arcade Fire to historic brands like Holt Renfrew, Coca-Cola, TIFF, Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto Raptors, and more. In theatre Mensah has worked as a choreographer/movement director on the Dora award winner production Three Sisters (Soulpepper/Obsidian), Ransacking Troy (Stratford Festival), Russian Play, Victory, Farmers’ Revolt (Shaw Festival) and directed Serving Elizabeth (Theatre Aquarius). Original creations include ZAYO, The Audition, (INNER) Beings, as well as Dora-nominated production Shades and films A Revolution of Love and TESSEL. Last year, Robert Binet (Ballet) and Mensah (Afrofusion) were commissioned by Canada’s National Ballet School, to co-choreograph “The Call” for Assemblée Internationale. Lastly, she was the choreographer for Scott Joplin’s Treemonisha: A Musical Reimagining that was named top 10 in the New York Times Best Classical Production of 2023 and recently received 6 Dora nominations.
