MAINSTAGE PERFORMANCE PROGRAM
2024 MAINSTAGE PERFORMANCE PROGRAM
FEATURED DANCE PIECES
"Sticky Business” by Movement Market Collective
Choreographer: Camille Spencer
Dancers: Jessica Irwin, Charlotte Tessier, Marie Boddington
Music: Ground Hog by Butch Baldassari and David Schnaufer, Plink Plank Plunk! by Leonard Slatkin and BBC Concert Orchestra, Celebrations for a Grey Day by Mimi and Richard Farina
"This year, I wanted to create a little magic and embrace the summer feeling. My summer is not filled with beaches and relaxing, it is about taking care of my animals, and garden, and working to have substance for the rest of the year. Behind everything we do on the farm are the BEES. They are my workmates and companions as we strive to help and maintain my small ecosystem at home. Tend to the bees, and next time one decides to visit you, take care, or call a hard working beekeeper!“
"TASKED” by KYDE (Kingston Youth Dance Ensemble)
Choreographer: Sasha Jimenez French
Dancers: Winnie Seaby, Sekai Chikodzi, Pippa Seaby, and Rowen Edwards.
Music: HALO, Written and performed by Martin O’Donnell and Michael Salvatori.
"TASKED explores a multiplayer objective accomplished through the application of game design elements and game principles. Created for 4-8 dancers, TASKED is performed by a varying number of dancers exploring conflict, competition and cooperation."
"SOUS TENUS” by Adèle Ross and Joshua Yates
Choreographers: Adèle Ross and Joshua Yates
Dancers: Adèle Ross and Joshua Yates
Music: Howl’s Moving Castle by Harpsona, Mama Coca by Jay Haze
"SOUS TENUS revolves around themes of companionship and mutual support. Within the movement, the dancers explore this partnership from a caring tender point of view, as if they were sharing a coffee, and from a physically explosive perspective, as if they were sharing madness. Through this approach, the choreographers aim to detach from the idea that a male and female presenting duo are romantically attached. By letting the limelight shine on this undeniable bond filled with camaraderie and fire, we hope that the audience leaves lit up by a renewed desire to care for those around them."
K-POP Mash-up by Casually Cool Collective
Dancers: Amy Xiao, Jade Wei, Renee Kim, and Sarah Yong
Music and choreographers: Supernova by Aespa; Thunderous by StrayKids; Midas Touch by Kiss of Life; Wannabe by ITZY; Bubble by STAYC
"Casually Cool at Queen’s is a student-run hip-hop, K-POP and choreography dance club. Overall, we want to foster an inclusive environment for dancers of all levels joining our club with different self-directed goals. We provide dance classes, fun events such as random play dance, and socials, including entry-level and advanced dancers. For today, our Team Cool members, who performed at different events at Queen's, will be performing various K-pop songs. Please enjoy and join us this upcoming year!"
“A Critique of Infinity” by Re Parsons and Emerging Dancers
Choreographer: Re Parsons (2024 Emerging Choreographer of the Ground UP Dance Festival)
Dancers: Rowen Edwards, Alexandra McChesney, Reese Heisterkamp, Elissa Morgan Davis-Burns
Music: Consumed by Plastikman, The Sound of Myself by Disasterpeace, and Song on the Beach by Arcade Fire and Owen Pallett
"A love letter for degrowth - a collective project: chew over thorny questions, re-correct the starting point, rapidly find and give support, re-imagine who we are. Slow down and feel, not just upwards, but in all directions."
“Adaptations II” by Shanique Peart and Shenel Williams
Choreographers: Shanique Peart and Shenel Williams
Dancers: Shanique Peart and Shenel Williams
Music: Mkhuluwa by The Soil, Be Ok by Samoht, American Requiem by Beyonce
" ‘Adaptations’ is a personal piece that explores navigating the artist space as a BIPOC individual.
What started out as a piece that portrayed dance artist Shenel Williams’s time in the York University Dance Program has shifted and transformed into an expression of the whirlwind of emotions that comes with navigating the artist's space as a BIPOC individual. Through each of the performance's sections, we hope to bring the audience through phases of complacency, inauthenticity, joy, suppression, defeat and triumph. What begins as an individual journey quickly becomes a story about a shared experience, and presses into the importance of finding one's tribe."
Community Flash Mob by Zahra Badua
Choreographer: Zahra Badua
Dancers: Reese Felix, Myola and Jayda Paulter, Mary Farrar, Annette Wong, Marie-Christine Bourdon, Jen Gregory, Ann Decker, Jessica Irwin, Charlotte Tessier, Lauren Runions.
Music: Little Explosions by Suzy Manohar
As this years community engagement project, movers ages 9-99 were offered the opportunity to participate in an original flash mob choreographed by Zahra Badua (Toronto). Before taking to the streets for performances in Kingston's downtown core, as well as the main stage festival event July 10th-13th 2024, the group participated in two Zoom rehearsals and three in-person rehearsals.
FEATURED ARTISTS
Zahra Badua
Zahra Harriet Badua is a product of her culture. Everything she does is a testament to her love for dance, education, her culture and its rich history. Born in Tobruk, Libya to Ghanaian parents, Zahra’s passion for dance started at a very young age as a means to dive deeper in understanding of her West African heritage. She wears many hats; dance educator, movement coach, choreographer and dance administrator to name a few. Her dance training is rooted in various West African and Caribbean dance forms and has performed, taught and choreographed for various dance companies, schools and events within the Greater Toronto Area, Kingston Ontario, Montreal, Winnipeg and Memphis Tennessee.
Zahra is the founder of an educational and performance based company called ZahraMoves. The education aspect focuses on providing the historical and cultural context, the complexities, richness and the beauty of African diasporic dances. The performance component of the brand produces a collection of video projects and curated showcases to provide opportunities for emerging artists of color.
Zahra also works as a movement coach for adults with different developmental abilities and children living with autism. In her dance administration work she is the Engagement and Administrative Coordinator for dance Immersion, which is a black-led non-profit organization that promotes, produces and supports Black dances and dancers from the African Diaspora.
Shanique Peart
Shanique Peart is a Kingston based multi-disciplinary artist with a passion for creation, dance and photography. Shanique began her dance journey as a self-trained dancer exploring movement through Hip-hop and freestyle dance. Over the years she has had the opportunity to train in a variety of settings that has allowed her to develop her skills in multiple dance styles. Including Hip-Hop, Dancehall, Afro fusion, Modern and Urban Contemporary. This diverse background has influenced her journey as an multi-disciplinary artist. Not only exploring and creating through movement but intertwining dance and performance through film and photography. Outside of dance and photography, Shanique is moving into more creation-based and collaboration projects. Both in and outside of Kingston, ON. As well as the theatre, education and administrative space within the dance and arts community.
Shenel Williams
Born and raised in Toronto, Ontario, Shenel Williams is a professional Dancer, Choreographer, and Teacher. She began exploring movement at the age of 6. Growing up, Shenel self-trained in Hip-Hop, Dancehall and various other styles. In her early years of dance, she was introduced to and versed in traditional African dances, Ndombolo and Kpanlogo. In high school, she was involved in Downsview Secondary School’s Arts Advantage Program in dance, music, and drama. There, she dabbled into multiple dance styles under the direction of various artists such as Jaz “Fairy J” Simone, Brandon “Bizzy” Owusu, and many more. She became co-captain of the Downsview Dance Company in her senior year, performing at events such as tdsbCREATES, Walk with Excellence, and JustBGraphic. Through JustBGraphic, Shenel was featured in the Unplugged Festival: Middle School Tour with artists Mike Black and Danny Fernandes. Shenel graduated from York University’s Dance Program in 2022 with a Bachelor of Fine Arts. Shenel is currently pursuing her Master’s of Education with a focus on inequitable hiring practices and policies in post-secondary dance. Shenel is an active choreographer and performer in the Toronto dance scene. Most recently, Shenel performed with international Afrobeats Artist Asake on his Canadian tour dates at the Scotiabank Arena and Rogers Place. Shenel currently trains with “Integrated Entity,” a professional collective, as an industry crew member. Aside from training, Shenel is a Dance Teacher at Woodbridge School of Dance, teaching Hip-Hop classes at the Junior, Intermediate, and Advanced levels. In her free time, Shenel continues to use her voice to initiate change in the dance community and beyond.
Re Parsons
Re Parsons (they/them) is a queer dancer, visual artist, teacher, and scholar with a background in contemporary dance, literary theory, and dance pedagogy. Born and raised in the Rocky Mountains, Re's journey led them to attain a dual BA in English and Dance from the University of Calgary and are currently pursuing their Masters in Cultural Studies at Queen's University. Their artistic practice draws heavily on phenomenology and embodies research-creation through a decolonial lens. Although constantly shifting, Re's most current research endeavors involve their passion for teaching and explore how facets of radical pedagogy can transform not only the dance realm but also infuse its revolutionary spirit into other artistic and cultural spheres.
Adèle Ross
Adèle Ross is a Montreal-based dance and visual artist who, through Hip-Hop, developed a passion that led her to choose the professional path. She furthered her training at Ballet Divertimento before attending The School of Toronto Dance Theatre where she graduated from in 2021. There, she developed an intense interest for partner work, floor work as well as imagination within movement. As a performer, Adèle has had the chance to work with many choreographers such as Victor Quijada (Rubberband Dance Group), Jessica Joy Muszynski, Pulga Muchochoma, and Yvonne Ng which has led her to perform on stages in across Canada and internationally. Her choreographic work has been presented by the Festival de Danse Contemporaine de Sherbrooke and POP Montreal. Furthermore, as the co-founder of the collective Horizons she has been able to create and perform work for the 19th and 20th edition of the Festival Quartiers Danses. Adèle has been spreading her joy of dance through teaching since 2018. The possibility of inspiring confidence, ease, pleasure, and discovery to her students moves her to continue in this path.
Joshua Yates
Joshua Yates is a contemporary and urban dancer, choreographer, and teacher. London born but raised in Germany, Joshua started training in Ballet from a young age and proceeded to training in urban and later contemporary dance. In 2020, they graduated from London Contemporary Dance School with a BA (Hons) in Contemporary Dance. Since training, Joshua has worked with Julian Nichols’ Bodies in Action Dance, performed for, and collaborated with Paddington Arts, and taught in different dance schools and colleges such as Rambert Studios. Joshua also produced multiple own shows, consistently showcasing their new choreographic work to the public. After a workshop with Rubberband Dance Group in December 2021, Joshua returned to Montreal to take part in the ‘Big Bang’ program. During this time, they created a solo work titled ‘Dedans’ that since has been featured in some of their latest dance productions in London and was performed at B12 Festival for Contemporary Dance in Berlin this past summer. Most recently, they premiered their new work ‘Yonder’ at The Place theatre in London in January 2024. They currently live and work in Montreal.
Sasha French
Sasha Jimenez French is a vibrant Cuban American multidisciplinary artist, igniting creativity at the intersection of painting, dance, and activism. Her work reflects the fusion of her Cuban heritage and American experiences, resonating through captivating canvases and dynamic choreography.
Camille Spencer
Camille Spencer is an independent dance artist residing in Kingston. She teaches, choreographs, directs and focuses on bringing movement to a wider community. When not dancing, she is tending her farm, children and family where movement lives in other ways.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
As a festival taking place outdoors, we have the lake as our background. We want to offer our deepest gratitude to the water’s shore for welcoming us, year after year. We strive to find reciprocity in our relationship with Lake Ontario. We acknowledge that we dance on the same earth that many Indigenous people have danced in Katarokwi before us, including the Anishinaabek, Haudenosaunee and the Huron-Wendat Peoples, as well as several other nomadic Indigenous Peoples. As shown before us dance is incredibly nurturing for community and the telling of stories and history is important. We encourage you to feel the power of the environment, community, music, and dance this evening and everyday.
We send our deep gratitude to the Kingston Arts Council, Ontario Arts Council, Kingston Women’s Art Festival, 5678, Kingston School of Dance, and Dance Force for their generous support.