Embodied Storytelling: In Call and Response with Land

Santee is a multidisciplinary artist from the Kahnyen’kehàka Nation, Turtle Clan, Ohswé:ken/Six Nations of the Grand River. Transformation, energetic exchange and fostering mind-heart connections through performance and design is her lifelong work. Santee trained at Canada’s National Ballet School; holds Physical Education and Psychology degrees from McMaster University and a M.A. in Dance from York University. Premiering her first production Kaha:wi – a family creation story in 2004, one year later she founded Kaha:wi Dance Theatre which has grown into an internationally renowned company. Santee’s work speaks about identity, teachings and way of life within Onkwehonwe:neha, creativity and Indigenous artistic process. She is a sought-after teacher and speaker on the performing arts, Indigenous performance, and culture. Smith is faculty at the Banff Centre for Arts & Creativity’s World Indigenous Dance Residency 2024 and curator and visionary of “Inviting the Land to Shape Us Series” land-based workshops and creation labs focused on Indigenous performance research. Recently, she premiered Dora Award nominated multimedia production SKéN:NEN at TOLive 2024 and toured award winning The Mush Hole embodying the truths of Canada’s oldest and standing Indian Residential School, The Mohawk Institute. She is the 19th Chancellor of McMaster University.

Montana is from Oneida Nation of the Thames. He is an emerging choreographic artist who has begun development on his first performance project in 2022 at the Banff Centre named Conditions to Strike, which he showcased in the Jenny Belzberg Theatre. Montana has been working in theatre professionally since 2015; noteworthy works Montana has performed in Kaha:wi Dance Theatre’s productions and touring: The Honouring (2015-2017), The Mush Hole (2016-2023) and most recently SKéN:NEN (2021-2023). Montana has collaborated with different performance collectives over the years like Dusk Dances (Kanˆstote – 2021), Unsettled Score (Canoe – 2023), as well as Blue Bird Theatre Collective and Sweet Labour Art Collective. Additionally, Montana has previously acted on stage in plays such as Backyard Treater’s The Other Side of the River (2019) and The Grand Theatre’s Love Song for the Thunderbirds (2021).

Jessica is a de-indigenized performance artist from Tkaronto (Treaty 13) with roots from Kuskatan, post-colonial El Salvador and focuses on collaborations with Salvadoran artists. Jessica has produced/starred in the short film Sinvergüenzilla in First Kiss (Official Selection: 31st Inside Out LGBTQ Film Festival) and starred in the short film Saturday Fuego Diablo (Official Selection: Sivar en Cortos 2022), both Directed by Anita Abbasi. Currently, Jessica is working on a piece called mi historia que no es única (working title), synthesizing recorded audio of their father’s story of defying borders and blending his retelling with movement and fiction. Stage Manager credits include: Otros Rostros – Uxbridge Studio Tour 2021, TAOS The Art Of Storytelling – Why Not Theatre’s Riser Toronto 2022, TAOS The Art of Storytelling: Song Cycle Series – Rumble Theater’s Tremors 2023 Festival in Vancouver, Chez Moi – 2024 Rhubabrb Festival, Surrendered Spirits by CinnaMoon Collective – Debut at Dance Immersion’s Double-Bill Presentation May 2024.

Tkarón:to’ based dance artist, educator, choreographer and first-generation daughter of refugees from Nahuat Territory Kuskatan, post-colonial El Salvador. Irma is the Program Director of Native Earth’s Animikiig Creators Lab and a Toronto Arts Foundation 2021 Emerging Artist Finalist. She is a co-founder of CinnaMoon Collective which premieres their first work Surrendered Spirits in 2024. She’s been part of works by Kaha:wi Dance Theatre, Jaberi Dance Theatre, Kaeja d’Dance, Victoria Mata, Aria Evans, Alejandro Ronceria, Diana Lopez and Michael Caldwell. Since 2017, she has led a journey nurturing her choreographic development through residencies with Dance Makers, TDT’s Emerging Voices, Kaeja D’dance KAIR and Aluna Theatre; currently developing two important works Xilopango and Siwat Piedra. Irma’s passion for social justice, historic memory and migrant stories is her driving force as a creator.