WYSIWYG

Project Instigator & Choreographer: Allison Elizabeth Burns

Collaborating Performers: Amanda Bon, Chelsea Passmore

Composer and Creator of Original Score: Tristan Henry

Writer: Travis Martin

Choreographic Consultant: Keir Knight

Mentor: Yvonne Coutts

Allison Elizabeth Burns’ Headshot by: Pat Holloway

Allison Elizabeth Burns is a choreographer, performer, producer, and teacher. She has worked on dance, theatre, and multidisciplinary projects. Her choreography has been presented at the Alberta Dance Festival (2018), Dark Horse Dance Projects (2017), and in the Toronto, Montreal, and Ottawa Fringe Festivals (2010-2019). She has choreographed for Odyssey and 9th Hour Theatre. She has performed in choreographic works by Riley Sims, Noémie Lafrance, Jérôme Bel, and Renata Soutter, and has toured North America. Burns graduated from Concordia University with a degree in Contemporary Dance with distinction (2010), and is the recipient of several awards for her artistic pursuits.

Choreography and interpretation: Eva Kolarova 

Composer: Fransecso Tarrego

Music interpretation: Alexandra Whittingham

Eva Kolarova’s Headshot by: Maurice Elmaleh

Born in the Czech Republic, Eva Kolarova studied at the National Dance Conservatory in the Czech Republic, the Béjart Ballet Lausannein Switzerland, and the Hoschule für Kunst und Musik in Germany. She went on to perform professionally internationally, receiving numerous awards for her choreography and interpretation while travelling the world. Her experience as a dancer includes work with major companies abroad and in Canada, such as Ballet du Rhin, Les Grands Ballets Canadian, Nord I Dans, and Les Ballets Jazz de Montréal. After having collaborated with a vast number of choreographers of both classical and contemporary styles, Kolarova felt ready to move towards independent, creative projects culminating in founding her Montréal-based dance company, Kolarova Danse, in 2015. She created several works for different festivals, dance schools, and has self-produced three shows at Place des Arts in Montréal.

Collaborating Performers: Mackenzie Carlson, Krista Newey, Alyssa Petrolo, Katherine Semchuk, Kirsten Sullivan

Composer: Nigel Edwards aka nomvdslvnd

Kylie Thompson’s Headshot by: E.S. Cheah Photography

Kylie Thompson Dance is the current base for Toronto choreographer Kylie Thompson.  A project-based company, Thompson and collaborating dancers fuse modern, contemporary, and hip hop forms. The company independently premiered their first stage work 33/33 in 2018, as well as the short film, Versus. 33/33 was also presented at the New Blue Festival of Emerging dance in 2018 after being granted the Creative Risk residency, mentored by Karen Kaeja. The short film, Versus, has been screened at festivals in Toronto, Yukon, Colorado, and California.

Choreographer and performer: Molly Johnson

Molly Johnson’s Headshot by: Jeremy Mimnagh

Born and raised on Unama’ki/Cape Breton Island, Molly Johnson creates body-based performance works that offer alternative ways to exist inside a capitalist heteropatriarchal society. A Dora Award-winning performer, she has danced for many great humans, including Nova Bhattacharya, Susie Burpee, Marie France Forcier, Sabina Perry, Julia Sasso, Riley Sims, and Heidi Strauss. Other highlights include a decade of summers performing in public spaces with Dusk Dances, a long working relationship with Montréal’s Danièle Desnoyers/Le Carré des Lombes, and recent collective creations with Tina Fushell/Meredith Thompson. Based in Toronto, Johnson is a co-artistic director of hub14, licensed wedding officiant, and freelance writer in the space between.

Choreographer/performers: Emily Law, Jen Hum, Sze-Yang Lam, Naishi Wang

Videographers: Henry Mak, Sean Dunnigan

Headshot by: Primative Replica

Seeking Bridge is a collaborative effort between dance artists Emily Law, Jen Hum, Naishi Wang, and Sze-Yang Ade-Lam, with support from videographers Henry Mak and Sean Dunnigan. Their intention is to create something contemporary, thoughtful, and theatrical that is accentuated by images and sound, and rooted in movement.  

Emily Law is a contemporary dancer, street dancer, and choreographer. Law is a founding member of Mix Mix Dance Collective, Warehouse Jacks, and Parks N’ Wreck. She 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.

Sze-Yang Ade-Lam is a queer Asian dancer, martial artist, storyteller, and community developer. Ade-Lam shares stories through movement for self love, empowerment, and liberation as an independent artist, as part of ILL NANA/DiverseCity Dance Company and Mix Mix Dance Collective. Ade-Lam is an advocate for change in the dance world.

Born in Changchun, China, Naishi Wang received his professional dance training from the Jilin College of Art and with the Beijing Dance Academy. In 2004, he came to Canada to continue his dance studies at the School of Toronto Dance Theatre and has been a member of TDT since 2006.

A Toronto-based independent dancer and performer, Jen Hum has a multifaceted background that has touched on all forms of dance and stage performance. She has worked with a diverse collection of groups and individuals, including The Redsnow Collective, Polynomials Dance, J9 Dance Projects, Alias Dance Projects, and Anandam Dance Theatre.

Henry Mak and Sean Dunnigan are Primitive Replica, a filmmaking team operating in downtown Toronto. They thrive on collaboration and are proud to have worked on video projects with partners in the creative community, including the Toronto Fringe Festival, Next Stage Theatre Festival, No Porpoise Productions, and Litmus Theatre.