Collective Practice Project
Toronto Dance Love-In invites Indigenous, d/Deaf, Hard of Hearing & CODA artists with a dedicated and established movement practice as part of our Collective Practice Project (CPP). A curated group of 4-5 artists have been gathering to participate in group discussions and embodied research without a defined end result. They have shared methods of creation, processes, values, and desires while expanding community connections.
Collective Practice Project originated with the idea of sharing individual practices in a collective setting while receiving support from a dedicated facilitator. CPP represents the need for urgent, thematic, and funded residencies for local artists to share space.
About our first CPP cohort
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Lara Kramer is a performer, choreographer, and multidisciplinary artist of mixed Oji-cree and settler heritage, raised in London, Ontario. She lives and works in Tiohtià:ke/Mooniyang/Montreal.
Her choreographic work, research and field work over the last fifteen years have been grounded in intergenerational relations, intergenerational knowledge, and the impacts of the Indian Residential Schools of Canada. She is the first generation in her family not to attend the Residential schools. Lara’s relationship to experiential practice of performance, sonic development and design is anchored in the embodiment of experiences such as dreams, memories, knowledge, and reclamation. She prioritizes deceleration as an essential mode of transportation for imagination, creation, and new possibilities. Her creations have been presented across Canada and Australia, New Zealand, Martinique, Norway, Vienna, Belgium, the US and the UK. She teaches workshops regularly in Montreal. Lara Kramer is a Center de Création O Vertigo – CCOV Associate Artist since 2021. -
Animikiikwe Couchie is an emerging multidisciplinary dance artist from Nipissing First Nation. She has worked across a number of disciplines and artistic genres. In 2013, Animikiikwe worked within acclaimed choreographer Penny Couchie’s dance theatre piece entitled “When Will You Rage?”. She narrated and danced within her mother’s piece. In 2015 she completed her studies at the Canadore College Theatre Arts Program. In May 2018, she completed her training at the Ecole de Danse Contemporaine de Montreal. She was a dancer within Bill Coleman’s piece, Felt in 2018 and 2019. She received OAC’s indigenous Arts Projects award, which gave her the opportunity to workshop and present her piece “Within the Layers” in May 2022 at Big Medicine Studio on her home territory, Nipissing. She currently works as a community artist with Aanmitaagzi in Nipissing, and finds joy in the inclusivity and collaborative nature of the work.
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Kéïta Fournier-Pelletier is a queer, Métis, Franco-Manitoban artist from Winnipeg, based in Tkaronto. They are continuously discovering what these intersecting identities mean to them, and the role they play in their art as a dancer, choreographer and educator. She is a 2020 graduate from Dance Arts Institute (formerly the School of TDT) and holds a BFA in Performance and Choreography from York University. Her most recent work, Pillar of You, has been presented at the Citadel Dance Mix, Allies and Friends in Toronto, as well as Kitchener and Hamilton. They have worked with national and international choreographers like Aria Evans, Heidi Strauss, Marjolein Vogels, among others. Her most recent credits include touring with the Métis contemporary dance company, V’ni Dansi. She has also collaborated with Theatre Passe Muraille, and lemonTree creations. Kéïta is interested in collaborating on processes that question power, heteronormativity, and other societal norms that reject her identity.
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Marcus Merasty is a Nēhithaw/Cree performer, choreographer, and multidisciplinary artist, with ancestral roots from Wapâwikoscikanihk/Pelican Narrows in northern Saskatchewan. The Cree people of northern Saskatchewan are also known as Assin’skowitiniwak, which translates to “People of the rocky area”. Marcus’ journey into the world of dance began in 2014 through a mentorship with dance artist Robin Poitras and Metis visual artist Edward Poitras, Co-Artistic Directors of New Dance Horizons (NDH). He studied contemporary dance at The School of Contemporary Dancers in Winnipeg, MB, graduating in 2021.
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Samantha Sutherland is a contemporary dance artist, choreographer, and teacher based in Tkaronto. Her ancestry is Ktunaxa and Scottish.
She grew up on Coast Salish territory and graduated from the Arts Umbrella Dance Diploma Program in 2018. Samantha began choreographing dance solo works in 2021 and has presented in festivals across Turtle Island. Some include the Matriarchs Uprising Festival, Sharing the Stage with The National Ballet of Canada, Dance Made in Canada, SummerWorks, and Weesageechak Begins to Dance.
She has performed in dance works by Raven Spirit Dance, Santee Smith, Alejandro Ronceria, and Jera Wolfe. She is currently on faculty at The Centre for Indigenous Theatre, and an Artistic Associate with O.Dela Arts. -
Johnathan Morin is a 34 year old Indigenous (Nehiyaw) tap dancer hailing from Treaty 6 Edmonton, Alberta. Now residing in Treaty 13 Toronto Ontario he is a force in the tap dance community and known across the country and around the world. A Dora Award Nominee, Johnathan co-produces and co directs Rhythm and Sound Dance Company alongside Cori Giannotta and also runs his own drop in classes in Toronto. His passion for the dance has brought him across the country as well as internationally as a performer and educator. Some of his accolades include Tap Ahead Festival in Düsseldorf Germany, TD Toronto Jazz Festival, Sarah Reich’s Tap Music Project, Vancouver International Tap Festival, and the Toronto International Tap Festival.
With his talent, dedication, and impressive list of accomplishments, Johnathan Morin is sure to continue making rhythmic waves in the world of Canadian tap dance for years to come.
About or second CPP cohort
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Cai Glover has been transfixed in an on-going and endless discovery of dance since he was 10 years old. Most recently, under the name of his company, A Fichu Turning, Cai has been developing expression in poetry and in a language of movement putting the dancing body to task in a search of an embodied expression of poetics. Through the transposition of language into movement we make meaning beyond the grips of the literal. He never tires of the search in finding ways to bring affect to audiences through this art form and to appeal to the varied and countless emotional experiences of the human being. As a hard of hearing artist, hearing differently has become a driving force of his artistry and originality as a mover, interpreter and choreographer.
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Juan Jaramillo is an award-nominated Deaf director, writer, and performer of Afro-Indigenous Colombian heritage based in Ontario. Founder of Dancing Hands Theatre, his work centers on ASL storytelling, Deaf performance, and community engagement. Juan has presented work across Canada and Colombia and is a 2025 recipient of the Christine Karcza Disability Leadership Award. His signature works include Fernando and His Llama Friend and But the Truth Is. He offers rich workshops that integrate movement, Deaf expression, and ASL-poetic rhythm. Juan champions access and mentorship in Deaf arts and is known for dynamic, inclusive creative spaces.
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Natasha “Courage” Bacchus is a very active multidisciplinary artist, former three times gold medallist Deaf Olympian Sprinter. Her theatre /TV and Film performances include Shaw Host Talk (2014), ‘The Black Drum’ with Soulpepper Theatre (2019) in Toronto and France, ‘The Two Natasha’s’ (2020) comedy performed in art festivals, ‘21 Black Futures’ produced by Obsidian Theatre and CBC Arts, (2021), mini-TV series ‘The Coroner’ season four on Netflix (2022). She has participated in cabaret events including the 2019/2024 ASL Deaf Drag Performance, Rainbow Senior Showcase, and Criptonite at Buddies in Bad Times Theatre in Toronto, Ontario.
Her areas of expertise include interdisciplinary visual artist, art accessibility consultant Deaf LGBTQ/racialized marginalized Indigenous, Black, People of colour, Sign Language Translation for theatre, Interpretation and Promotional vlogs, Panellist and presenter for workshops, emerging art curator, and activist for Indigenous and Black
Deaf art community to expand Indigenous and Black Deaf artists representation. Courage has participated as an art collaborator with numerous theatre and film productions focusing on breaking down barriers for Indigenous and Black Deaf Artists in Canada.
She has participated in Leelee Oluwatoyosi Eko Davis and Donna Michelle Bernard's method of social justice community. Natasha was one of the winners of Canada’s Top 100 Black Women to Watch by the Canada International Black Women Event (CIBWE) 2019.
She continues her journey of self-discovery in her art.
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Mahsa is exploring her identity, questioning the labels and structures. She is a writer and now finds a way to express herself in dance.
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Teagan Ariss is an emerging contemporary dance artist based in Tkaronto. Teagan has performed at the Guelph Dance Festival, Let the Elephants Dance, and dance:made in canada. She has danced in work by Rock Bottom Movement, Laura Arend, Sadie Cahill and collaborative projects with Meaningful Movement collective. In 2021, she graduated from York University's BFA dance program, where she was most impacted by the teachings of dance artists: Syreeta Hector, Tracey Norman, Susan Lee and Freya Björg Olafson. Teagan values artistic accessibility as a way to reach folks who may not normally engage with dance due to lack of opportunity. She has presented her work in Toronto, ON, London, ON and Edmonton, AB. She is also a passionate facilitator of creative movement for youth and older adults and is deeply inspired by witnessing creativity and learning at different stages of life across different abilities.
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