Practice Lab

when
November 1, 2025
at 4:30-6:30pm

where  
at The Practice Room
688 Richmond St W, Toronto Room 302

about the session
In this workshop facilitated by Shion Skye Carter (dance artist, so-called Vancouver), Mayumi Lashbrook (dance artist, Tkaronto), Masumi Rodriguez (multidisciplinary artist, Tiohtià:ke/Montréal) and Elena Kirby (multidisciplinary artist, Tkaronto), the artists will share insights into collaborative practices bridging choreography and paper-making. Their collective project, Thatness & Thereness, uses “invasive” plant paper to create wearable pieces for performance, sparking other worldly beings with unique ways of moving. Participants will interact with sculptural paper pieces created by Masumi and Elena, learning about the paper-making process, integrated with improvised movement practice led by Shion and Mayumi investigating potential for movement creation with sculptural extensions of the body.

who is this for/what to expect
This workshop is open-level, for anyone interested in the intersections between visual art and dance. We will provide movement modifications, eg. for folks who prefer to remain seated, or using a mobility aid.

about the artists
Masumi Rodriguez and Elena Kirby are an artist-duo living and working between Tiohtià:ke/Montréal and Tkaronto/Toronto. Their ongoing project, Touch Me Don’t Forget Me, is a shared research practice involving material making and fibre processing of “invasive” plant species, specifically dog-strangling-vine and the relationships connected with these plants. Their PAPER LABS series is a recurring aspect of their collaboration, to find a form of conversation across disciplines with the public. This series invites exchange between artists, ecologists, community-organizers, field technicians, designers, and scholars to speak about “invasivity” and socio-political relationships to more-than-human environments while processing dog-strangling vine plant fibres.

Mayumi Lashbrook (she/her) is a choreographer, performer and Artistic Director who seeks to create transformative dance theatre experiences that invite attentive presence. A graduate of Toronto Metropolitan University, she trained in Eurocentric dance forms until igniting her passion for butoh. She utilizes these skillsets to choreograph and perform thoughtful works that bravely reveal our humanity. Mayumi is a 2024 nominee of the Johanna Metcalf Performing Arts Award and the Artistic Director of Aeris Körper, recipient of the 2024 Arts Creator Award. She aims to create spaces that pursue an equilibrium of artistic excellence and compassionate care.

Shion Skye Carter (they/she) is a dance artist originally from Gifu, Japan, based in so-called Vancouver, Canada. Through materiality, sensitive intensity, and hybridizing choreography with heritage art forms like calligraphy, Shion’s practice peels apart layers of identity and reflect on the complexities of the human experience. Recent presentation of their work include VIDF (BC), Art Gallery of Ontario (ON), Tangente (QC), Live Art Dance (NS), b12 free radicals (Berlin), and L’AiR Arts Atelier 11 (Paris). As a performer, they have worked with companies including Action at a Distance/Vanessa Goodman, Furious Grace Dance Theatre/Anya Saugstad, Wen Wei Dance, and Odd Meridian Arts/Ziyian Kwan. Shion holds a BFA in Dance from SFU, and is the recipient of the Iris Garland Emerging Choreographer Award (2021) and the Chrystal Dance Prize (2023).

accessibility
Unfortunately, this is not a wheelchair accessible space. The space is located on the third floor; elevator access is only available from the second floor. There are 12 steps from the first floor to the second floor. Via TTC, take the Queen Streetcar to Tecumseth St or Palmerston Ave and walk 2 minutes south to the space. There is limited parking available on Richmond and Campbell streets. Public transit is recommended. 

Please wear clothes and socks that you feel comfortable moving in. Following the artist talk and getting up close and personal with the paper wearable sculptures, participants will be guided through an open-level dance warm-up and improvised movement practice, focused on taking intentional time to connect the mind, breath, and body.

pricing
Regular price for Practice Lab is $25. We strive to provide PWYC access, varied accessibility measures, and a welcoming environment. Love-In offers a pwyc sliding scale by using the discount codes. You can find details below to help you decide how much to pay.

discount codes & donation options
ABUNDANT — add donation, no discount code used at check out
SUPPORTER — add donation, no discount code used check out
REDUCED — 25% off
SOLIDARITY — 50% off
ACCESS — 100% off (contact info@tolovein.com for barrier free registration)

about our pricing model 
We offer a pwyc sliding scale by using the discount codes listed below at checkout. We ask that community members with a consistent income or salary pay at the regular price so that we can support community members with less access to income, wealth, or assets to attend barrier free. Thank you for locating yourself where best represents your economic situation and paying accordingly. This supports making our programs available to more folks for years to come!

abundant
This rate reflects a medium increase on the rate for the session. If you have access to a salary, savings, investments, assets, or generational wealth, paying this rate will subsidize the attendance of someone for whom cost is a barrier to attending. If you are moved to donate $10 or more, there is an option to do so.

supporter
This rate reflects a moderately increased rate for the session and will allow us to partially subsidize the attendance of folks for whom cost is a barrier. Please add a donation of $5 if you have access to a salary, savings, investments or assets. 

regular
This rate reflects the regular cost for the session. Please select this rate if you have access to a regular income and are able to meet your basic needs around food, housing and transportation.

reduced
This rate reflects the reduced cost for the session. Please select this rate if you are able to meet your basic needs around food, housing and transportation, but have gaps in your income and no access to savings or familial financial support.

solidarity
This rate reflects the solidarity cost for the session. Please select this rate if you are able to meet your basic needs around food, housing and transportation, but don't have access to regular income.

access
The option to access this session at no cost ensures that members of our community for whom price is a barrier to participation are able to join us. Please email us at info@tolovein.com to receive this option.

covid-19 & illness protocols
If you are sick, experiencing symptoms of any kind we ask that you do not come. Masks are not mandatory, but welcomed. Please use your discretion and prioritize your health as needed. Thanks for continuing to work with us to keep our most at risk community members safe. 

acknowledgements
Toronto Dance Community Love-In is thankful to gather on the traditional Indigenous territory of Tkaronto. This is the ancestral and unceded land of the Wyandot people, Haudenosaunee, Anishinaabeg and Mississaugas of the Credit. We recognize them and any other Nations acknowledged and unacknowledged, recorded and unrecorded as the past, present and future caretakers of this Land. We are grateful to the Elders and Story-keepers who have been telling the story of this Land for generations. At Love-In, we are actively learning how to honour and upkeep the protocols of this territory and live in alignment with the treaties of this region. With these words we honour the Land and its caretakers. We commit to challenging the ongoing injustices and the impact of colonialism by providing spaces that operate from an anti-oppressive, social justice perspective.

Thank you to the Canada Council for the Arts and Toronto Arts Council for their generous support.