STAFF
David Norsworthy
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David Norsworthy (he/him) is a Tkarón:to/Toronto-based dance artist, choreographer, producer, curator, and arts educator of mixed Japanese immigrant/British settler descent who is “an exceptionally lucid performer, impressive and articulate” (Globe and Mail). A graduate of The Juilliard School, he delights in asking questions, and is fascinated by the transformative power of dancing. David has performed with dance companies and collaborated with dance creators in Canada, USA, Sweden and Australia. Notable performance projects include productions with Dancenorth (Melbourne), Skånes Dansteater (Malmö), Peggy Baker Dance Projects (Toronto), and The Merce Cunningham Trust (New York City). His choreographic career has included independently produced full-length works, international tours, and commissioned projects for companies, universities and schools. David’s choreographic work centres collaboration, and often explores themes of connection, co-creation, consent, and community through interactive experiences. David is the grateful recipient of the Living Arts Centre’s Ron Lenyk Award (2016) and was one of three finalists for the Toronto Arts Foundation’s Emerging Artist Award (2018). As a Co-Founder/Co- Director of TOES FOR DANCE, David has initiated and led educational programs with national reach across Canada, and has spearheaded hyper-local audience development projects. He is also a Board Member of CanAsian Dance, and a part-time Rehearsal Director for Norrdans, a contemporary dance company in Sweden. www.davidnorsworthy.com
Photo by Colton Curtis
CHANTELLE GOOD
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Chantelle Good, originally from Toronto, Canada, is a performer, choreographer, and teaching artist, now based in Brooklyn, New York. She studied at Marymount Manhattan College, where she received a Bachelor of Fine Arts with a concentration in choreography. To further her training, Chantelle also attended Springboard Danse Montreal where she performed works by La Tresse Collective, Shumpei Nemoto, Stijn Celis, and Ohad Naharin. Past commercial dance credits include: H.E.R. (MTV Africa Music Awards), Jennifer Lopez (American Music Awards), Snoop Dogg (FOX Live New Year’s Eve), Daddy Yankee x Bad Bunny (X Ultima Vez MV), iskwē (Night Danger MV), Haai x Jon Hopkins (Baby We’re Ascending MV), Gary Clark Jr. (Alone Together MV), and Rothy’s “That’s More Like It” Global Campaign. Concert dance credits include: Freddie Falls in Love (Joyce Theater), New York Fashion Week (A--Company), Still Motion Dance Company, Kate Harpootlian & Artists, Loni Landon Dance Project, and The Forest of Arden. Most recently, Chantelle was a performer in Punchdrunk’s Sleep No More at The McKittrick Hotel. In addition to her work with TFD, Chantelle is the Programs Director of Share the Movement, a non-profit organization committed to increasing diversity in the professional dance community by providing access and opportunities to young BIPOC dancers. She also enjoys sharing her knowledge and passion for dance as a teaching artist and guest choreographer for institutions and programs across North America.
Photo by Jon Taylor
KRISTEN CARCONE
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Kristen Carcone is a Toronto-born, internationally acclaimed dancer, choreographer, teacher, and reiki healer. She is a company member of Third Rail Projects (New York, NY), currently performing in their Bessie award winning production Then She Fell . Kristen is a guest artist with cross-disciplinary performance company, FROG IN HAND, and has also performed the original works of Jason Parsons, Nicole Von Arx, Kate Wallich, Gabriel Forestieri, and the Kuperman Brothers. She has performed internationally in a variety of shows and festivals including: The Phish Concert at Madison Square Garden (New York, NY), Tangente’s Danses Buissonnieres (Montreal, Quebec), The New Prague Dance Festival (Prague, Czech Republic) and Art Gallery of Ontario’s MASSIVE PARTY (Toronto, Ontario). In 2016, Kristen was named one of the 25 Most Influential Young Choreographers to watch by Narcity Toronto. Her choreography can be seen in Joseph Gordon Levitt’s My Favourite Things video, Cardinal’s Pride music video Masterpiece, and in Supa’Nova, a new play by Maria Corina Ramirez. Kristen’s work has been described as “energetic, highly entertaining and refreshingly playful” - Sarah Lochhead/The Dance Current. As a creator of experiential theatre, Kristen has great interest in mindful performance and healing through the arts. She graduated from the dance division of New World School of the Arts in 2011 earning her Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree with Highest Honors. www.kristencarcone.com
Photo by Alvin Collantes.
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Keira Marie Forde is an Ontario-based, London, Ontario-born, professional, multi-disciplinary creator, performer, producer, and arts educator who is passionate about working with youth.
Keira's work in dance, theatre, and sound creation has been seen on stage and screen across the globe.
Keira's recent credits include Riot based on the Christie Pits riot with Hogtown Collective, What's So Funny with Carousel Players, No More News for Nancy with Alberta-based company Major Matt Mason Collective, Doomsday vs. DreamDay and the Deep Drawer with Theatre Direct. Keira, as an arts educator has worked with over seven different Theatre for young audience companies/festivals across Canada and was one of the artists selected Peel region school board ambassador for Wellness Wednesday.
Keira graduated from George Brown's Dance Performance Preparation program and Humber Theatre.
Photo by Patty Wayne.
KEIRA MARIE FORDE
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Shannon Widdis (she/her) is a dance professional and multidisciplinary artist with nearly two decades of involvement in the world of dance and performing arts. Currently enrolled in Humber College's Advertising and Marketing program, Shannon previously majored in Art, Performance, and Cinema Studies at Simon Fraser University in Vancouver, BC, where she explored various creative mediums. Beyond her artistic pursuits, Shannon is deeply engaged in the advertising and marketing industry. As former Co-Director and Artistic Content Executive of Equity In Dance, a Queer and youth-led organization, she leverages her expertise to create compelling narratives and foster inclusive spaces. In the realm of digital media, Shannon co-owns Ceilidh Creative, a photography business specializing in portraits, love stories, and dance photos, where she applies her eye for visual storytelling and branding.
Photo credit: Ceilidh Creative.
SHANNON WIDDIS
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Tanveer Alam started his Kathak training with Sudeshna Maulik and continued further nuanced studies with guru Sandhya Desai. Alam is a 2019 graduate of The School of Toronto Dance Theatre. Alam has performed in the works of Rina Singha, Lata Pada, Padmini Chettur, Brandy Leary, Harikishan S. Nair, Sashar Zarif, Lucy Rupert, and Peter Chin, to name a few. Alam is also invested within the dance sector as an Alliance Lead at The South Asian Dance Alliance of Canada, a guest curator alongside Nithya Garg at Dancemakers (2023 season), and was a guest curator/artistic associate with TOES FOR DANCE (2023 season). He has developed skills in the fields of curation and production by working as an independent artist in the city of Toronto, learning by lived experience. He produced Leher, his first full length solo in June 2023, as well as other smaller scale artistic endeavours.
Photo by Brandy Leary
TANVEER ALAM
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Brianna (Bri) Clarke is a performer, choreographer, teacher, and producer, based in Tkarón:to/Toronto. She identifies as a pansexual, cis-gendered female, and colonial settler. Her creative practice centres around how physical, textual, and musical narratives shape characters. Bri's early training began in Ottawa at Leeming Danceworks, where she developed her voice as an artist. She has furthered her training in Germany, New York City, North Carolina, Greece, Los Angeles and across Canada. While gaining her BFA in Performance Dance, Bri performed in and choreographed works across many disciplines, including choreographing a full musical. She continues to be a freelance artist for multiple dance and theatre collectives. Her most precious and long-time collaboration has been with TOES FOR DANCE, teaching at workshops and assisting in production for the Common Ground Dance Festival and “Elusive Truths” (David Norsworthy & Monèt Noelle Marshall). Recently, Bri was the associate producer for NEAR&FAR Projects’ “Phantasmagoria”, which premiered at the 2022 Toronto Fringe Festival. Other productions she has worked on: “WOODS” (Clarice Lima/The Bentway), “A Grimm Night” (Transcen|Dance Project), “5 Lesbians Eating a Quiche” (Unit 6 Collective), “ORACLE” (Guelph Dance Film Festival), “A Subject” (The Garage), “Hold on, let go” (2021 Common Ground Dance Festival). Bri aims to bring a sense of play to the arts community, often hosting improvisational jam sessions across the city. She is also the host and producer of (Art)versations Podcast, wherein she speaks with other artists about their creative endeavours. www.briclarke.ca @brianna_clarkee
Photo by Audrianna Martin Del Campo.
BRI CLARKE
Board of Directors
CORY BOYD
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Cory Boyd is a partner at Rubin Thomlinson, a Toronto-based law firm focused on workplace investigations and assessments. He has spent his legal career working in the areas of human rights, harassment, equity and inclusion. He is an enthusiastic supporter of the Toronto arts scene, including film, live theatre, and particularly the field of contemporary dance, having previously served on the Board of Directors at the Toronto Dance Theatre. He balances his passion for the arts with a love of sports, especially his beloved Toronto Blue Jays.
Miquelon Rodriguez
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Miquelon Rodriguez is a sound designer, composer, radio play mixer & editor, digital content creator, actor, and an emerging director and arts leader based in T'karonto. He was the Apprentice Artistic Director at Factory Theatre from 2017-2019, under the mentorship of Nina Lee Aquino, and co-curated Pan-Asian works over two seasons at Soulpepper through the Tiger Bamboo Festival and the Shen Development Series, under the mentorship of Ins Choi. He is a graduate of the Artistic Leadership Residency at the National Theatre School of Canada and has worked with a multitude of artists and companies across Turtle Island.
Susan Colbert-Wright
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Susan Colbert Wright is retired from a 30-year career at Ontario Hydro/Hydro One in information technology and services. Susan enthusiastically supports the Toronto dance community by applying her information management experience to governance in the arts sector, sharing knowledge about resources for artists, and organizationally assisting independent artists and collectives. Susan has previous non-profit and Board of Director experience from her work on a successful business plan and subsequent implementation of a workplace childcare centre at Ontario Hydro. Susan has a Honours BSC from the University of Toronto in Mathematical and Computer Sciences. She currently sits on the board of ProArteDanza.
Ellis Martin-Wylie
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Ellis is a policy and program advisor with a demonstrated history of working in the arts, health, and financial services sectors. Currently, she leads accountability relationships between the Ontario Ministry of Tourism, Culture, and Sport and its public body agencies. Previously, she's worked on regulatory policy at the Ministry of Finance and program development at the Ministry of Health. She was inspired to work in program and policy development during her time studying at the Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance. Her research focused on Dance for Health amongst women aged 65+ and she witnessed the impact when creativity and the arts are pillars of health services and social care .
She's a graduate of East London Dance's The Fi.ELD, a practice-based, educational program to develop the future innovators of dance. Her research has been shared at the International Association for Dance Medicine and Science 2019 Annual Conference in Montreal, Canada and Age Against the Machine: Festival of Creative Ageing in London, UK. She has produced workshops, festivals, and networking events with TOES FOR DANCE and Canadian Dance Assembly.
Photo by Kendra Epik.
Dr. Blessyl Buan
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Blessyl Buan, a contemporary dancer, choreographer, and visual artist, crafts colourful interdisciplinary works echoing rhythm, movement, and land-based spirituality. With a Kinesiology degree (2001) and a Chiropractic doctorate (2005), her academic background provides a deep understanding of the human body. This foundation, combined with over two decades of professional dance experience, enhances her artistry with a heightened kinesthetic intelligence.
Transitioning from clinical practice in 2021, prompted by health considerations, was a natural evolution toward a new expressive form. Her process delves into Philippine Indigenous traditions, exploring joy, interconnectedness and cultural identity. Her short film "Rara: Reweaving Diasporic Stories" (2022) was featured in Danceworks Summer Reel 2023. A recipient of Ontario Arts Council grant, Blessyl is developing a solo dance project for 2024. Additionally, she will lead "Weaving Futures" at the Toronto Arts Council's Artist in the Library Program, introducing pre-colonial Philippine script “Baybayin”, weaving, and dance. She will also host her first solo exhibition, "Kapwa Kaleidoscope" at The Clark Centre for the Arts, where she is an artist-in-residence.
Blessyl contributes to the arts community as a Board member of Toes for Dance and as faculty at Dance Arts Institute. Balancing mothering of her four children, Blessyl’s body of work inspires.
Photo by Whitney Erin Photography.
Dianne B. Oliveira
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Dianne B. Oliveira is a storyteller. A curious observer of human behaviour, her career first began as an actor and singer in live theater and film, after graduating from Sheridan's Music Theatre Performance Program. Today she works in advertising with a wide range of project management experiences for various clients. In addition to over 10 years of experience as a freelance indie artist, Dianne is also a former personal trainer with a CPT certification from the National Academy of Sports Medicine. She credits her experience in fitness and the performing arts for her tenacity, organization and resilient work ethic. She regularly engages with young professionals in creative industries as a peer mentor and is always excited for an opportunity to share her takeaways from paving an unconventional path.
Photo by Scott Savoy.
CARMELINA MARTIN
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Carmelina Martin is a multi-decade educator. Provincial contributions to dance include policy guidance, curriculum development and review, and design and teaching of in-service teacher education courses. She has spoken nationally and internationally on dance and the arts at UNESCO, the National Roundtable for Teacher Education in the Arts, and daCi 2011 in Taiwan. Carmelina is founder and director of Pulse Ontario Dance Conference, and recipient of the Ontario Premier Teacher of the Year Award. She holds a Master’s in Education and currently works as a Senior Program Officer with the Ontario College of Teachers, the provincial regulatory body for the teaching profession. On her free time, Carmelina continues to explore a variety of movement modalities and embodied movement practices including her current favorite, Fighting Monkey.
