LO BIL
lo bil creates performative experiments to correlate research into process, pleasure, vulnerability, risk, memory, agency, labour, an aesthetics of feeling and the impacts of a social location on identity. lo finds images through physical improvisations, spoken loops, and material interactions. Her work is raw, amusing, transparent, and often involves creating a feedback loop with the audience. Most recently lo has created work for: 7a*11d International Festival of Performance Art (2014), 25 Hours for 25 Years for DCAC (2014), Month of Performance Art-Berlin (2015), ITINERANT Performance Art Festival NYC (2015), Duration and Dialogue, Katzman Contemporary Gallery (with ensemble No Object, 2016), Words and [ ] a durational conference by School of Making Thinking (2016) and Summerworks Performance Festival (2016).
Originally from Germany, Angela Blumberg obtained her Bachelor’s Degree in contemporary dance from the Laban Centre (London, 2006), and her Master’s Degree in choreography from York University (Toronto, 2011). Now based in Toronto, Angela founded Human Atoms Choreographies in 2011 and has presented work in Canada, the UK, Sweden, Taiwan and Germany. In 2011/12 Angela collaborated with gamUT, the University of Toronto’s contemporary music ensemble, performing and choreographing 20th century music. As a dancer, Angela performed in works by renowned choreographers Julia Sasso and Keiko Kitano. Angela is a certified as a GYROTONIC® instructor and currently works at GYROTONIC® Toronto and the THE LOFT- Spinal Health Specialist. She also has the pleasure of working as a guest artist at Wexford Collegiate School for the Arts teaching contemporary dance and improvisation.
Jennifer Dallas is an established contemporary artist, hailing from the Canadian Rockies. With over 10 years of professional experience that stretches four continents. Dallas’ work as a dancer, choreographer, and artistic director reflects her belief in the connective potential of dance. The founder of, Toronto based, contemporary dance company Kẹmi, Jennifer’s work embodies diversity, collaboration, and play. She began her formal dance training in Ballet, graduating from The School of Toronto Dance Theatre in 2005. By 2010, Dallas was the Metcalf Intern for 10 Gates working with Tedd Robinson, and had received a K.M Hunter nomination. Dallas has proudly served on the Ontario board of directors for the Alliance of Dance Artists, and is a a regular guest at The School of Toronto Dance Theatre. Dallas’ work abroad (Burkina Faso, Nigeria, South Africa, Russia, and Israel) has earned her critical acclaim, culminating in 2015 with a 7-city Canadian tour (Idiom) highlighting her intimate work with Burkinabe artist Bienvenue Bazié. Identified by Dance Current magazine as “someone on the Canadian dance scene to pay attention to” (2015), and having performed works by Susie Burpee, Marc Boivin, Adedayo Liadi, and Tedd Robinson early in her career, Dallas is an artistic visionary who brings a unique combination of technical skill and playful insight to her work. https://vimeo.com/kemiprojects.
Leelee Eko Toyosi Davis is a Canadian-born, transgenderqueer choreographer, dancer, vocalist, and film/performance artist of Nigerian/Trinidadian/ Indigenous/French descent. Hailing from Winnipeg, Manitoba, currently residing in Toronto, Davis collaborates with artists active in visual art, music, theatre, and dance. Davis’ artistic goals are to blend the traditional barriers between performance and life, stage and experience. As a unique multimedia performer, Davis commonly merges elements of film, projection, movement, dance, voice, music, audience participation and original sound scores. Davis aims to juxtapose the visceral and ethereal, building a bridge to revealing the human experience.
Lee’s creative interest focuses on interdisciplinary collaborations and improvisation in performance. Many of her works combine dance, live music, video and interactive new media. Her recent work integrates video projection and real-time based interactive technologies in a variety of settings. Susan’s choreography has been presented in dance festivals and series in Toronto, Ottawa, Halifax and Peterborough. Her work has been described as “..simple and extraordinary.” (Halifax Chronicle-Herald) and “..a tour de force of magic and mystery” (the Globe and Mail). She has been awarded grants and scholarships to support her creative research and productions.
Susan has taught in a variety of contexts including public schools in Toronto and northern Ontario, professional and community workshops in Canada, Portugal and the US. She teaches contact improvisation, partnering techniques, improvisation and modern dance technique and is currently on faculty at York University’s Dance Department.
From 1995- 2006, Susan was co-Artistic Director of Series 8:08 and has also worked on the boards of several prominent dance organizations, including Canadian Alliance of Dance Artists and the CanAsian Dance Festival.
For more than a decade, Toronto-based dance artist Tracey Norman has been a driving force in her community, splitting her time between choreographing, teaching, performing and researching dance. Her choreography has been presented on stages across Canada with credits including, DanceWorks, Dance Ontario, Festival de Danse en l’Atlantique, Guelph Contemporary Dance Festival and Kinetic Studio. Her work has been described as “refreshing and original” (The Globe and Mail).
Currently on faculty in the Department of Dance at York University, Tracey received her MFA in Choreography and Dramaturgy in 2010. She teaches dance to children of all ages at Tandem Studios in Toronto, and workshops in public schools across Ontario. She is a member of the Intergalactic Arts Collective, an artist-run organization that focuses on the research and presentation of new performance work and is housed at Artscape Youngplace in Toronto. Tracey works often as an outside eye to other artists and served on the board of directors for the Canadian Alliance of Dance Artists from 2008-11. Last season, she premiered what goes between for Forcier/Norman, a DanceWorks Mainstage performance at Harbourfront Centre Theatre, and is about to begin creation on a new group work.
SARA PORTER
Sara Porter is a contemporary dance choreographer, performer, writer, teacher and speaker. Her recent multi-disciplinary, memoir-based, one-woman show –Sara does a Solo – toured to New York City, San Francisco, Montreal, Toronto and St. John’s amongst other cities in 2016. Sara’s productions and commissions have been presented for over twenty-five years including work for Toronto Dance Theatre and National Youth Music Theatre (Scotland). Her iconic solo Opus Ornithologicus: the great bird work was invited to Scotland’s Holyrood Palace where she performed for Prince Charles in 2000. Sara’s dance writing is published in dance books, magazines and journals in Canada and UK, including a biography of Canadian icon Peter Boneham – Peter in Process – published in 2010. She has been on faculty in colleges and universities in Canada and Scotland teaching both theory and studio courses in contemporary dance, and she was based in Montreal and Edinburgh before settling in Toronto in 1998. Sara is a member of the Intergalactic Arts Collective, an Associate Artist at pounds per square inch performance and a member of the Canadian Alliance of Dance Artists.
Jessica Runge is an award-winning dancer, choreographer, and teacher. She has performed to critical acclaim across Canada and internationally in the works of a number of notable choreographers, including Peggy Baker, Christopher House, Tedd Robinson and Holly Small. Runge has danced as a member of the major Canadian dance companies the Toronto Dance Theatre and Le Groupe Dance Lab. Upcoming performance projects include: Flying Hearts, a new work being developed by Michelle Silagy at/with Theatre Direct, and a performance at the National Arts Centre with Peggy Paker Dance Projects in the summer of 2017. Runge’s work as a choreographer investigates the way movement has meaning for audiences. She is interested in a range of expressivity, and has found potential in diverse physical vocabularies and structural forms (including: site-specific work, aerial dance, and interactive projects). Her choreography has been presented at numerous venues and festivals, garnering recognition including the KM Hunter Award. Runge teaches dance in a variety of settings to people of all ages and abilities. She is a frequent guest in local elementary schools and receives funding from the Ontario Arts Council to teach children through their Artists in Education Program. Since 2013, Runge has been based in studio 103 in Artscape Youngplace, as a member of the space-sharing Intergalactic Arts Collective. She teaches, rehearses, and performs out of her studio. For more informaiton about her after-school dance classes and other upcoming studio events, please visit www.jessicarunge.com.
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