Sofi GudiÑo

Festival Director

Sofi Gudiño is a dancer and community organizer based in Toronto. Raised in flamenco and established in contemporary dance, Sofi’s work is marked by emotional intensity and, choreographic risk. Sofi began dancing flamenco as a child at the Academy of Spanish Dance with Esmeralda Enrique, and has since continued their studies in Spain. In 2014, Sofi founded the Inamorata Dance Collective as a site to explore flamenco outside of its traditional presentations. Sofi was nominated in the 2023 Johanna Performing Arts Prizes for their recognized impact on the field.

As a curator, Sofi has worked with Guelph Dance Festival, Aeris Korper, Kaeja d'Dance, and Dusk Dances. Sofi's cares about programming work that changes the artist and therefore the audience, and reflects the glowing diversity of the city they grew up in. Sofi is excited to assume their new role as Festival Director at Dusk Dances.

Shivani Joshi

General Manager

Shivani Joshi’s artistic practice stems from years of embodying Bharatnatyam training and Indian Folk dance styles. She continues to nurture her artistic practice with pieces that combine props and narrative to explore modern stories, and she plays with visual metaphor in physical form. Shivani graduated with an MA in Performance Studies from NYU Tisch in 2021, where her dissertation focused on communities of women creating cultural spaces, colonialism in India, and how it affected Bharatnatyam as a whole. Shivani is a Professor at Centennial College, teaching Contemporary Performance Analysis, and is the Writer-In-Residence at Nova Dance. Shivani’s producing background spans through years of highlighting multicultural and folk festivals in the South Asian Dance diaspora. As the incoming General Manager of Dusk Dances, Shivani continues to serve communities of global majority in her work.

Sylvie Bouchard

Consultant and Supporting Curator

Sylvie Bouchard (elle/she/her) is originally from Montréal, where she began her dance training. She joined Toronto Dance Theatre in 1985 and performed nationally and internationally with them for five years.  Sylvie has worked closely with many choreographers including Denise Fujiwara, Gerry Trentham, the late Tedd Robinson, Lina Cruz, Yvonne Coutts, Susie Burpee, Marie-Josée Chartier, Sashar Zarif, Serge Bennathan, Peggy Baker and Roger Sinha. Sylvie performs with Fujiwara Dance Inventions and Pounds per Square Inch, and has performed with Kaeja D’dance, Winnipeg Contemporary Dancers and Dancemakers.

Throughout her artistic career, Sylvie Bouchard has continued to forge original concepts in both the creation and the presentation of dance. In 1993, she creates Dusk Dances, a festival that presents dance in Public Parks. In 1997 she forms the Company CORPUS with artistic partner David Danzon. Between 1997 and 2008, Sylvie co-created eight works with Danzon that toured nationally and internationally in Street Theatre Festivals, on stage and in schools. In 2008, Sylvie forms BoucharDanse, a company that serves as an umbrella for her artistic endeavors. Bouchard co-created and performed in the popular series Four Square at Tree House TV.

Fanny Ghorayeb

Artist Advocate and Social Alignment Advisor

Fanny Ghorayeb began her professional dance career as a performer, dance teacher and choreographer. For 27 years, Fanny was a Dance educator at Cawthra Park Secondary School, where she developed an outstanding high school program for young dance artists. While teaching full-time, Fanny Ghorayeb maintained her involvement in the professional dance community. She served on the Boards of Directors for Dancemakers, the School of Toronto Dance Theatre and the Dancer Transition Resource Centre (DTRC), was a Dora juror in the dance division, and a choreographer and teacher in several theatres and post-secondary institutions. Since leaving Cawthra Park in June 2017, Fanny has been involved in a number of independent projects with Canadian and international choreographers (e.g. Heidi Latsky (US), Sylvain Emard (Montreal)). Fanny currently serves on faculty at the Toronto Metropolitan University’s School of Performance teaching Dance for Musical Theatre for fourth year Dance and Acting students.

MikaËl Lavogiez

Website & Design Administrator

Mikaël Lavogiez is a web designer, photographer and videographer. A native of Strasbourg, France, he completed a degree in geography, but soon changed course and decided to invest his passion for photography and design within the arts and culture sector.

It was in Brussels in 2001 that it all started : Mikaël met Pierre Diependaele and Louis Ziegler, artistic directors of Theatre du Marché aux Grains. With the group, he worked as a technician and also created videographic imagery for such productions as Troilus et Cressida, Cassandre and Le Jour des Meurtres dans l’histoire d’Hamlet. He also delved into audiovisual production and created the association Procreaction, dedicated to recording and editing concerts and plays, as well as producing documentaries and short films.

After multiple trips to Asia, the USA and Europe, Mikaël decided to continue his artistic adventure in Canada. In 2008, he packed his bags and moved to Toronto where he quickly connected with local artists, choreographers and directors. After undertaking many roles within several artistic companies in Toronto, he created his own company, iSpin Media, in 2009 offering graphic design, web-design, photo/video and public relations services. He now lives in Vancouver, BC, where his business ventures continue.

Mikaël has worked for Dusk Dances since 2009!

Jade Silman

Social Media Coordinator

Jade Silman (she/her) is a theatre creator, dramaturg and administrator who foregrounds collaboration, equity, and passion in all her work. Since graduating from York University’s Theatre BFA, she has continued to learn through the Nightwood Innovators Program, Theatre Gargantua’s Emerging Artists Roundtable, and Toronto Fringe Festival’s TENT producers training program. Currently, she is the Program Assistant for Nightwood Theatre’s Write from the Hip training and the New Work Development Coordinator at Canadian Stage. Additionally, she has been working as a freelance dramaturg and creator, and arts administrator for companies including Next Generation Showcase, Crow’s Theatre, Dusk Dances, Arts Commons and CBC/Zone 3.