Jäjé is a multidisciplinary artist born in Trinidad and raised in the city of Toronto. As a professionally trained dancer, actor, singer and poet, Jäjé has not only gone through Honey Jam, as well as having graced the stages of the Mod Club, El Mocambo, Phoenix Concert Theatre, Manifesto15 at the City View Drive-in and most recently TIFF's Slaight Music Stage. Currently you can stream Jäjé's latest releases on all major streaming sites, as well as purchase her debut poetry eBook Heart, heavy through her Instagram bio!
ANNABELLE CHVOSTEK
Singer, touring & Withrow Park
Annabelle Chvostek is a Juno-nominated singer-songwriter, composer and producer whose musical achievements span across multiple genres. Annabelle collaborates frequently with Toronto's Echo Women's Choir and, through an Artist in Residence tenure, developed skills in choral arrangement, composition and conducting. Annabelle has led choral workshops and pop-up choirs at events such as “United to Stop Hate”, organized by the Urban Alliance for Race Relations, and “I Can't Keep Quiet Day”, both at Toronto's City Hall. Annabelle is also known for her co-writes with Canadian icon Bruce Cockburn, and as a former member of The Wailin' Jennys. Her recent composition, commissioned by The Primavera Project for cellist Matt Haimovitz, had its world premiere in April, 2022 at the Venice Biennale and was released by PENTATONE. Her sixth solo album String of Pearls (nominated for a 2022 CFMA Award) harkens back to the grittiness of 1930s tango, Berlin cabaret, and Hot Club Jazz.
Mike Evin
Singer, touring & Withrow Park
Mike Evin is a piano pop singer-songwriter based in Toronto. For over 20 years, he’s been steadily building a loyal following across North America, the UK and beyond. Frequent collaborators include Barenaked Ladies, and he’s released 6 full-length albums. Mike’s music has been featured on CBC and Sirius XM, and he’s performed at such festivals as Ottawa Folk Festival, Northern Lights Boreal, Blue Skies, Summerfolk and Riverfest. Artists he has shared stages with include Martha Wainwright, Dan Mangan and Sarah Harmer. He is preparing to release a new album later this year.
Eve Goldberg
Musician, touring & Withrow Park
Eve Goldberg sings music that draws honey from the rock of life. Since 1990, she has brought her watercolour voice and solid instrumental style (guitar and ukulele) to house concerts, festivals, theatres, and coffeehouses across Canada and the US. Her performances are intimate and relaxed, moving effortlessly from folk classics to original gems. She has released three CDs and is currently a member of the folk/roots duo Gathering Sparks. When she is not performing, Eve teaches music to adults in community settings. She currently leads the Parkdale Ukulele Group and the Ukulele Orchestra of Toronto (Ukes of T). She has performed and taught music classes all over North America including the Port Townsend Ukulele Festival (WA), James Hill Ukulele Institute (BC and ON), Strathmore UkeFest (MD), Midwest Ukulele Camp (MI), and the Haliburton School of Art and Design (ON). She is thrilled to be part of Moving Parts.www.evegoldberg.com
David Hodgson
Performer, Withrow Park
Through music, saxophonist, composer, and educator David Hodgson captures poetic spontaneity and compassion. A 2021 graduate of the University of Toronto’s Jazz Performance Program, David has established himself as an ambitious and lyrical artist in Toronto’s vibrant jazz community. Music has always been an important part of his life, and his participation in the 2017 National Youth Jazz Combo, the 2016 Berklee Jazz Workshop, and the 2015 and 2016 Conn-Selmer Centre-Stage Jazz Band cemented a deep appreciation of Black American Musical traditions and a passion for musical expression. David currently leads and composes for Stil Trio and David Hodgson4, mixing improvised and through-composed music drawing from Jazz, Classical, and Folk genres. In addition to finding inspiration from musical colleagues and teachers, visual art and design strongly influence his passion for music, continuing to shape David’s identity as a musician and artist. He is the recipient of the 2020 Oscar Peterson Developing Artist Grant, the 2017 Yamaha Performance and Passion Award, the 2017 Fraser MacPherson Jazz Fund, and the 2016 Golden Reed Award.
Jen Hum
Performer, touring & Withrow Park
A Toronto based independent dancer, creator and performer, Jen Hum uses her multifaceted background to create performances that seek to challenge and question the status quo. She is constantly searching for the meaning in things and ways of communicating these findings through her art. Her curiosity has resulted in solo projects and the opportunity to work with a diverse collection of individuals and groups including Fujiwara Dance Inventions, Returning River Collective, Redsnow Collective, Polynomials Dance, J9 Dance Projects, Alias Dance Projects, Anandam Dance Theatre, and Xing Dance Theatre. She has performed in Dance: Made in Canada, Dusk Dances, Dance Matters, Toronto Fringe Festival, The Reel Asian Film Festival, Nuit Blanche and the Guelph Jazz Festival. She has trained locally and abroad is always excited about what future artistic investigations will bring.
Mekha Jayakumar
Performer, Hamilton
Mekha Jayakumar is an artist with experience in both the dance and acting field. She has performed for multiple Indian events including the North American Film Awards and shared the stage alongside two Indian actresses in 2018. She is expecting to expand her knowledge of different styles such as bollywood, bhangra, garba and hip-hop. She is also an aspiring actress that has worked on the set of The Handmaid’s Tale as an extra, and is working with Play Management on the path to becoming an actress.
Mayumi Lashbrook
Performer, touring & Withrow Park
Mayumi Lashbrook (she/her) is a Japanese Canadian settler in Tkaronto who seeks to expose, challenge, and rectify systems of oppression by creating innovative, introspective and inclusive dance theatre. She sees embodiment as at the crux of world making, providing alternatives to unconscious thought, consumerism and oppression. She strives to increase connection, visibility and diversity in the Canadian arts landscape through on- and off-stage initiatives. Her primary practices span performance, choreography, education, creative production and Artistic Direction. Mayumi is the Co-Artistic Director of Hamilton based Aeris Körper, mentee of Denise Fujiwara of Fujiwara Dance Inventions, and practitioner of Dreamwalker Dance’s Conscious Bodies methodology. Mayumi contributes as a creative voice through both choreography and production of healthy ecologies for dance to be made in. Her different roles are all-encompassing and overlapping. This enables her to approach projects and communities with knowledge, openness, and curiosity.
Laurel MacDonald
Music Lead, Arranger and Singer, touring & Withrow Park
Laurel MacDonald is a singer and composer based in Toronto, Canada. She has released five critically-acclaimed CDs and has performed extensively, most recently in She Sings as She Flies and Patchwork (both with Mary Jane Lamond), in her solo project Videovoce, in the dance productions SDX (Kaeja d’Dance) and Moving Parts (Fujiwara Dance Inventions), and as a member of the Georgian ensemble Darbazi. Along with her creative partner Phil Strong, Laurel has composed the music for many film productions, most recently for the dance films Kitchen Dances (Kaeja d’Dance) and Love Learn Listen (Fujiwara Dance Inventions), and for the film documentary You Are Here, directed by Moze Mossanen for Bell Media/HBO. Laurel is soon to start work recording her next solo album I Eat the Stars, but in the meantime, she is thrilled to be working again with the wonderful creative team for Moving Parts in 2023. https://improbablemusic.com
Anisha Manyal
Performer, Hamilton
Anisha began her dance journey at Kalaimanram Academy of Fine Arts & Yoga. She has trained extensively in Bharatnatyam, an Indian classical dance form for over 15 years and completed her arangetram in 2016. Anisha received a diploma from the academy and composed a dissertation titled "B for Ballet or Bharatnatyam". Since then, Anisha has explored various Indian dance styles including Kathak, another classical dance art as well as folk arts like garba, bhangra and kolatam. She has also explored western dance styles like contemporary, hip hop and jazz. Currently Anisha is pursuing a Bachelor of Arts in psychology at York University.
Cathy Nosaty
Choir Lead, touring & Withrow Park
Cathy Nosaty enjoys a diverse career as a musician, composer, musical director and teaching artist. She began her musical training as a classical pianist, and her love of creative collaboration led her to compose music for dance, theatre and film. She has scored over 100 productions for regional and independent theatre companies across Canada, and a dozen documentary films. She is an enthusiastic and passionate teaching artist who has led programs with tdsbCREATES, the Canadian Opera Company, Corporation of Massey Hall/Roy Thompson Hall, Tapestry Opera, the Royal Conservatory of Music, Theatre Direct, Swallowing Clouds, Jumblies Theatre, Community Arts Guild, and numerous programs with the Ontario Arts Council. She has been nominated for five DORA awards and the 2020 Louis Applebaum Composer Award - Music for Young People, and is presently an M.A. candidate in the Critical Studies in Improvisation program at the University of Guelph. Cathy was the community choir conductor for Moving Parts (Fujiwara Dance Inventions) in 2017 and 2019, and is honored to return to Moving Parts at Dusk Dances 2023.
Disha Panchal
Performer, Hamilton
Disha Panchal has been trained as a Bharatnatyam dancer under the Gandharva curriculum for over 7 years in India. Currently, she is training in hip hop and funk styles like locking and popping to broaden her dance vocabulary. She has been part of several music videos and a TEDx performance and been part of projects with eminent South Asian choreographers in Toronto. She is also a core performer with Bollywood dance groups Jadoo Ent. and Taaj Ent. Through collaborations with other South Asian dancers and acquiring foundational training in multiple styles, Disha is striving towards versatility and adaptability in various dance forms to broaden her repertoire.
Diana C. Reyes - Fly Lady Di
Host, touring & Withrow Park
DJ, WITHROW PARK
Diana Reyes also known as Fly Lady Di (she/her) is a multi-disciplinary artist, recognized for her work as a street dance artist, and DJ. Born and raised in Toronto, her current explorations combine her ancestral Filipino heritage with contemporary concepts - through dance choreography, performance making and joke writing. Most notably, her work includes Honey (Universal), Fall Out Boy's 'Dance Dance', and performances with artists like Ciara, Jason Derulo, the Clipse feat. Pharrell, MC Lyte and BlackSTREET to name just a few. She's been featured on etalk, Toronto Life, Toronto Star, Dance Current and countless publications in North America and abroad. Her work has also brought her all over Europe, Asia and South America and she's been supported by federal, provincial and city granting bodies. She plans to further investigate pre-colonial Filipino culture and incorporate that into her work as a performance maker. www.flyladydi.com
Danah Rosales
Workshop Leader, Withrow Park
Danah Rosales (She/Her/Siya) is a Tkaronto based queer millennial; second-generation Canadian-Filipinx; a daughter; a dawta; a sister; a sis; a cis; a mother of two little humans; a motha of a kiki house; and an artist in which her work encompasses teaching, collaborative and interdisciplinary choreography and performance. As an active community leader, Maldita Siriano 007 contributes to the Canadian scene as a choreographer, and teacher in pursuit of increasing the awareness of the ballroom scene, its history, major contributions, relevance and presence within today's time. She continues to develop herself as a ballroom artist for the mainstream scene, developing, training, working with and supporting her Kiki house in her leadership role as a House Mother and a New Legend and active community member within the Toronto Kiki Ballroom Alliance as the co-chair of the TKBA Council.
Lucy Rupert
Performer, touring & Withrow Park
Lucy Rupert is a dancer, choreographer, art-science researcher, and environmentalist. She is the founder of Blue Ceiling dance and a freelance performer with many Canadian choreographers and companies including Fujiwara Dance Inventions, Theatre Rusticle, Chartier Danse, Nova Dance, hART dance and Anandman Dance among many others. Her work has been presented throughout Canada and in New York and Germany and she recently returned from the Ucross Foundation’s international artist residency program in Wyoming. In 2019 she was shortlisted for the Inaugural Johanna Metcalf Performing Arts Awards, and received an Audience choice award at the 2017 dance: made in Canada festival. Lucy has a double BA in Dance and Music, an MA in History and is currently studying philosophy through Oxford University. She lives in a magical neighbourhood full of coyotes and old trees in Toronto/Tkaronto.
Adrian Russouw
Performer, Withrow Park
Adrian Russouw is a frequent upright bassist and occasional poet / vocalist who lives in Toronto. His studies have mostly been centered around Black American musical traditions with a special affection for the music of Thelonious Monk, Billy Strayhorn, and Billie Holiday. He has released a couple of albums independently under the moniker “Belview” which feature vocal performances and tape loops as well as instrumental performances on bass, guitar, and percussion. Current projects include collaborations with dancers, poets, vocalists, and instrumentalists that can be seen at Toronto venues such as The Tranzac, Array Space, The Rex, The Emmet Ray, and more.
Shailee Shethji
Performer, Hamilton
Shailee Shethji is a fourth-year biology student with a rich background in Bharatnatyam, she completed her Bharatnatyam arangetram at the age of 12. Shailee actively participates in university dance competitions, showcasing her diverse skills. In addition to Bharatnatyam, she is also exploring other dance forms such as Garba and Bollywood. Shailee's passion for dance and dedication to her studies make her a well-rounded individual with a deep appreciation for the arts.
Muskaan Singh
Performer, Hamilton
Muskaan Singh is a dancer who holds expertise in giddha and bhangra. She has years of experience in Bollywood, hip hop, contemporary and jazz due to the Castlebrooke secondary school dance company she was part of, while also being involved in the dance program. She holds minimum experience in ballet and African. She has trained for bhangra at Nachdi Jawani and from there on, she decided to teach herself giddha as it was a dying dance form within the Punjabi Culture. She teaches giddha to big group clients for weddings. Just last year she was a giddha instructor for the York Lions Dance Club and is currently part of York University’s Giddha team as a dancer, while also assisting in choreography. She is trying to spread giddha through the opportunities that arise so more Punjabi girls are exposed and encouraged to learn this dance form.
Brodie Stevenson
Performer, touring & Withrow Park
Brodie Stevenson comes from the village of Wuikinuxv on British Columbia’s central coast and now calls Toronto his home. As a dancer Stevenson began his career at Toronto Dance Theatre under the direction of Christopher House and has since worked with a diverse range of choreographers and companies in the contemporary dance milieu. As a choreographer, his interests are centred around the rigorous practices of collaboration and collective decision making. Stevenson has been creating and performing as part of the award-winning trio, Throwdown Collective, since 2008. He is a Dora Award winning performer with The Dietrich Group as well as a recipient for outstanding choreography with Throwdown Collective.
Raoul Jiggyman Wilke
Workshop Leader, Withrow Park
Raoul Wilke’s extensive training in house, hip hop and vernacular jazz has led him to perform for years with professional companies The Moon Runners and Holla Jazz. He also continues to work on film, choreograph his own work, and establish a name for himself internationally through battle competitions. Raoul continues to travel and study these dance forms to better understand their historical and contemporary contexts, and he aims to share his love of dance by creating a safe space where movement is the primary voice.
DAVID WOODHEAD
MUSICIAN, touring & Withrow Park
Immersed in the world of independent music-making from the start, David Woodhead has contributed to some 300 recording projects and worked with many influential artists including Perth County Conspiracy, Stan Rogers, Oliver Schroer, Gil Scott- Heron, and David Sanborn. His live gigs have included working with Malagasy guitarist Donné Roberts (a recent Juno nominee), classical-folk fusioneers Ensemble Polaris and veteran jazzers Manteca, as well as touring internationally with master songwriter James Keelaghan and working with his own rambunctious and playful Confabulation ensemble. David has done instruction at the Folk Alliance International conference (Kansas City), Haliburton Winter Folk Camp, the Goderich Celtic College and Ontario’s The Woods. He's produced numerous recording projects, been an invited guest improvisor at Arraymusic and Casey Sokol’s improv soirées at York University, and done a Music Residency at the Banff Centre, working on music which led to his most recent Confabulation CD, Tunnels and Visions. www.davidwoodhead.com
