End of May Newsletter
- adinaherling
- May 19, 2025
- 5 min read
As we slowly move towards the start of Summer, we are so excited to write you with news about upcoming projects (such as the Tkarón:to premiere of Firehorse & Shadow, Queer Conscious Moving Bodies, and Wild Soma at Hollyhock), as well as about the gorgeous work happening right now in our community. We hope that, wherever you are, Spring has been treating you gently. We cannot wait to see you again.
UPCOMING
Firehorse and Shadow
We are two weeks away from the Tkarón:to premiere of Firehorse & Shadow, our co-production with Citadel + Compagnie!
When: June 5-8th, 2025
Where: The Citadel (304 Parliament St, Toronto)
Tickets: $35 General Admission, $25 Student/Arts Worker/Senior
Firehorse and Shadow is a deeply personal and evocative autobiographical work co-created by Andrea Nann (writer, choreographer, and performer), Annie Katsura Rollins (shadow artist/performer), Sarah Chase (director/dance-storyteller), and Cindy Mochizuki (dramaturge), with music by Ben Grossman, animation by Elysha Poirier, video by Henry Mak with Eric Chan, and lighting by Echo Zhou (after Jennifer Lennon).
Rooted in family history, the piece traces the matrilineal line of Andrea’s Chinese-Canadian heritage, drawing attention to the generational patterns of silence and self-suppression experienced by the women in her lineage. As a child, Andrea grappled with a sense of voicelessness, often struggling to express her innermost thoughts and feelings. She began to notice a troubling absence in the conversations around her and within her community – people rarely asked their mothers or grandmothers about their passions, their dreams, or the intimate details of their lives. This silence became the catalyst for a profound artistic and personal investigation into the cultural norms that discouraged emotional expression and individuality—particularly among women in Chinese-Canadian families.
In the Lab: Katie Ewald
“We are mind, body and spirit. That is what I perceive being human to be. I have a hunch that we are all needing more connection to spirit right now, through mindful experiences in community.”- Katie Ewald
Andrea is thrilled to be joining Katie for the space between, co-presented by IICSI (International Institute for Critical Studies in Improvisation) as part of the 2025 Guelph Dance Festival!
The space between: A research-based creation that explores the intersection between sacred geometry (the transcultural belief that the universe is based on geometric principles such as the Golden Mean and double helix) and our relationship to the embodiment of the unseen and ‘déjà là’ (‘already there’).
Choreography by Katie Ewald, with performers Kevin O’Connor, Julia Garlisi, Andrea Nann, and Katie Ewald and support from Coman Poon, Ame Henderson, Leslie Fisher, Tiago Ferreira.
When: Saturday, May 31 | 4:00 PM
Where: ImprovLab (University of Guelph), 87 Trent Ln
Tickets: $25 or $15
One Night Choir: rEvolver Edition!
We are thrilled to partner with Vancouver’s Up In The Air Theatre and bring One Night Choir to their rEvolver Festival!
The rEvolver One Night Choir will be a one hour outdoor embodied singing event, where strangers will come together and learn a surprise piece of choral music! Facilitated by Dreamwalker Kelsi James (who is also the resident curator at rEvolver!), this event is low-vision friendly and open to all.
When: Sunday, May 25th, 2pm
Where: Outside of the Cultch (1895 Venables St, Vancouver)
Tickets: Free
Check out the rest of rEvolver Festival, including works from local artists and artists across the country, including friend of Dreamwalker, Sarv Star!
Rooted in Dreamwalker Dance’s Conscious Bodies Practice, we invite participants into a shared space of connection and resilience.Through movement, sound, writing, image-making, and relational activities, we foster agency, presence, and celebration. The approach is person- and community-centered, with a strong focus on collective exploration and co-creation. Participants leave with a deeper sense of the dancing artist within, and a strengthened relationship to their body and community.
Queer Conscious Moving Bodies
In celebration of Pride Month, Conscious Bodies practice is coming to Kitchener and to Tkarón:to! Produced with Eilers Dance Theatre and facilitated by Sid Ryan Eilers (them/them), Chase Lo (they/them), Kelsi James (she/they), Shannon Kitchings (she/they), Danielle Denichaud and Andrea Nann (she/her/they), Queer Conscious Moving Bodies will explore Queer, Trans, and Gender Non-Conforming embodiment through curiosity, creativity, and community.
KITCHENER
In partnership with Spectrum Waterloo Region’s Rainbow Community Space
When: May 20th 7pm
Where: The Registry Theatre, Kitchener, ON
Registration: HERE
TKARÓN:TO (TORONTO)
In partnership with Canada National Ballet School
When: May 31st at 2:15pm
Where: NBS Block Party, Toronto, ON
Registration: HERE
TKARÓN:TO (TORONTO)
In partnership with The Fifth
When: Sundays 3:30-4:45pm, June 1st, 8th, 15th, 22nd
Where: Main Studio at 366 Adelaide East
Registration (sliding scale): HERE
Produced in partnership with Dreamwalker Dance Company with generous support from Canada Council for the Arts. Queer Conscious Moving Bodies is happening alongside Sid Ryan Eiler's touring work, Kiss The Stormy Sky.
Wild Soma at Hollyhock!
In this time of intersecting social, political, and planetary crises, how do we embrace and honour all that is arising in us as bodies?
Join us, Wild Soma, at Hollyhock Retreat Centre on Cortes Island, BC from June 22-27 for ‘Wild Soma Being and Becoming: Embodied Practices for Collective Thriving’.
Wild Soma is Andrea Nann, Julia Aplin, Shannon Litzenberger, Roula Said. We will spend a delicious time filled with moving, singing, walking, resting, swimming, playing and BEING… together with each other, the land, trees and waters.
This experience will leave you with:
An expanded awareness of embodied ways of knowing, being and doing
A repertoire of individual and collective practices designed to support your wellbeing and aliveness, including sensory, attentional, relational, and creative practices
An enhanced capacity for cultivating life-giving relationship with self, others, and the world around you
A better understanding of how embodiment is a world-making gesture
“I recommend you jump all-in to the Wild Soma retreat experience. This seriously thoughtful program is in equal parts deep learning, Being shifting and delightful fun. I can’t recommend it enough.”
– Deborah Farquharson (artist, past participant.)
Conscious Bodies: Sharing Embodied Stories
Throughout the Lunar Year 2025, the Conscious Bodies Core Ensemble will continue holding an open practice in relation to every New Moon. All gatherings are 90 mins, free, and happening on Zoom.
Our intention is to hold and create space for coming together and honouring the profound experiences we are each embodying, as sensory beings desiring to live in good relationships, and for sharing stories — engaging our bodies, hearts, thoughts and imaginations.
Our next gathering will be May 26th 4pm PT / 7pm ET on Zoom!
In conjunction with every gathering and every New Moon, we will also be sharing an activation from All In Good Time on our website – check out the offerings here!
FEEL IT by Roots featuring Natasha Fisher. Out Now!
We are THRILLED to share news of Dreamwalker Joshua Classic Roots DePerry's new single! Feel It featuring Natasha Fisher can be heard on any of your favourite streaming platforms. The full album drops on June 13th! Supported by Ontario Arts Council.
Classic Roots is an Indigenous DJ, producer, and performer of Ojibwe/Blackfoot descent, known for his powerful fusion of techno and house music with traditional Indigenous rhythms. Born in Thunder Bay and representing Long Lake 58 First Nation, he is now based in Toronto, where he continues to push boundaries in the electronic music scene.
Follow our collaborators on Substack!
Judy Luo – https://judyluo.substack.com/
Shannon Litzenberger – https://shannonlitzenberger.substack.com/
Andy Maize / Skydiggers – https://skydiggersofficial.substack.com/
We wish you all good things for this season: may the curiosity and care-filled unfolding of Spring usher you tenderly towards warm Summer.
With care,
Dreamwalker Dance
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