Celebrate the art of dance with the London Dance Festival.
COMMUNITY SHOWCASE
Saturday September 14, 2024
2-5pm
Ivey Park, 331 Thames St.
FREE Performances & Workshops
Donations are gratefully accepted!
Sept 14: FREE Performances & Workshops in Ivey Park
ALL of our workshops are for all ages & experience levels!
2-3pm Performances by BRDRless, Sound in Motion, and Aiyana Ruel + Shannon Pybus
2:30pm Salsa Workshop with Brdrless Dance
3-4pm Performances by BrickHouse Productions, Young Company of NLDC, and Flamenco del Sur
3:20pm Dance Mob Workshop with Sam Sendas & Bizz Varty
4-5pm Performances by Forest City Hawaiian Dance Co, and our Dance Mob
4:15pm Hawaiian Dance Workshop with Alison Gauthier
Download the full Festival programme now!
Sept 15: FREE Workshops & Ticketed Performance at XUUX
Learn more @ldndancefest
The London Dance Festival is supported by the London Arts Council through the City of London’s Community Arts Investment Program.
Learn more about the performers!
Performance by BRDRLESS Dance Studio.
Choreographer & performer: Anchal Dahiya
Bollywood Basics for Beginners: Introduce participants to the fundamentals of Bollywood dance, including hand movements, footwork, and facial expressions. Start with simple choreography and gradually increase the complexity with the theatrical aspect of Bollywood as participants become more comfortable.
From a young age, Anchal’s passion for diverse cultures propelled her to embrace their arts and traditions. Introduced to dance at eight, she developed a deep love for styles like Bollywood, Bhangra, Kuthu, Bharatnatyam, and Kuchipudi. Anchal’s dance journey connected her with diverse artists, fueling her desire to celebrate diversity through dance. This led her to establish BRDRLESS Dance Studio in London, ON, the city’s only multicultural dance studio. BRDRLESS offers workshops, classes, and performances. Anchal actively engages in multicultural events and fundraisers like the Me to We Mission Trip to India. She has performed for events/organizers such as the Western Fair and International Women’s Day (CCLC & GTA organizers), Western University & Collages, and ICAL to foster cultural exchanges
‘Where are you?’ by Sound in Motion Studio
We often wear a social mask when we are out in the world, hiding our emotions and building up our barriers. But there are places and people that are special to us, where we can find safety and strengthen our courage to truly express ourselves. This dance explores how we can pull others out of hiding when we build trust and create that positive space.
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‘Echoes’ by Aiyana Ruel and Shannon Pybus
Photo 2: ShannonPybus – by JM Whyte
Born in Vancouver, British Columbia, Aiyana Ruel (she/her) began her professional training at Arts Umbrella. She moved to Toronto to receive her Honours Bachelor of Fine Arts at York University, with a focus on choreography and performance. Under the direction of Susan Lee, Aiyana was a member of the York Dance Ensemble, where she worked collaboratively with colleagues and choreographers.
Through various opportunities in Canada and abroad, Aiyana has worked with internationally recognized artists including Peggy Baker, Ohad Naharin, and Lali Ayguadé. During her post-secondary education, she had the opportunity to go on academic exchange at the University of Chichester in the UK, during which she was exposed to new and exciting methods of movement. In 2021, she moved to Saskatoon, Saskatchewan to join Free Flow Dance Theatre as a performing artist, where she had the opportunity to work with Terrill Maguire, Newton Moraes, Danny Grossman, and Eddie Kastrau, under Jackie Latendresse’s Artistic Direction.
Aiyana currently works as a dance instructor and choreographer in London, as well as the newly-appointed position of London Dance Festival’s Manager! Shannon Pybus is a dance artist originally from Markham, Ontario. She graduated from York University in 2020 with a BFA in Dance specializing in choreography and performance. She recently worked with Free Flow Dance Theatre where she worked with choreographers such as Newton Moraes, Danny Grossman, Eddy Kastrau, and Terrill Maguire. Shannon is currently exploring the connection between nature and human relationships within dance. She teaches in her spare time and is excited to present a new work in the London Dance Festival.
‘Let’s Play House!’ by Sadie Cahill, BrickHouse Productions
‘Let’s Play House!’ is a thoughtful, abstract, and downright wacky depiction of our everyday at-home routine. This piece aims to explore these small habitual movements we perform at home each day, using highly physical, choreographed movement and theatrical expression to make these small moments larger than life. Sadie’s goal is to celebrate the beauty within the mundane.
Sadie Cahill is a queer Toronto-based dance artist, possessing a versatile performance and creation background both on stage and for film. Sadie holds a BFA degree in Dance from York University, where she was a 2-year member of the York Dance Ensemble. Throughout her performance and choreographic career, Sadie has had the privilege of working with the Luminato Festival, MillO Dance Projects, Let the Elephants Dance, Theatre Oculous, Meaningful Movement, SomethingCreative, The Disability Collective, Garage, Spy Films, and Keoni & Mari Madrid. Between creative projects, Sadie shares her passion and knowledge of movement as a faculty member at City Dance Corps in Toronto teaching contemporary, ballet, and modern-based classes to a wide range of levels and abilities.
Learn more about @sadiecahill and @brickhouseproductions.to
‘Runaway’ by the Young Company of NLDC
Choreographer: YoCo Members mentored by Megan Alfano
Dancers: Anna Archibald, Ari Burgess, Lyla Hajar, Nicole Jamieson, Ainsley Morgan, Mia Riccardi, Jenna Russell
Music: Runaway, Aurora
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‘Sweet Child O’Mine’ by the Young Company of NLDC
Choreographer: Ruth Barrett
Dancers: Anna Archibald, Ari Burgess, Lyla Hajar, Nicole Jamieson, Ainsley Morgan, Mia Riccardi, Jenna Russell
Music: Sweet Child O’Mine, Captain Fantasic (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
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Alison Gauthier, Forest City Hawaiian Dance Co.
Based in London, Ontario, Alison Gauthier (aka Kaiolohia’inanamoani) is a performance artist who specializes in Hawaiian entertainment and is the owner of “Forest City Hawaiian Dance Co.”
She has over 25 years of dance training and family entertainment experience, has performed for over 500 events, and was recently the most in demand Hawaiian act while living in Calgary.
To keep her shows authentic and respectful, Alison has studied under several Kumu’s (hula teachers) and although she is not a native Hawaiian by blood, she has the honor of being named “Kaiolohia’inanamoani” by her first Kumu for being pono (truthful and respectful while representing the Hawaiian culture and spirit). Under the guidance and teachings of her current Kumuhula (master hula teacher), Alison is learning new dances, new stories, how to play instruments and is even learning oli (chanting). She hopes to bring her Kumuhula to London for a workshop in the future.
A mesmerizing dancer, and endearing speaker, Alison captures attention and holds it. Her experience and professionalism make her one of London’s most valued performers in the entertainment industry.
Learn more about Forest City Hawaiian Dance Co.