Director
Kathleen Rea danced with Canada’s Ballet Jorgen, National Ballet of Canada & Tiroler Landestheater (Austria). She fell in love with contact improvisation (CI) 21 years ago and has been involved in the CI community ever since. She has choreographed over 40 dance works and been nominated for 5 DORA awards. Kathleen has a learning disability that throughout her life has meant that writing take 4 to 8 times longer than the average person. It is one of life’s great surprises and mysteries for her that despite the struggle she developed a love of writing and is a published author (“The Healing Dance” -Charles C. Thomas Publisher, as well as blog and academic writing). She has a Master’s in Expressive Arts with a minor in Psychology. She has a passion for functional movement and is a teacher candidate of the Axis Syllabus. She is the director of REAson d’etre dance productions a not-for-profit contact improvisation based dance company that produces a weekly dance jam in Toronto, the Contact Dance International Film Festival and dance-theatre productions. Being on the autism spectrum she also identifies as being neuro-atypical and works to educate the world about neurodiversity.




Dramaturgy
Tristan R. Whiston is a multi-disciplinary artist who has worked in Toronto’s arts community for over 25 years as a director, dramaturge, writer, performer, and community artist. Tristan has written and directed five audio documentaries for CBC; most notably, his work, Middle C, won the 2007 Premios Ondas Award for International Radio. As the Artist-in-Residence at Central Toronto Youth Services (2004 to  2010), Tristan directed Gender Play,a theatre project working with LGBTQ youth exploring experiences of gender identity. Tristan recently collaborated with Moynan King on an integrated art and sound performance piece called trace, which toured Canada in 2015. In 2016, Tristan travelled to England where he was dramaturge and performer on Hush, a new musical written by Alex Bulmer which was presented at the London International Festival of Theatre and at the Royal Exchange Theatre in Manchester.

Core Dancers



Karen Kaeja is an award-winning performer, choreographer, mentor, community builder and project instigator whose work interrogates relational feminine perspectives. “The mastermind behind Porch View Dances” Toronto Star, she develops performance platforms provoking collaborative relationships between dancers, everyday people and the body. Co-Artistic Director of Kaeja d’Dance with Allen Kaeja, her awards include the 2019 Dance Ontario Lifetime Achievement Award, the CDA “I Love Dance” Community Award and the Paul D. Fleck Fellowship for Innovation (Banff). She has been honoured with 7 Dora Mavor Moore nominations, including 4 for Crave (winning outstanding male). “When she dances, her reserve turns into something almost violently intense.” Globe and Mail. Karen is distinguished in The Canadian Who’s Who, was a finalist for the TAF Muriel Sherrin Award for International achievement, the CDA Innovation Award, NOW’s Best Local Choreographer and twice nominated for NOW’s Best Dance Company. Commissioned and presented by performance series around the world, she continues to dance for many of Canada’s brilliant choreographers, including Kathleen Rea’s productions since 2002. Karen is the Stratford Festival’s first movement dramaturge, engaged for the 2020 premiere of Wendy and Peter Pan. www.kaeja.org




Suzanne Liska has choreographed and danced in works for CanAsian KickStart, DanceWorks CoWorks, Dusk Dances, and Dance Matters, receiving grants and awards through York University, the Toronto Arts Council and Ontario Arts Council. Since 2008, Suzanne has had the honour of performing in several of Kathleen Rea’s works. Recently in 2019, Suzanne co-choreographed “Thread Bound” a dance-theatre duet with Kathleen, reviewed as “elegant and evocative...relentless energy and beautifully executed choreography” (Bateman Review 2019). Suzanne has also originated in roles for choreographers Maxine Heppner, Pam Johnson, Karen Kaeja, and Susan Lee. Suzanne’s next project is a co-creation with dance artist Takako Segawa along with composer Heidi Chan. As a Certified Alexander Technique Teacher and a Teaching member of ATI (Alexander Technique International) with a B.A., B. Education, and a SHHRC funded MFA in Choreography, Suzanne teaches professional dancers, actors, community dancers, and high school and elementary school students. She has taught workshops for Collective Gulp in Ottawa, CCDC in Calgary, CINN in Tokyo, and Leviathan studio in BC and in Toronto for Randolph Performing Arts College, Ryerson University, George Brown and Humber College. She is contract Faculty in York University’s Dance department. www.suzanneliska.com