Photo credit: Francesca Chudnoff
Alicia Grant (she/her) is a choreographer and dancer working in various constellations with other makers in Toronto and Berlin. Her work in performance, video, and sound design has been presented in Canada, USA, and Europe from stages to swimming pools to abandoned factories to galleries. She is currently working on saxophone solos and a fantasy travel noise album.
Amanda LaRusic is movement artist and dance educator based out of Truro Nova Scotia. She has performed with many choreographers and collaborators around Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Toronto and Ottawa. Amanda is excited to take part in her first CLEaR Forum exploration at Ross Creek.
Sarah Prosper is a proud Mi’kmaq Women from Eskasoni First Nation, Nova Scotia. Sarah is currently attending Dalhousie University where she is taking Bachelor of Science in Therapeutic Recreation. Sarah began dancing at age 2 and soon after her mother began a boys and girls dance program in Eskasoni. With the community success of the NADACA dance program Sarah became a fixture in the group and began teaching dance at age 14. Sarah has taught many styles with the help of her mentors and ADAPT training. Sarah has not only been an avid dancer throughout her lifetime, but she has also been seen in large theatre productions in Cape Breton Island and in community performances throughout the years. Today Sarah dances with Dalhousie University and you may see Sarah volunteering at special needs facilities and health centers during her school year. She also continues in providing opportunities for children and adults to build their connections with themselves through dance in her home community and in Halifax. Her elders have taught her to always be proud of who she is; a Mi’kmaq ~Mekite’t ta’n teli l’nuit and to always be proud of where she has come from and where she will go. Like so many of us, Sarah has hopes and dreams but most of all she hopes to incorporate indigenous creativeness, be that in the dance world or in communities; this way reconciliation continues.
Camille-Zoé Valcourt-Synnott is a multidisciplinary artist from Québec (QC). She graduated with a BFA from Concordia University (Montréal, QC) in 2018 and recently completed an MFA at NSCAD University (Halifax, NS). Her object-oriented and text-based work uses humour as an entry point to make her practice more accessible, while constantly challenging the preciousness of art spaces. Her performance work reflects on the value of the artist’s work, perceptions of productivity and where life and art meets.
Photo Credit: Movita Beaucoup
Deanna (also our Mocean Administrator) is a versatilely trained dancer from Southern Ontario where she was exposed to a wide range of teachers and choreographers from across Canada and the United States. Royal Academy of Dance and Vaganova (Russian Society of Dance) ballet make up the foundation for her passion for contemporary, modern, jazz and tap styles. Though Dalhousie University brought Deanna to the east coast to pursue her undergraduate degree in Commerce and Political Science – it wasn’t long before she began teaching and choreographing for students from toddlers to adults at various studios across the province. Since graduating she continues to teach, choreograph, and work as a non-profit administrator. She was thrilled to be onstage with the Votive Youth Project as a performer in Compound Effect by Stephanie Mitro. Deanna is particularly focused on expanding her choreographic practice and creation development as we ride out the rest of this pandemic.