Pro Series II: Just Breathe, Okâwîmâwaskiy

Director and Performer

Sandra Lamouche (she/her; MA) is a Nehiyaw Iskwew (Cree Woman) from the Bigstone Cree Nation in Northern Alberta. She married into the Piikani Nation in Southern Alberta and is now a proud mother to two boys with braids. In 2007, she completed her BA in Native American Studies from the University of Lethbridge, and in 2021, she successfully defended her MA Thesis at Trent University, titled “Nitona Miyo Pimadisiwin (Seeking a Good Life) Through Indigenous Dance” which examines Indigenous Dance as a Social Determinant of Health and Well Being. Sandra is a multidisciplinary creator, artist, writer and storyteller, a Champion Hoop Dancer, an award winning Indigenous Educational Leader, and a two-time TEDx Speaker. She has over fifteen years of experience in ten international styles of dance including ballet, tap, jazz, lyrical, modern, contemporary, hip hop and powwow styles, and the hoop dance. She has performed, collaborated with, studied and trained with Indigenous Dance Companies such as "Daystar Modern Dance Creations" with Rosalie Jones, founder of Modern Native Dance (Rochester, NY); "Dancing Earth: Contemporary Indigenous Dance Creations" with Rulan Tangen; "Compaigni V'ni Dansi" Metis and Contemporary dance with Yvonne Chartrand (Vancouver, BC); "Kahawi Dance Theatre" with Santee Smith (Toronto, ON); Jack Gray of "Atamira Dance Company" (New Zealand), O. Dela Arts (Ontario), and Raven Spirit Dance (Vancouver). 

Director

Melanie Kloetzel (she/her; MFA, PhD) is a settler performance maker, scholar and educator based in Treaty 7 territory (Moh’kinsstis/Calgary). Director of the dance theatre company kloetzel&co. and co-director of the art intervention collective TRAction (which produces the Climate Art Web), Kloetzel has developed events, workshops and encounters in theatre spaces, alternative venues, spaces of public assembly, and online environments across four continents. Her award-winning films have garnered such awards as Best of Fest (Sans Souci Festival of Dance Cinema, USA), Best Documentary (Mabig Film Festival, Germany), a Boss Female Short (Freedom Festival International) and a Best Experimental Film Award (GO Independent International Film Festival, USA). Her publications can be found in Dance Research Journal, Contemporary Theatre Review, Choreographic Practices, Dance Research, New Theatre Quarterly, and the International Journal of Performance Arts and Digital Media, among others, and her books –  the co-edited anthology Site Dance: Choreographers and the Lure of Alternative Spaces (2009), the co-authored (Re)Positioning Site Dance: Local Acts, Global Perspectives (2019), and the co-authored Covert: A Handbook – are currently available from University Press of Florida, Intellect, and Triarchy Press, respectively.

Performer

Jocelyn H. Leiver (she/her) is an alumnus of the University of Calgary Dance and Music programs, and a company member of kloetzel&co. since 2015 (Faust, the Anatomy of a Disease; MEN in Charge film; It Began with Watching stage/site/tour; Dance of the Puppets short film; Rooms; Tragedy, a sequel). She is a multi-disciplinary artist with credits in theatre, musical theatre, film, choreography, and as a collaborative pianist. She is co-founder of EDJE Dance Theatre, whose work has been presented in Alberta and California, and is currently developing a new work thanks to the Canada Council for the Arts.

Performer

Taylor Ritchie (she/her) is an accomplished performer, dance teacher, and arts enthusiast based in Mohkinstsis (Calgary, Alberta). She completed her BA in Dance at the University of Calgary, with a concentration in choreography and performance with distinction. Since emerging in the local arts scene, she has performed with companies like kloetzel&co. and Corps Bara Dance Theatre and has performed across Canada in Regina’s Stream of Dance Festival, Calgary’s Skylines Dance & Film Series, Fluid Fest, and Alberta Dance Festival, as well as Edmonton’s Prairie Dance Circuit and The Works Art & Design Festival.

Performer

Hannah Isbister (she/they) is a Calgary based artist with a BA in Dance from the University of Calgary (2020). From the Isbister, Sinclair and Dreaver Métis of Saskatchewan and Hanevelt family of Holland, it is through these ancestors that they have the pleasure to live, work and study in Calgary. Recently they have worked with kloetzel&co. in the dance film and performance of The Coming Silence, and with Lisa Calverley in the dance film UnRavel, as well as completed Les Femmes Michif Otipemisiwak’s Reach For The Sky Women’s Leadership Program. 

Performer

Shondra Cromwell-Krywulak (she/her) is a dance artist based out of Mohkinstsis (Calgary) Alberta and is a graduate of the Univeristy of Calgary’s BFA Dance Program (2019). After graduation she has continued her training with YYC Contemporary Training and recently completed a residency with Dancer’s Studio West. Shondra has performed for established artists including Melanie Kloetzel, Michèle Moss, Marie France Forcier, and Heather Ware. Her work has been presented in university performances, and most recently her film French Vanilla with Chocolate Sprinkles was presented in Dancer’s Studio West Quick and Dirty Festival (2021).

Performer

Alèn Martel (he/him/his) is a Canadian-born South / West Asian 'contemporary' dancer, university researcher and educator, and performing arts centre (PAC) professional working in Moh-kíns-tsis | Wincheesh-pah | Kootsisáw, Treaty 7 Territory (Calgary, AB). His main research areas include creative process, global dance history and dance studies (with emphasis on pre-20th century), and dance and computer science.  He has his Bachelor of Arts in Dance from the University of Calgary (2012) and his Master of Arts in Ethnochoreology (2014) from the Irish World Academy of Music and Dance at the University of Limerick.

Katriona Dunn, BFA'22, is a theatre designer, technician, creator, and occasional stage manager. She recently graduated from the University of Calgary Drama program with distinction. During her time at the university, she worked as an assistant designer on We The Same and Formations, as costume designer on Horse Girls, and designer for Wagonstage. She was recognized with the Macdonell Award in Performing Arts and the Marilyn Perkins Award in performing arts. She recently had her Vertigo Theatre debut with Murder on the Orient Express as assistant costume designer, and looks forward to continuing to work and grow in the theatre.

Calum Maunier, BFA'22, is a technical director, theatrical designer, technician and creator. He recently graduated from the University of Calgary Drama program with distinction. His most recent design work was for Cantata with Sage Theatre. He is currently working at Wordfest and just finished the Imaginairium 2022 festival as the technical director, as well as providing technical and design support at cSPACE. He looks forward to supporting Frankenstein with Theatre Jupiter as TD and PM.