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creative team
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creative team ✳︎
“go get a good job with more pay, and you're okay.”
Choreographers
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Choreographer, Dancer
Skye Rogers (she/her) is a dance and theatre artist based in Hamilton, dearly devoted to making creative spaces in which people feel at home. Skye is the co-Artistic Director of retrograde: dance in motion and Tapestry Theatre Collective, and is an Artistic Associate with Aeris Körper Contemporary Dance. She is an alumni of the RBC Apprentice Program with Musical Stage Co. (Choreography, 2023-24), Brock University (Arts Leadership, 2022) and Randolph College (Performing Arts, 2019).
Skye’s creative process is collaborative, embodied, and wholehearted. Her practice spans choreography, workshop facilitation, devised theatre creation, and performance. Alongside many self-produced projects, she has worked creatively with The City of St. Catharines, The City of Hamilton, Hamilton Festival Theatre Company, Ontario Culture Days, Suitcase in Point, Frog in Hand, Stand Up Dance, Expect Theatre, shykids, Spindle Collective and Riot King, among others. You can explore more of Skye’s range of work at www.skylightcollection.com.
Photo by Lauren Garbutt.
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Choreographer, Dancer
Vik Mudge (they/he) is a trans non-binary dancer, choreographer and facilitator, currently living on Treaty 3 territory, in the city colonized as Hamilton. With experience and training in various dance styles, performance and acting techniques, and visual arts disciplines, Vik’s creativity stems from the intersection of these interests and their journey towards healing and self-actualization.
2023 marked the beginning of a focused creative journey for Vik, as they developed and premiered an anthology dance show (“the Body and the Brain”) in collaboration with multi-disciplinary artist, Skye Rogers. In 2024, the two would go on to officially announce their partnership as retrograde:dance in motion, with their inaugural project being “Composing Community”, presented by Ontario Culture Days, in October 2024. Vik previously worked on the development of their professional skills through mentorship with dance artist Sid Ryan Eilers from 2022-2024, which led to the creation and presentation of his own dance film, “<3”. In 2023 Vik received the Emerging Artist Award from the City of St. Catharines.
Vik dreams of a creative landscape that’s rich in cross-pollination and diverse voices. They continually strive to connect with folks and artists from all over, further enhancing the web of creativity and community that he strives to spin.
Photo by Lauren Garbutt.
“money, so they say, is the root of all evil today.”
Dancers
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Dancer, Creative Collaborator
Kestra McCurry (she/they) is a 24 year old artist from Brantford, Ontario. She loves dance for its storytelling, honesty, and ability to create connection and community. She is excited by all there is to learn about movement and performance, and is inspired by music, art and people.
Kestra has trained in various styles including classical ballet, contemporary dance, tap, and flamenco. She had the privilege of studying with Hamilton City Ballet of Dundas ON, participating in summer programs at the Cuban School of Ballet in Hamilton, and Festival Ballet Providence in Rhode Island, USA. She joined Roxey Ballet Company of New Jersey, USA, in 2022 as an apprentice and returned as a Company Artist for the 2023/2024 season. Currently, Kestra is looking forward to new opportunities to collaborate with inspiring and talented artists, such as the ones she now shares the stage with.
Photo by Charmain McCurry.
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Dancer, Creative Collaborator
Soraya Lee Wo (she/her) is a graduate of Cawthra Park Secondary School’s Dance Program and a Company alumna of the Canadian Contemporary Dance Theatre. Soraya is a recent graduate of the Arts and Science program at McMaster University and an alumna dancer and choreographer for McMaster's competitive dance team. Soraya’s Honours undergraduate thesis, Dancing Through Migration, was a piece and research process that explored navigating the silences and absences within family archives. Dancing Through Migration has been recognized for its ability to start discussion and for Soraya’s “skillful use of a non-verbal medium”. Soraya is a frequent performer and collaborator with the Parahumans, a post-modern dance company under the Artistic Direction of Dave Wilson, performing most recently in Shivers Up Your Spine and Allies & Friends presented by the Wind and the Leaves Collective, and Transfixation presented by the Parahumans. Soraya has performed with Shakti Fine Arts at Hamilton’s Winterfest and with Retrograde: Dance in Motion, in Bloom for Hamilton’s Fringe on the Streets. Soraya is an adaptive dance teacher for children with different abilities and older adults. Soraya’s artistic practice is inspired by the intersections between dance, embodied knowledge, community, and inclusive rehabilitation.
Photo by Marlowe Porter.
“but if you ask for a rise, it's no surprise that they're giving none away.”
Dramaturg
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Dramaturg
Colleen is obsessed with storytelling; it shows in her multidisciplinary practice. She's an educator, dramaturge, world builder, placemaker, fight director, and sound designer - but she's most passionate about movement and dance as a vehicle for human expression. Colleen is the Artistic Director of Frog in Hand, a dance company she cofounded. She has devised and performed with Frog in Hand since 2012, generating cultural capital in her hometown of Mississauga and advocating for contemporary dance in a suburban setting. Colleen's choreography incorporates large, ensemble casts. Her site-specific work has appeared in a brew pub, rowing club, arena, factory, sawmill, gym, and splash pad - as well as in educational institutions and on stages across Canada (Centre in the Square, Guelph Dance Festival, Toronto Metropolitan University).
Colleen completed her MA with Distinction at the London Contemporary Dance School in England. Her rare passion for grant writing has garnered support for Frog in Hand from regional, provincial and national arts councils, foundations, and the Ontario Trillium Foundation, among others. From 2020-2024 Colleen guided Frog in Hand through the process of imagining, building and launching the Art Shelter, Ontario’s only off-grid (solar-powered) dance studio. Colleen is a Certified Advanced Actor Combatant and Fight Instructor with Fight Directors Canada, and she was recently honoured to serve on the Mayor's Task Force for the Arts in Mississauga.
Photo by J. Dilecce.