A one-week in-studio exchange, explore, and create collaboratively. Culminating in an informal, open sharing, along with a facilitated audience talkback.
Artists at all stages of their careers—emerging to established—who are open and curious in their practice. Artists working in traditional forms and lineages, contemporary and experimental approaches, street dance forms, and everything in between and beyond.
Toronto 2026
Keegan Shim is a Chinese-Canadian roller skater, dancer, instructor, and choreographer based in Tkaronto (Toronto). He has a background in street dance, with over 15+ years of experience training in multiple styles, performing, teaching, and competing. He found his love for roller skating in early 2019 and had immersed himself in the culture, studying under a diverse range of local and international instructors and participating in numerous skate events and festivals. Keegan's work is rooted in finding connections between roller skating and street dance forms, treating them as part of the same ecosystem rather than as separate entities.
Photo by Shawn Kim
I am a Korean-born artist based in Vancouver, Canada, working with movement, installation, sound, and image. I studied dance and media art in Canada, followed by postgraduate study in Fine Art and Visual Cultures in London, UK. During my training in interactive art, I began exploring improvisation through live performance using computerized sensors. Later, within the context of Live Art in the UK, improvisation became central as my engagement with somatic movement deepened. This shift allowed my movement practice to expand beyond the conventional frame of dance toward relational, process-based work.
Photo by Ashkan Kalali
Montreal 2026
Leo Leung, aka CAPSLOCK, is a Montreal based campbellocker who has been training with the Montreal campbellocking collective, Lock Unity, for the last 8 years. He has since participated in multiple Lock Unity campbellocking showcases at different community street dance events and dance studios showcases. Most notably, Leo Leung has been part of the 2024 JOAT Street Dance Festival performance, in the piece titled : Time Travel, choreographed by Natasha “Tash” Jean-Bart and Lock Unity, a showcase dedicated to the creator of Campbellocking : Don “Campbellock” Campbell.
In addition to this, Leo Leung has been participating in several campbellocking and street dance battles across Canada, as well as participated in street battle events in San Francisco and Hong Kong. He always has the goal to keep improving in his dance and in pursuit to keep growing as a dancer.
Photo by Renata Carmo
David Norsworthy-Shibatani (he/him) is a Tkarón:to/Toronto-based dance artist, choreographer, and artistic director of mixed Japanese immigrant/British settler descent who delights in asking questions. A graduate of The Juilliard School, he is fascinated by the transformative power of dancing; working with contemporary dance and improvisation through a lineage of American and European modern and post-modern dance. David has performed with dance companies and collaborated with dance creators in Canada, USA, Sweden and Australia. His choreographic work centres collaboration, and often explores themes of connection, co-creation, consent, and community through interactive experiences and score-based improvisations. As a Co-Founder/Co- Director of TOES FOR DANCE, David has initiated educational programs with national reach across Canada, and has spearheaded hyper-local audience and artist development projects.
photo by Kaylee McCullough
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Vancouver 2026
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Palak Dhiman is an independent Kathak dance artist and educator, training in the form since 1993. She has performed extensively across Canada and internationally. Her work weaves intricate rhythm and expressive storytelling, grounded in tradition while engaging contemporary perspectives. Her performance credits include collaborations with Manohar Performing Arts (2006–2019) and Upasana in Ottawa (2016–2019), a 2022 national tour with Usha Dance Ensemble, and an appearance at the Taj Mahotsav in India. Most recently, she appeared as a guest Kathak artist in the Royal Winnipeg Ballet’s 2024 production of The Nutcracker. Palak holds an MA in Sociology, where she explored dance and identity formation. Her work has been supported by Canada’s foremost arts institutions, and she has taught in Winnipeg, Ottawa, Nepal, and now Vancouver. Through her practice, Palak aims to expand the visibility of Kathak while highlighting its evolving, expressive potential as a universal artistic language.
photo by FUZD Media
Alea de Castro, BScN (RN), also known as Didi, is a multidisciplinary street dance artist, performer, choreographer, educator, and event producer with over 23 years of experience, including 14 years specializing in Waacking, Hip Hop, and House. She has trained with pioneering artists across major dance hubs such as New York, Los Angeles, Toronto, and Montreal.
She is the co-founder and artistic director of Moov Ottawa Dance (2018) and the non-profit Moov, Bouge, Danza (2022), where she has co-created works like The Underground (2021) and is developing Colours and Emotions (2026). Her choreography has toured across the Greater Toronto Area and internationally, including presentations in Indonesia and South Korea.
Alea has also produced key Ottawa dance events that support community and mentorship. As a competitor and judge, she has earned recognition nationally. Alongside her artistic career, she is a Registered Nurse and recipient of the 2021 Spark Ontario Health Care Hero Award.
photo by John Arnaldo.
2025
Toronto
Montreal
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