Photo by Kaylee McCullough featuring Miggy Esteban and Sukriti Sharma.
Insights from Experience is a panel discussion that will invite established choreographers Brandy Leary, Esie Mensah, and George Stamos into conversation around what they have learned about and from practices of choreography throughout their careers. The event will be facilitated by DanceWorks’ Co-Executive Artistic Producer, David Norsworthy, and will begin with introductions and a panel discussion before opening up to audience questions and comments.
This event is a part of Unfinish / Unfurl, DanceWorks’ mini-festival focused on creative practice and choreographic process and is made possible with co-production support from Dancemakers.
Featured Artists
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Brandy is a choreographer and dancer. She is a third-generation Italian/Irish settler based in Tkaronto, working locally, nationally, and internationally. Over the past two decades, she has split her time between Canada, India, and Europe, training, performing, collaborating, teaching, and touring.
Brandy creates contemporary performances informed by dance, martial arts, circus, and theatre. The dances she creates examine structural questions about the body, space, perception, and spectator. Her works have been described as “phenomenological interventions” (Canadian Theatre), “soulful and sensuous” (NY Times) and “magisterial movement”(UK Guardian). Nationally and internationally, her works have been experienced by hundreds of thousands of audience members in Canada, Europe, India, UK, the Arctic, South Africa, Australia, and the USA.
She is the founder and Artistic Director of Anandam Dancetheatre, the choreographer of Why Not Theatre’s internationally touring show of the Mahabharata, and CoFounder/Co-Director of Collective Space (Toronto).Photo Courtesy of Dancemakers
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Esie Mensah is an award-winning choreographer, director, dancer, movement director, educator, and TEDx speaker whose powerful voice shapes the future of performance across dance, theatre, opera, and film/TV. A Dora-nominated artist, she has worked with global leaders Rihanna, Nelly Furtado, Kenny Ortega, Canada’s Got Talent, AGO, and the Toronto Raptors. Her work has toured internationally to the U.S., U.K., Ghana, Nigeria, France, and more. She has created for Soulpepper, Obsidian Theatre, and Shaw Festival, and directed Serving Elizabeth at Theatre Aquarius. This season, she makes her Stratford Festival debut with Ransacking Troy and is choreographer for Scott Joplin’s Treemonisha: A Musical Reimagining, premiering in Chicago in May 2025.
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Montreal based George Stamos is an award-winning Canadian dance artist known for his innovative transdisciplinary work. In 2025, George received acclaim for the premier of his films (Syzygy, One Kind Favor, and Potrero Hill) and solo-show Sister Nightlight. Dissolving boundaries between disciplines with visceral hybrid creations, George has held residencies at the Baryshnikov Arts Center (2009, 2010, 2017) and Agora de la Danse (Montréal, 2012–2015). In 2014, he received the McKnight International Choreographers Award. In 2022 his film SNAP, Archie’s Story won The Overcome Film Festival’s Best International Documentary Film Award, and from 2022 to 2024, he was the Artistic and Pedagogical Associate at Dance Arts Institute. Originally from Nova Scotia, he received a BA in Art - Choreography at Amsterdam University of the Arts and a Graduate Diploma in Communication Studies from Concordia University. George’s career began in NYC (1993–1999) as a solo artist and has since worked with many prominent companies.
Photo by Carlos Martell
Tickets
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This year, DanceWorks is piloting a Pay-What-You-Can ticket pricing model. Please use the below reference points to select a ticket price option that aligns with your circumstance.
SUPPORTER - $24.00 including facility fee, not including order fee - If you have access to a salary, savings, investments, assets, or familial wealth, selecting this rate will help subsidize the attendance of someone for whom cost is a barrier.
REGULAR - $18.00 including facility fee, not including order fee - This rate reflects the regular cost for the event. Please select this rate if you have access to a regular income and are able to meet your basic needs around food, housing, and transportation.
SUBSIDIZED - $12.00 including facility fee, not including order fee - Please select this rate if you are able to meet your basic needs but have gaps in your income and limited access to savings or familial support.
REDUCED - $5.00 including facility fee, not including order fee - Please select this rate if you are able to meet your basic needs but don’t have access to a regular income, savings, or familial support.
ACCESS - $0.00 - The option to access this event at no cost ensures that members of our community for whom price is a barrier to participation are able to join us.
This approach is greatly inspired by the Toronto Dance Community Love-In. Special thanks to Leelee Oluwatoyosi Eko Davis for sharing their knowledge!
If you’re curious to dive deeper into different approaches to dance-making, be sure to check out the other events within our Unfinish / Unfurl programming.
If you have questions about attending a performance, ticketing, or would like assistance purchasing tickets, your best option is to email [email protected]. You can also reach the Theatre Centre box office by phone at (416) 538-0988. Please leave a message and they will endeavour to return your call within 48 hours.
Keep in Mind
This event will be documented with photo and video. By attending this event you consent to your image being taken and potentially being used on DanceWorks’ website and social media.
Access Information
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The Franco Boni Theatre is accessible via a single-user accessibility lift on the main floor:
The lift is key-operated and must be operated by a staff member. Upon arrival, please notify the Box Office or Café/Bar staff for lift assistance. When leaving the venue, the lift includes a blue call button to request staff assistance to go down.
The second floor provides level access into the theatre, with reserved seats on the ground level to accommodate accessibility devices.
An accessible bathroom is located on the second floor.
If you have any Access Needs, please reach out to Cass Cabral Pucci, Festival Coordinator.
Contact Information
If you have any questions about this event, please contact Cass Cabral Pucci, Festival Coordinator.
For Box Office & Ticketing Inquiries, please reach out to The Theatre Centre Box Office by email or phone.
