Staff

Based in Tkarón:to/Toronto, Dedra McDermott (she/her) is a new-generation artist-researcher, emerging curator, and movement dramaturg interested in performance and choreographic methodology, visual and media arts, and divergent approaches to engaging with archival practices. Her artistic research explores identity, memory, and grief—utilizing autoethnographic methodology to weave movement and literary choreographies to create live, filmed, and installation works. As a movement artist whose cultural positioning places her at the intersection of Black (Jamaican, First-Generation Canadian) and woman-identifying, all of her knowledge coalesces into her dancing body—a vessel that holds an accumulation of embodied practices and unwavering resilience. She holds a BFA in Choreography and Performance (York University) and an MA in Drama, Theatre and Performance Studies (University of Toronto). Through curatorial practice, Dedra aims to supportively challenge artistic communities—shaping and serving creative environments to encourage fellowship.
McDermott is currently an MFA candidate in Criticism and Curatorial Practice at OCAD University.
dedra[at]danceworks.ca

Dedra McDermott

David Norsworthy

David Norsworthy (he/him) is a Tkarón:to/Toronto-based dance artist, choreographer and producer of mixed Japanese immigrant/British settler descent who is “an exceptionally lucid performer, impressive and articulate” (Globe and Mail). A graduate of The Juilliard School where he trained in Euro-American contemporary dance, David delights in asking questions, and believes deeply in the transformative power of dancing. David has performed with dance companies and collaborated with dance creators in Canada, USA, Sweden and Australia, and his choreographic career has included independently produced full-length works, international tours, and commissioned projects for companies, universities and schools. His choreographic work has focused on community-building through co-creation; cultivating participatory environments that work with the materiality of emotion and dialogue through improvisational scores. David is the grateful recipient of the Living Arts Centre’s Ron Lenyk Award and was one of three finalists for the Toronto Arts Foundation’s Emerging Artist Award. David is a Co-Founder/Co-Director of TOES FOR DANCE, a Board Member of CanAsian Dance, and a part-time Rehearsal Director for Norrdans, a contemporary dance company in Sweden.
Photo by Colton Curtis.
david[at]danceworks.ca

Neetika Sharma is an accomplished Arts Manager, Kathak Dance Artist, and an ardent advocate for cultural diversity within Canada's not-for-profit and charity sectors, particularly in the performing arts industry. Driven by a passion for the arts, Neetika endeavors to instigate positive social change and foster inclusivity in the dance domain through her expertise in arts management.
Graduating from the University of Toronto's Business Management program, Neetika boasts over eight years of hands-on experience in Arts Management. She currently serves as the Director of Operations at DTRC and holds the position of General Manager at DanceWorks, a premier presenter of Independent dance in Toronto. Her extensive managerial background includes roles at CaribbeanTales Media Group/CineFAM, Fall For Dance North Festival Inc., and other organizations dedicated to supporting artists from diverse cultural backgrounds. In 2019, she launched the Katha-Ras Dance Lab, an empowering choreography facilitation program for underrepresented women dancers of color in Toronto, supported by ArtReach Toronto and, in 2020, by the Canada Council for the Arts. Neetika has actively contributed to ArtReach Toronto as a grant adjudicator and as a consultant to revamp the youth grant program. Additionally, she mentors as a Creative Connect mentor at Nia Centre for the Arts. Her community focused work has also been supported by Laidlaw Foundation in the past.
Creatively, Neetika delves into exploring traditional Kathak repertoire's intricate layers, offering fresh and relevant interpretations through her research, creations, and performances.
neetika[at]danceworks.ca

Neetika Sharma

Catherine Romano

After completing a graduate program in New York City, Catherine spent almost a decade living in New York while pursuing a career as a performing arts manager, including a role as the Outreach Manager at New York City Ballet. Catherine returned to Toronto and worked as an arts writer and photographer, before joining DanceWorks as the Education and Outreach Manager. She holds a B.F.A. in Dance and a B.Education in Arts Integration from York University, and a M.A. in Performance Studies from NYU. Catherine's current research interests include youth dance subcultures and audience engagement in traditional theatre spaces that intersect with new media technologies.
catherine[at]danceworks.ca

Mallika Wadke, a passionate advocate for the arts, draws her passion for dance from extensive training in Kathak, an Indian-classical dance form from Guruji Hemant and Vaishali Panwar. With a Bachelor's of Arts in Socio-Cultural Anthropology, she often intertwines her academic insights with a career dedicated to marketing, communications, events, and fundraising industries. Mallika channels her expertise into practice by supporting the arts, education, and healthcare institutions. As the Events and Marketing Coordinator at DanceWorks, she is committed to take a multifaceted approach that showcases a blend of cultural understanding and strategic communication while harmonizing her love for dance and social impact. Aside from her professional commitments, Mallika is an avid foodie, a travel enthusiast and always on the hunt for interesting book recommendations!
mallika[at]danceworks.ca

Mallika Wadke

Young Associates

Artistic Advisory Committee

Mimi Beck dedicated her career to advancing and promoting dance in all forms through presentation, commissioning, advocacy and research. As founding Dance Curator of the DanceWorks series in Toronto, she encouraged dance literacy among adults and youth. Beck served as Executive Director of the Canadian Network of Dance Presenters, CanDance, as well as Dance Ontario. She was inducted into the Dance Collection Danse Hall of Fame in 2023, receiving the William J.S. Boyle Dance Luminary Award. From 1990 – 1994, Beck was Canadian director of a bi-lateral touring exchange with Dance Theatre Workshop (NY) and the U.S. National Performance Network. An active choreographer and performer in Toronto’s independent dance movement in the late 1970s and early 1980s, she received the first Canada Council grant awarded to a dance curator for professional development.
Beck currently enjoys her roles as mentor, consultant and facilitator.
Photo by Liliana Reyes.

Mimi Beck

Ravyn Wngz “The Black Widow of Burlesque” is a Tanzanian, Bermudian, Mohawk, 2Spirit, Queer and Transcendent empowerment storyteller. Ravyn is an abolitionist and co-founder of ILL NANA/DiverseCity Dance Company, Black Lives Matter Canada, & the Wildseed Centre for Arts & Activism. A Canadian Best-Selling Author and Top 25 Women of Influence in Canada recipient of 2021, Ravyn is committed to eradicating all forms of anti-Black racism and settler colonialism systems of oppression while nurturing Black and Indigenous solidarity and healing in communities.
Photo by Jackie Brown Photography.

Ravyn Wngz

Devyani Saltzman (she/her) is a Canadian writer, curator, and arts leader with an in-depth practice in multidisciplinary programming at the intersection of the arts, ideas, and social change. She was most recently Director of Public Programming at the Art Gallery of Ontario, one of North America’s leading art museums. Saltzman was previously the Director of Literary Arts at the Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity, as well as a founding Curator at Luminato, Toronto’s international multidisciplinary arts festival. She is the author of Shooting Water which The New York Times called “a poignant memoir.” Her work has appeared in The Globe and Mail, The Atlantic, Room Magazine, and Tehelka, India’s weekly for arts and investigative journalism. She is the Vice Chair of the Writers’ Trust of Canada, President of the Toronto Arts Council, the Ontario Association of Art Galleries and Nova Dance. Saltzman has a Masters in Anthropology and Sociology and is currently working on her second book of nonfiction which will be published by Random House in 2025.
Photo by Liat Aharoni.

Devyani Saltzman

Board of Directors

DanceWorks' Board of Directors as of November 2023 including (L to R, back) Belinda Ngai, Mario Fasce, Douglas Tanton, Alex Hsiao, Adam Kurnik, with Mimi Beck (front, middle) and Dedra McDermott and David Norsworthy (front, right). Photo by Kendra Epik.