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THE CHOREOGRAPHERS IN RESIDENCE

MENTORSHIP - CREATION - RESEARCH - DEVELOPMENT

Congratulations to our choreographers in residence at DAC!

We are so thrilled and inspired to welcome these fabulous artists in residence:

Naomi Gwynn - "Seven"

Kunal Ranchod - "An Ode to Kiran and Pradeep"
Sara Harton & Lila Mae Talbot - "Autotomie"
Stephanie Fromentin - "Descendant"
Valérie Chartier - "Thin"
Jessica Muszynski - "Tête-à-Tête"
Bulbe collective - "Entr t'Enir"

Each of the choreographers in residence is awarded precious studio time at Les Studios/GBC and are paired and supported by a selection of mentors from our robust and experienced mentoring committee. They are also awarded access to workshops and support with our partner La Danse Sur les Routes.

The mentor committee is made up of recognized and experienced professionals (dramatists, rehearsal directors, sound and lighting designers) who have a wealth of professional experience and vast knowledge in their respective fields.

Kunal Ranchod

Kunal Ranchod is a choreographer with degrees from Metropolitan University of Toronto and L'École supérieure de ballet du Québec. His works have seen the likes of international scenes including: Canada, United States, India and Japan. He has choreographed various works for The National Ballet of Canada, Central Pennsylvania Youth Ballet, Radio Canada, The National Film Board of Canada, The Luminato Festival, Ballet Kelowna, Ballet Ouest de Montréal and more recently Metropolitan University of Toronto. . In 2017, Ranchod launched his own company, Compagnie Kunal Ranchod. The company was fortunate to receive residencies and grants through Les Grands Ballets Canadiens, Danse à la Carte, L'École supérieure de ballet du Québec and Conseil des arts et des lettres du Québec.

Valerie Chartier

Valérie Chartier has accumulated a wide experience in dance for 39 years ranging from ballet, jazz, contemporary, hip hop, house, waacking and Krump. Valérie alias Taminator alias Lady Maddripp, is a pioneer of Krump in Canada and an influential and globally recognized leader in this movement. She has traveled the world competing, teaching and judging events. Taminator is also vice-president of the non-profit organization Montreal Krump Alliance. Also director of the educational and artistic program LeadHers, the latter aims to develop the full physical and mental potential of women through learning the foundations and essence of
Krump. She is also a performer and choreographer. She was recently a candidate for season 3 of
the program Révolution, choreographer and performer of the duo Krump Dualis, which was presented in April 2022 at
House of Culture Mercier.

Sara Harton

Sara is a graduate of the Superior School of Contemporary Ballet. From 2006 to 2009, she joined BJM Danse
where she notably performed in pieces by Azure Barton, Rodrigo Pederneiras, Crystal Pite and Mauro
Bigonzetti. Since 2009, Sara has joined ezdanza, Danse K par K, P.P.S. Dance, The 7 fingers
de la main (Triptyque), Trip the Light Fantastic, Umanoove/Didy Veldman and Cirque Éloize. She also collaborates with different schools as a teacher, assistant choreographer and choreographer.

Lila Mae Talbot

Following classical training at the École Supérieure de Ballet du Québec, Lila-Mae joined Les Grands Ballets Canadiens and danced a classical and contemporary repertoire such as pieces by Ohad Naharin, Jean-Christophe Maillot and Balanchine. She then became a member of Rubberband Dance Group,
company in which she has been involved for several years. A freelance dancer since 2012, we have seen her in the work of Crystal Pite (Opera “The Tempest”) Andrew Skeels, Karine Ledoyen, Harold Rhéaume, PPS Danse, Illusion Théatre de Marionnette and Sylvain Émard.

Stephanie Fromentin

Stéphanie Fromentin (choreographer and performer) is a choreographer, rehearsalist, performer and
French-American teacher based in Montreal. She graduated with distinction from a BFA in contemporary dance at Concordia University in 2004 and a master's degree in dance from UQÀM in 2014.
where his research-creation focuses on the perception and sensation of the present time experienced by the performer while dancing. She was honored as the recipient of the Pierre Lapointe scholarship for academic excellence in 2011 and received five teaching positions in the dance department
during his studies. Stéphanie has presented her own creations in Montreal, Toronto, New York, Paris and Grenoble and has performed for Daina Ashbee, Martin Messier, Wants&Needs Dance, Parts+Labour_Danse, Anne-Flore de Rochambeau, and notably for Helen Simard in its entirety.
of his trilogy on Iggy Pop and his new creation Everything is collapsing. Her approach to creation comes from an embodied body rooted in the truthfulness of human experience.

Naomi Gwynn

Naomi Gwynn is a dance artist located between Montreal, Quebec and New York. Naomi has participated in numerous performances and presented choreographic works in Ottawa, Montreal, Israel, Europe and the United States. In 2019, she completed the Kibbutz Contemporary Dance Company's International Dance Journey program in northern Israel. In 2019-2020 she was a member of the Junior Company of Cobos Mika in Palamos, Spain, and in 2022 she was a member of the first cohort of Gibney Company PRO pilots. Her formal dance training includes work with Rubberband Dance Group, Margie Gillis, Batsheva Dance Company, Trip the Light Fantastic, Julia Adam Dance and Sidra Bell Dance New York.

Jessica Muszynski

JESSICA JOY MUSZYNSKI is a Filipino-Polish-Canadian choreographer and dancer born in Burnaby, British Columbia, where she began her ballet training at the Richmond Academy of Dance before moving to Calgary, AB in 2012. May 2019 , she graduated from the University of Southern California, where she performed excerpts from works by William Forsythe, Crystal Pite and Victor Quijada and earned a BFA in dance. graduation, Jessica starred in a video for Half•alive, and danced with Aszure Barton & Artists at the world premiere of Where There's Form. Currently, Jessica is a member of the Montreal dance company RUBBERBAND, and is also co-founder of the Bulbe Collective, an all-female choreographic collective created in October 2020. Alongside her collaboration with RUBBERBAND and Bulbe, Jessica has presented works in the 18, 19th & 20th edition of the Festival Quartiers Danses where she received the Discovery Prize for her piece Fam ly. Her new piece BALLOON will be presented in the Danse Buissonnière program of Tangente.

Bulb Collective

Founded in 2020, the Bulbe Collective is a group of female artists collaborating to develop a choreographic laboratory. The Collective made its debut in September 2021 at the Quartiers Danses Festival and presented its creation, Entr’Eux. The result of a collaboration with director Laetitia Demessence and composer Nathan Mignien, their first dance short film Entr'Eux was supported by the Canada Council for the Arts. The Collectif Bulbe was recently awarded a choreographic residency supported by Compagnie Cas Public.