Butterflies in Spirit

Dance, Healing, & MMIWG builds on the years of community healing work Lorelei Williams has done with her dance group, Butterflies in Spirit. Founded in 2012, Butterflies in Spirit is a dance group consisting of family members of missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls (MMIWG). With a mission to raise awareness of violence against Aboriginal women and girls, Butterflies in Spirit has performed at numerous gatherings and events throughout Canada, the US, and has traveled as far as Bogota, Colombia to perform at an International Women’s World Peace event. On stage, members of the group wear shirts depicting images of their missing and murdered loved ones.

Palexelsiya Lorelei Williams

Billie Jeanne Sinclair

Lisa Monchalin

Maranda Johnson

Huuyatlh (Tabatha) Frank

Jacqueline Hanuse

Aunty Carrie Phillip (Shxwenatqwa)

Butterfly Children:

• Saiyaka Morin-Williams (Aerials)
• Sequoia  Snuxyaltwa 
• Malikai Findlay-Johnson
• Ethan Frank-Blackbird
• Kyah Morin-Baker

Angela Baker

Aeriosa Dance Society

Founded to explore the transformative potential of vertical dance in collaboration with performers, musicians, and visual artists. By working with diverse local and international peers, tracing connections between traditional and contemporary practices, Aeriosa contributes to the worldwide impact and relevance of the vertical dance art form.

Julia Taffe

Julia Carr

Meghan Goodman

Cara Siu

Git Hayetsk

Git Hayetsk means the people of the copper shield in Sm’algyax which is spoken by the Nisga’a, Tsimshian, and Gitxsan Nations. Our dancers are bonded by their common ancestry to the Sm’algyak speaking peoples with distinctions in their family ties to the Haida, Tlingit, Haisla, and Musqueam Nations. Our home and ancestral villages are located in Southeast Alaska, Vancouver BC and along the coastline of the Terrace-Prince Rupert area including the Nass and Skeena Rivers.

Mike Dangeli

Mique’l Dangeli

Spakwus Slolem

Spakwus Slolem, (translated,”Eagle Song Dancers), are members of the Squamish Nation. Geographically located in what is called the Lower Mainland of British Columbia. Our traditional territory being the Howe Sound, Vancouver to Whistler area. The Squamish have lived and utilized this area for over 10,000 years, having history traced back to the Great Flood, and an Ice Age.

Artistic Director Bob S7aplek Baker

Bob Baker (Squamish Ancestral name is S7aplek, Hawaiian name is Lanakila) is co-founder and Spokesperson for Spakwus Slulem (Eagle Song Dancers)  a reputable Dance Group of the Squamish Nation. Born and Raised Squamish, Bob has been exercising his Culture through Singing, Dances, and various presentations, for over 35 years. Accomplishments range from revival of Sea-going Canoes and traditions, to Cultural projects such as the 27 ft. Grandmother Welcome Figure, at Ambleside Beach Park, to dance presentations in Taiwan, Hawaii, Japan, Switzerland, (Montreux Jazz Festival), and opening Ceremonies for Western Canada Summer games, Nation Aboriginal Hockey Championships, International U18 Lacrosse Championships, and recently, opening ceremony for the Canada Aboriginal Music Awards – to Blessing Ceremonies for B.C. Ferries, in Flensburg, Germany and the Tallships flotilla Blessing Ceremony here at English bay, Vancouver. On-going performances and projects continue throughout the Lower Mainland, Vancouver, Squamish-Whistler and Vancouver Island.

Tsatsu Stalqayu

Tsatsu Stalqayu translated into English means Coastal Wolf Pack. They are a traditional Coast Salish performance group that consists of more than 25 male and female members of a single family, from age 6 months to over 50. The members of the group represent with pride the following Coast Salish communities: Musqueam, Okanagan, Tsartlip, Nanaimo, Penelakut, Cowichan and more. Their diversity allows for more song, dance and stories to be shared on stage and in their presentations, and to celebrate a sense of belonging to this, the hereditary lands of the Coast Salish people.Their aim is to reunite their people and show the world who they are and where they come from, and is helped by the breadth of their membership and their multi-generational makeup.

Kin Balam

“Kin” the “path” (in Lenca Poton), and “Balam”, “jaguar” (in Mayan Yucatec) translate as the path of the jaguar. In my Indigenous culture the jaguar is a profound, and philosophically multi-layers symbol central to our identity. The jaguar was seen to be the most powerful, highly intelligent, and beautiful creature capable of wielding mastery over the jungle. In ancient times, our warriors used to paint themselves as jaguars before they walked into battle. This was done so as to bathe themselves in the spiritual powers the jaguar possessed. The jaguar is also the animal spirit whom represents femininity, and our mother earth.

JB the First Lady

Jerilynn Snuxyaltwa Webster is an Indigenous hip-hop and spoken word artist, emcee, beat-boxer, activist, cultural dancer, and youth educator from the Nuxalk and Onondaga nations. She is currently based in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.  JB sees her music as a way of capturing oral history and often writes lyrics about challenging subjects such as the Canadian Indian residential school system and missing and murdered Indigenous women. She sees hip-hop as a tool of Indigenous empowerment and is a prominent voice for decolonization and for inspiring Indigenous women and youth.

Sierra Tasi-Baker

Sierra is the lead Indigenous Urban Design Consultant at Sky Spirit Studio Inc. Sierra is from the Sḵwx̱wú7mesh Úxwumixw (Squamish Nation) and is also xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Kwakwaka’wakw/Musgamagw Dzawada’enuxw, Tɫingit, and Magyar (Hungarian). Her Kwak’wala name is “Gesuqwaluck” which means “Creator or Creative one” and was given to her by her late grandmother and Grand-Matriarch, Chief Emily Nelson Baker, T̓łaḵwagila̱’og̱wa.

Ana Fernanda Cornejo Luna

Ana Fernanda Cornejo Luna, a psychology graduate with a master’s degree in Cultural Management, is a dancer focused on Bellydance and Mexika Tenochka Chichimeka dances, with participation in festivals, competitions and multiple events. With a Peruvian father and Mexican mother, she has worked with the Wixárika culture in multicultural projects. She seeks to make people aware of the importance of the indigenous cultures of the world, preserving the traditions, customs and cosmovision of the people, decolonizing towards the reconnection with our roots.

Madelaine McCallum

Madelaine McCallum is a gifted dancer, motivational speaker, facilitator, and MC — a true, multi-faceted creative. She is from Ile a la Crosse, Saskatchewan and brings passion with a gentle yet powerful presence to the stage whether she is there to share one of her inspiring Speaks or she has been asked to dance, or MC.

Luminesque Dance 

Provide expertly-designed heels dance training and public dance shows that serve as a safe and empowering space to explore and celebrate otherwise repressed expressions of self and sexuality. While the present world celebrates patriarchal power and sexuality – it often represses, shames and retaliates against all other forms. We hope that by providing accessible space on our stage for our students to safely express their sexuality, power, and confidence, we work together to unlearn and challenge any sexism, racism, homophobia, transphobia, fatphobia, ageism and ableism that makes us feel like we’re anything less than brilliant.

Judith Colibrí

Supernaturals Modelling

Co-founded by two internationally renowned Indigenous changemakers, Joleen Mitton and Patrick Shannon. Our goal as an organization is to uplift communities and emerging Indigenous talent through skills development, employment, and healing – while facilitating Indigenous-Ally relationships via collaboration, education and healthy representation at the highest level. Indigenous people are in high demand right now, and we want to be at the forefront of this new wave of cultural awareness. Through healthy and high-end cultural representation in the commercial and fashion world, Supernaturals’ mission is to celebrate and make visible Indigenous peoples at a high level in media arts, culture, community, land-based wisdom and the global market.

Alondra Bueno

Alondra began her independent training in the city of Guadalajara in Mexico to later join the circus arts school in Geneva, Switzerland and training in different circus schools in France, Sweden and Denmark. When finish the school, she began to work on the creation of two individual works called “Mis tres muertes” and “Flashback” that mix dance, physical theater and various circus disciplines, already performed in different festivals Currently she’s part of the folkloric dance ballet group “Sonidos y movimientos de México”, and is an independent circus artist who teaches in 3 circus studios in Guadalajara.

M’Girl

M’Girl’s percussive based hand drum songs blends harmonies into a contemporary gospel style, reflecting both their cultural practice and their personal story of home. Led by Renae Morriseau, their music reflects their personal journeys and cultural worldviews held respectfully by each M’Girl living within the urban environment of the lower mainland of British Columbia, Canada.

Renae Morriseau

Tiare LaPorte

Deanna Gestrine

Photographers

Chris Randle – Photographer/Videographer

Tim Matheson – Photographer

Jaime Leigh Gianopoulous – Photographer