Block Party 2023

Join us for one or more of the free Block Party workshops. All workshops are 45 minutes and participants are welcomed to stay as long as they wish.

All dancers will be asked to sign a participant waiver in advance. Access is first come, first served, subject to capacity limits. While dancewear is not required, we do ask that participants please remove their shoes before entering the studio.

All ages and levels are welcome. We are all dancers!

Family Ballet

Bartira Barreto was born in Brazil where she had her ballet training and danced professionally at the contemporary company Ballet Teatro Castro Alves. Bartira has performed in Germany, France, Belgium, Holland, England, Brazil and Portugal. Ms. Barreto has been teaching for over 25 years. She graduated from the Canada’s National Ballet School's Teacher Training Program with distinction, winning both the Betty Oliphant Award and the Carol Chadwick Award. Bartira is a proud staff member of Canada’s National Ballet School, teaching both the Young Dancers Intensive Ballet Program and the Community Dance Program.

Contemporary

Zachary Cardwell is a dance artist  interested in cultivating connections within ourselves and between one other through dance education, performance, and facilitation.

Zachary’s training began at the National Ballet School of Canada’s Young Dancers Program (formerly the Associates Program) where he expressed himself in spacious studios, supported by industry-leading teachers, accompanists, and administration. Zachary later trained at Arts Umbrella under the direction of Artmeis Gordon, where he received a diploma of dance and toured Holland with the Arts Umbrella Post-Secondary Dance Company.

A former dancer with Toronto Dance Theatre, Zachary currently works with Little Pear Garden Dance Company and hART Dance. The artistic direction of Christopher House, Martha Hart, and Emily Cheung respectively has greatly influenced Zachary’s career.

As a Toronto-based freelance dancer,  Zachary has had the pleasure of working with Dusk Dances, Zata Omm Dance Projects, Jane Alison McKinney, ACE dance Theatre, and Caroline’s Creative Initiatives, and continues to connect with current artists and companies.

In 2019 and 2020, Zachary facilitated and presented ‘In Response: An Evening of Music and Dance I and II). Since 2017, Zachary has been teaching his own partnering workshop, B I S BIC (Bodies In Space Bodies In Contact), in which dancers explore fundamental principles of partner-based dancing.

Learn more about Zach at zacharycardwell.ca

Dancehall, Hip Hop

Edmund “Edz” Gyamfi (born, 1986), better known by his stage name Edz Gyamfi, is a Ghanaian-Canadian dance choreographer from Ottawa, Ontario Canada. 
Born in Kumasi, Ghana Edz was exposed to dance at an early age. He was exposed to various genres of music from all around the world. In addition to cultural influences, Edz was also heavily inspired by his two older brothers who danced in the 80s. Edz dedication to the Toronto dance scene has made him the proud recipient of three consecutive One Immigrant Productions (“O.I.P.”) dance scholarships (2011-2013), he's completed The Motivating Excellence (Intensive Program) series with world renowned Choreographer Rhapsody James. Edz has completed the Freshman & Sophomore Program Intensive, organized by world renowned choreographer Luam Keflezgy called Rock the Industry in NYC. Edz also trained under another world-renowned choreographer for an Intensive in LA with Galen Hooks. Edz's approach to teaching is a genuine focus on history, foundation and technique before hitting the choreography aspect of the dance style. Edz is always looking to branch out and share his love of dance with anybody who seeks to learn and grow.

Indigenous Hoop

Feryn Karahkwiiohstha King, is an Indigenous (Mohawk) artist from Akwesasne, Quebec. Her name in Kaníekeha (Mohawk Language) means ‘She makes the moon beautiful.’ or ‘Bright Moon.’ A name given to her on the day of the full moon. She is a dance performer, teacher, and free artistic skill of drawing. Even an acrobatic performer in Aerial Hoop of the circus world. 

At an young age she took interest in learning traditional dancing, and later in life started training in Modern, Contemporary and expression movement. She even attended Centennial Colleges Dance Performance program where she had trained in a variety of dances and took in knowledge of the history behind those dances. As of last year in 2021, she fully entered into the world of circus and is continuing in training of Aerial. 

She is an international performer where she has travelled abroad all across Canada, some parts in the U.S and overseas sharing and teaching hoop in both traditional and fusion style. And in 2019, she was recruited for a hoop dancing role in Cirque Du Soleil TOTEM where she traveled overseas in Europe. Today she still continues to share her passion for dance in her own image.

Nova Dance Technique

Nova Dance is a diversiform company dedicated to bridging cultures and communities through the power of dance. Over the last 15 years Nova Dance has established itself as one of the leading forces in the evolution of Canadian contemporary dance. Led by by Founding Artistic Director Nova Bhattacharya, in collaboration with Associate Artists including Neena Jayarajan and Dainty Smith Nova Dance’s genre-defying, barrier-breaking programming expands the cultural space for a breathtaking multiplicity of movement and storytelling art forms. At Nova Dance we believe that dance can transform, invigorate, and soothe the psyche and we invite everyone to embrace the visceral experience it offers.

Afro-Caribbean

Kevin A. Ormsby Artistic Director of KasheDance, he has performed with companies in Canada, the United States, and the Caribbean. A finalist for the 2021 Johanna Metcalf Performing Arts Prizes and 2014 recipient of Canada Council fort he Arts’ Victor Martyn Lynch-Staunton Award, Kevin was an inaugural TAC Cultural Leaders Fellow. Kevin is on the faculty of Centennial College’s Dance Performance Program and has been a Guest Artist in Residence at the Philip Sherlock Centre for the Creative Arts at the University of the West Indies (Mona), University of Wisconsin-Madison, Northwestern University and University of Texas -Austin.

KasheDance, celebrating its 15th Anniversary, has had a long relationship with Canada's National Ballet School since its inception. Through a creative practice based on traditional and contemporary Diasporic dance languages, the company's creative practice exists in constant interrogation of Caribbean and the African Diaspora's cultural nuances towards understanding space in creation, research, and presentation. www.kashedance.com

Ballet (ages 16+)

Born in Newfoundland and Labrador, Phillip started his ballet training at Quinte Ballet School of Canada and later completed his training with Murray and Nancy Kilgour at the Alberta Ballet School. As a dancer, Phillip has performed with companies such as Alberta Ballet, Ballet Jorgen Canada, Les Grands Ballet Canadiens and Opera Atelier. In 2018, he joined Canada's National Ballet School's Teacher Training Program for Former Professionals. Two years later he graduated with distinction, was the recipient of the Betty Oliphant Award and joined the artistic staff at NBS. As a teacher, Phillip hopes to foster a positive learning environment where his students can explore their musicality, strengthen their technical ability and develop their artistry.

Vogue

Matthew ‘Snoopy’ Cuff is a multidisciplinary artist from Toronto with the drive to build bridges, break molds, while spreading the reach of Ballroom culture. Matthew is a graduated of The School of Toronto Dance Theatre; where he attained intensive technical training in Contemporary dance; working with the likes of Christopher House, Debbie Wilson, and Julia Sasso. As a founder of Canada's first official Ballroom house (House of Monroe), Matthew is a trailblazer to the extensive Vogue scene in Canada, offering his expertise and dedication. As The resident choreographer for Dance Ontario’s ‘Dance Weekend 2021’, Matthew combined his love for Vogue, theatre, and Contemporary dance to create a piece never seen before in conventional spaces. Matthew brought forth Vogue internationally by being featured on “So You Think You Can Dance Canada”, also assisting choreographer Sean Cheeseman. In addition to being the featured Voguer on “CBC Arts: The Move”. Honing his skills in New York City, Matthew learned from and battled some of the greatest performers. Impacted by the performance driven dance style, Matthew has also shared and taught his love for Vogue overseas in Moscow & Paris. With numerous accolades Matthew continues to create and perform in Toronto's thriving Ballroom Scene. Through the art of movement, Matthew ‘Snoopy’ Cuff hopes to inspire creativity while sharing their passion for dance.