SKéN:NEN

Santee is a multidisciplinary artist from the Kahnyen’kehàka Nation, Turtle Clan, Six Nations of the Grand River. Transformation, energetic exchange and fostering mind-heart connections through performance and design is her lifelong work. Santee trained at Canada’s National Ballet School; holds Physical Education and Psychology degrees from McMaster University and a M.A. in Dance from York University.

Premiering her first production Kaha:wi – a family creation story in 2004, one year later she founded Kaha:wi Dance Theatre which has grown into an internationally renowned company. Santee’s work speaks about identity, teachings and way of life within Onkwehonwe:neha, creativity and Indigenous artistic process. She is a sought-after teacher and speaker on the performing arts, Indigenous performance, and culture.

Montana is from Oneida Nation of the Thames. He is an emerging choreographic artist who has begun development on his first performance project in 2022 at the Banff Centre named Conditions to Strike, which he showcased in the Jenny Belzberg Theatre. Montana has been working in theatre professionally since 2015; noteworthy works Montana has performed in are The Honouring (2015-2017), The Mush Hole (2016-2023) and most recent SKéN:NEN (2021-2023). Montana has collaborated with different performance collectives over the years like Dusk Dances (Kan^stote – 2021), Unsettled Score (Canoe – 2023), as well as Blue Bird Theatre Collective and Sweet Labour Art Collective. Additionally, Montana has previously acted on stage in plays such as Backyard Treater’s The Other Side of the River (2019) and The Grand Theatre’s Love Song for the Thunderbirds (2021).

Katie is an Anishinaabekwe Oji-Cree dance artist from Nipissing First Nation, and now based in Tkaronto. Katie has worked with companies and choreographers including Kaha:wi Dance Theatre, Human Body Expressions, Alejandro Ronceria, Christine Friday, Peggy Baker, and Jera Wolfe. She has performed at events including the FODAR Dance Festival (2023), Governor General’s Performance Awards (2023), APTN’s Indigenous Day Live (2022) and for film projects including The Nature of Things (2021), CBC Gem’s New Monuments (2021) and the Toronto Fringe Festival (2021). Most recently, Katie received a Dora nomination for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble for the production of Homelands created by Santee Smith for Kaha:wi Dance Theatre and is excited to continue working with Kaha:wi Dance Theatre on their next show, SKéN:NEN in 2024.

Sophie is a Treaty 1-born, multidisciplinary creative, inspired by dance, music, film, collaboration, and Michif/Assiniboine + French/Ukrainian roots. An avid adventurer, Sophie exudes passions for busking, yoga and traveling on top of holding a degree in Dance Performance and Choreography from York University. Sophie presently fulfills roles as: artistic associate of O.Dela Arts, The Chimera Project & V’ni Dansi/Louis Riel Métis Dancers, residency coordinator at Dance West Network, musician with The Honeycomb Flyers, a licensed practitioner of Traditional Thai Massage, a trained facilitator & student of BreathWave, a freelance dancer/choreographer/sound designer and a puddle jumping trickster.

Jesse is a musician, producer, and composer whose praxis spans multiple genres. Zubot, a 4-time Juno Award winning musician, has produced albums including Tanya Tagaq’s Polaris Music Prize winning album & Animism’. He is currently finishing up an album with Tuscaroran/Taino singer Pura Fé. Zubot has an extensive history touring and recording with artists including Steve Reich, Dan Mangan, Darius Jones, Stars, Hawksley Workman, Destroyer, and many others. Recently, Zubot has delved heavily into the world of composition and has scored films such as Indian Horse, Two Lovers and a Bear and Bones of Crows for which he won a Leo and Canadian Screen Music Award for his work. Zubot has been making music for dance for decades.

Emma is the Creative Director and partner behind AVA Animation & Visual Arts and specializes in Projection Design. Originally from Mexico, she started with a bachelor’s degree on Information Design. A member of the First Cohort of the #FifthWave Initiative by the Canadian Film Centre for women led businesses. With more than 14 years of professional experience, she has worked creating graphics and animation for renowned animation and post-production studios in Canada and abroad, among them E! Entertainment, Loop Media Inc., Enter the Picture, Tango Media Group and ETC Canada. Together with her partner Pedro Narvaez started AVA Animation and Visual Arts in 2010, pioneering the field of Architectural Projection Mapping for live events.

Shane is from the Mohawk Nation from Six Nations of the Grand River. He works as a videographer/photographer/editor/graphic designer/lighting technician/audio technician. Over the years, Shane has travelledihc extensively with various dance, theatre productions and musical groups providing the above services. His focus has been working within my Six Nations community, supporting our artists and cultural projects with organizations and artists such as: Woodland Cultural Centre, Kaha:wi Dance Theatre, Thru the Red Door, Six Nations Polytechnic Institute, Six Nations Council, Derek Miller Band, Logan Staats, Rochester Knighthawks, Lacey Hill and more.

Michel has designed over 100 productions and has been nominated for eight Dora Mavor Moore Awards (Toronto) one Sterling Award (Edmonton) and one Leon Rabin Award (Dallas). His work has been seen or heard in France, Haiti, Brazil and throughout North America at the Teatro Peon Contreras, the Kennedy Center, the Lajolla Playhouse, Yale Repertory Theater, the Krannert Center for the Performing Arts, the Cultch, Alberta Theatre Projects, Canstage, Native Earth Performing Arts, Tarragon Theatre, Factory Theatre, Theatre Passe-Muraille, GCTC, National Arts Centre, Centaur Theatre, Roy Thompson Hall, Koerner Hall, the Stratford Festival and many points in between. Michel also has an extensive teaching background and has worked at the Centre for Indigenous Theatre and at York, Laurentian, and Bishop’s Universities.

Monique (Guna and Rappahannock Nations) is an actor, playwright, and dramaturg. Her artistic practice mines stories embedded in the body in connection to land and place. She has created land-based, embodied dramaturgies and taught Indigenous Theatre in theory, process and practice throughout Canada, the US, Latin America, and Europe. Most recent: the role of Wanda in My Sister’s Rage at Tarragon Theatre, Aunt Shady in The Unnatural and Accidental Women, at the NAC and Izzie M.: The Alchemy of Enfreakment written by Monique with a diverse creative team. Monique has collaborated with Santee Smith as the dramaturg for Kaha:wi Dance Theatre’s tryptic, Re-Quickening /Blood Tides/ SKéN:NEN and for Teneil Whiskeyjack’s Ayita for Edmonton’s SkirtsAfire Festival. She is a member of the newly formed Indigenous Dramaturgy Circle at Tarragon Theatre, and she was the inaugural Wurlitzer.

Semiah is a Toronto-based indie-electropop artist from Ohswé:ken/Six Nations of the Grand River. Growing up touring around the world with her mother’s dance company Kaha:wi Dance Theatre. She began professionally singing traditional music from her Haudenosaunee heritage in her late teens in solo performances and as a member of the singing trio, Hatiyo (the good voice). She also began writing songs in English, however had never published any of her contemporary works until her first single, ‘Nothing Can Kill My Love for You’ debuted in 2021, followed by “All of this Time” her first RnB pop single. Semiah will be releasing her first EP, “After the Night Ends” in summer 2023.

Senjuti (she/her) is a Bangali-Canadian, Tkaronto based multidisciplinary artist, designer, manager and a librarian. When she’s not working to bring productions and creative visions to fruition, she’s living her socialist fantasy in the very fantastic simulation game, The Sims 4. Some of her previous involvements include working with Kaha:wi Dance Theatre, Other HeArts, The AMY Project, The RISER Project and INDUSTRY and Canadian Association of Fringe Festivals (CAFF).

James is a technician, carpenter and artist based in Toronto. His career in performance began as a youngster with training in music and many years as a classical ballet dancer. James’s career has shifted to stage technical and carpentry work following his years doing fine carpentry and home building. James has worked on many acclaimed productions - including touring internationally. Following his fast- paced years touring the world, James has taken on the role of Senior Performance Technician at McMaster University, where he currently spends most of his days. James is always delighted to work with Santee Smith and is so excited for this run of Homelands.