≈ 60 minutes · No intermission
Repertoire
Slavonic Dance, Op. 72, No. 7 in C Major
Swan Lake
Uptown Funk
The Irish Suite, The Irish Washerwoman
Bhangra Dance
Dance of the Yao People
Chamber Symphony, op. 110a
Vogue
Three Hip Hop Moments
Hlonolofatsa Bacchanale
West Side Story, Mambo
Artists
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A passionate communicator, Daniel Bartholomew-Poyser brings clarity and meaning to the concert hall, fostering deep connections between audiences and performers. He is concurrently the Principal Youth Conductor and Creative Partner of the National Arts Centre Orchestra, the Principal Education Conductor and Community Ambassador of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, Artist in Residence and Community Ambassador of Symphony Nova Scotia, and Resident Conductor of Engagement and Education of the San Francisco Symphony.
Daniel served as Assistant Conductor of the Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony and Associate Conductor of the Thunder Bay Symphony Orchestra. He has performed with the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra, Edmonton Symphony Orchestra, Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra, and was Cover Conductor with the Washington National Opera in 2020.
Daniel is the host of Canadian Broadcasting Company’s (CBC’s) nationally broadcast weekly radio show Centrestage.
He was also the subject of an award-winning, full-length CBC documentary called Disruptor Conductor, focussing on his concerts for neurodiverse, prison, African diaspora, and LGBTQ2S+ populations.
Daniel earned his Bachelor degrees in Music Performance and Education from the University of Calgary, and his Master of Philosophy in Performance from the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester, England.
Since its debut in 1969, the National Arts Centre (NAC) Orchestra has been praised for the passion and clarity of its performances, its visionary educational programs, and its prominent role in nurturing Canadian creativity. Under the leadership of Music Director Alexander Shelley, the NAC Orchestra reflects the fabric and values of Canada, reaching and representing the diverse communities we live in with daring programming, powerful storytelling, inspiring artistry, and innovative partnerships.
Alexander Shelley began his tenure as Music Director in 2015, following Pinchas Zukerman’s 16 seasons at the helm. Principal Associate Conductor of the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, and former Chief Conductor of the Nuremberg Symphony Orchestra (2009–2017), he has been in demand around the world, conducting the Rotterdam Philharmonic, DSO Berlin, Leipzig Gewandhaus, and Stockholm Philharmonic, among others, and maintains a regular relationship with the Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie and the German National Youth Orchestra.
Each season, the NAC Orchestra features world-class artists such as the newly appointed Artist-in-Residence James Ehnes, Angela Hewitt, Joshua Bell, Xian Zhang, Gabriela Montero, Stewart Goodyear, Jan Lisiecki, and Principal Guest Conductor John Storgårds. As one of the most accessible, inclusive, and collaborative orchestras in the world, the NAC Orchestra uses music as a universal language to communicate the deepest of human emotions and connect people through shared experiences.
Annick’s love of performing blossomed at a very early age when she would force her family members and her parents’ invited dinner guests to watch her many theatrical productions. She grew up in Ottawa where she began her professional career in the industry 20 years ago. Since then she has loved to work and live in many cities including Montreal, Toronto, Halifax, London (UK) and New York City, where she graduated from the conservatory program at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts. Annick is passionate about stories and how they connect us - and spreading invisible illness awareness. She feels truly lucky every time she gets to step under the lights at the NAC since it is in this very theatre that she first fell in love with the stage. Annick is currently living in Toronto where she continues to dream and to thrive in her work as a filmmaker, producer & storyteller.
Joy of Dance Centre is committed to offering the very best in adult, kids and teen dance class instruction in a warm and welcoming environment. All styles of dance for ages 3 – 93. We provide our students with a place and space to grow uniquely, individually, expressively, technically, passionately and with excellence. We offer instruction in a diverse and extensive dance repertoire from Ballet to Hip Hop to Contemporary to Ballroom. Our vision is dance, just dance. We want you to learn the therapeutic, life affirming and spirit enhancing benefits of dance. Just dance. When life gives you lemons, dance. When you want to just go home and cry, dance. When you are celebrating life’s miracles, dance. Dance wherever you are. No electronics, no outside distractions, no homework, no teachers, or other things, just spend time with yourself and dance. Everyone needs to dance to survive the world today. Let Joy of Dance be that home for you.
DANCE PARTNERS: MVP Dance Co., Hello Dance and Broken Dance.
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Jamaican born Shameka Blake started dancing at the age of 3. After migrating to Canada, Shameka continued her training at George Brown College in the Commercial Dance Program in addition to beginning her performing career. With a unique style of choreography and creative vision, Shameka Blake is one of the top influential figures in the Toronto dance scene. She has danced and performed concerts, tours, productions as well as having shared the stage with artists such as Lady Gaga, Rida, Arianna Grande, Flo Rida, Ne-yo, Mob Deep, Lil Jon, and Ciara. Shameka has been featured in videos for recording artists Damian Marley, Kreesha Turner, and Sean Paul. She has had the pleasure of being featured as a principal dancer in Luther Brown’s productions On My Way Home and The Red City. Shameka is the proud and successful founder of Artists In Motion (AIM), a multidisciplinary dance group that brings together different styles of dance styles such as Hip Hop, Jazz, Reggae and Lyrical under the same roof. She is the 2015 Black Canadian Award recipient for Best Urban Dance Act.
Chase Constantino is a renowned choreographer from Toronto Canada but based in Los Angeles. He specializes in South Asian dance styles, along with his work fusing those styles with Western forms of dance. Chase is the Creative Director of his dance company Broken Dance, Canada’s Got Talent finalists, and has worked on several Film and Television productions. Chase continues to spread his knowledge of Indian fusion styles around the world as he teaches his workshops globally.
Lianne Tammi is a professional dancer, teacher and choreographer based out of Toronto. She has recently performed at the FIFA World Cup in Qatar. Credits include Grand Army (Netflix), FAME (Just For Laughs), Toronto Symphony Orchestra, Keshia Chanté, Blake McGrath and Bend It Like Beckham The Musical (Starvox Entertainment). Lianne is recognized for her work ethic, versatility and performance quality. She is an honours graduate of the Performance Dance program at Toronto Metropolitan University. Lianne has been on faculty at the industry’s leading studios for many years and is now the owner of MVP Dance Co. which was recently featured on Canada’s Got Talent. Hardworking, creative and enthusiastic, she is always striving to learn something new and pass it on to her many students across the country.
Emma Bradford-Wilson is an enthusiastic and versatile upcoming artist. Raised in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Emma moved to Toronto, Ontario, in 2021 to pursue a career in the performing arts. She is an honours graduate of the Dance Performance Diploma Program at George Brown College and has returned to George Brown to attain her certificate in Commercial Dance. As a performer, Emma has trained extensively in a variety of styles including Jazz, Ballet, Contemporary, Modern, Musical Theater, and Hip Hop. Emma has also trained in acting and singing. Through George Brown College, Emma has worked with distinguished choreographers such Alyssa Martin (Rock Bottom Movement), José Carret (Danza Corpus), and Derek Sangster (George Brown College), for Unleashed 2021/2022. Emma loves to bring people together through art and strives to share her passion through creative storytelling.
Sophie is a performing artist based in Toronto. She has been a lover of performing arts since age three which is when she took her first ballet class. Since then, she has been involved in the dramatic arts and she feels theatre is home. She truly is the happiest when dancing, singing, and acting. She trained at Ballet Jorgen as well as Randolph College for the Performing Arts. Her credits include “Unleashed'' with Ballet Jorgen, “42nd street” with Emp, “Sunshine Boy” and “Dispute” with Randolph Theatre, a short movie where she had the opportunity of playing the lead “Could You Leave” and she recently had the pleasure of performing with Canada’s Wonderland for Winter Fest. She is also a part time Disney Princess and can be spotted singing at Comicon or Fan Expo. She is trained in many styles of dance including RAD ballet, jazz, musical theatre, tap, Latin and commercial. Sophie is in her last year at York University as a jazz vocalist and hopes to continue performing across Ontario. She is very happy to be a part of this project that mixes music and dance. When Sophie isn’t dancing, singing, or acting she can be found in a theatre seeing a show or baking delicious treats. Sophie has always been a lover of movement and she also teaches yoga and barre across studios in Toronto.
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Ailish began Irish dancing at the age of 8 with the Gilchrist-Canavan School of Irish Dance in Toronto, ON. During the 11 years at the studio, she traveled internationally, competing at 5 World Championships and 8 North American Championships and Eastern Canadian Championships. She has performed for the Toronto Symphony Orchestra and The Barra MacNeils at Roy Thomson Hall, as well as the Toronto Grand Marshal Ball at the Liberty Grand. Ailish maintains her connection to her Irish heritage by continuing to foster her love of Irish dance.
Caitlin began dancing at the age of 3 starting with ballet and highland dancing at 5. In her teen years she found Irish dance with the Ni’Fherraigh O’Ceallaigh School of Irish Dance. For 4 years she competed locally including the Eastern Canadian Oireachtas for teams and choreography. At 18, while attending Ryerson University, she took a step back from competing and transferred to the Greenfire Academy. During this time, she was invited to perform with Brogue and the Eastern Canadian tour of Magic of Ireland. After graduation she returned to competition and danced at several North American Nationals. Continuing her dance training as a senior lady at the Gilchrist-Canavan school of Irish Dance and later, Butler-Fearon O'Connor, Caitlin found competitive success and qualified for three World Championships and danced at All Scotland and All Ireland. After competing in Scotland at the 2018 World Championships, she retired from competitive Irish dance and joined RNT Irish Dance League.
Michelle is from Ottawa, Ontario and began her Irish Dance career at the age of 7 with Trillium Academy. She then went on to train with Sue Fay Healy for several years. She has placed in the top five at regionals four times and qualified for the World Championships five times. Michelle is now an Associate Choreographer for the Canadian Irish Dance Company and dances with the Retired Not Tired Irish Dance League. She teaches at Brenyo Irish Dance and Joy of Dance with her partner, Mark.
Jillian Rahim-Parris is a well-known Guyanese-Canadian dance performer in GTA, Canada with over a decade of professional dance experience in Bollywood and Caribbean styles. She is a secondary school educator and dance choreographer who has performed at Calgary Stampede, Canadian National Exhibition, DesiFest Yonge-Dundas Square, as well as in music videos for artists, including Deep Jandu, Mr. Vegas, Yvette Lorraine and JFreshaz. Jillian is 1 of 3 partners at IND Toronto, where the team performs at a variety of weddings and community events. She continues to build dance partnerships with top quality dance companies like Broken Dance Inc. while teaching and volunteering.
Shantel Chand is a Bollywood dancer and leader in the South Asian dance community in the GTA. She often creates and provides resources for up-and-coming artists by teaching classes, holding workshops, and running training programs. Shantel has performed in award winning shows such as Mystic India and Elements of Bollywood. She has also performed on stages like The Calgary Stampede, Raptor’s Half-Time Show, Buddha Bar: Marrakech, and IIFA. Shantel has been training and performing with Broken Dance for 7 years and has been working behind the scenes as Operations Manager for 4 years.
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Matthew “Snoopy” Cuff was introduced to Vogue through YouTube and was amazed by the
performance-driven dance style. Snoopy helped introduce Vogue internationally by being featured on So You Think You Can Dance Canada and CBC Arts. Snoopy is also a graduate of The School of Toronto Dance Theatre. Through dance and by developing his own style of Vogue, Snoopy hopes to inspire creativity while sharing his passion for dance.
Meimei Peng is a McMaster University student pursuing a double major in Biomedical Engineering and Engineering Physics. She is a level 10 accordion player who won a gold medal in the Hohner Cup Asia-Pacific International Accordion Competition in 2015. Meimei is also a talented dancer who won a gold medal in the adult ballet group dance category at the 2022 Overseas Taoli Cup. She reached level 6 in Beijing Dance Academy Chinese traditional dance exam and is currently working on RAD repertoire level 4 ballet exam. Her dedication and hard work are a testament to her passions and drive for excellence.
Yuchen Zhang is a third-year Commerce major at McMaster University with a passion for the arts. She has achieved RAD ballet Grade 8 and is an accomplished Level 10 violinist. Additionally, Yuchen has honed her guitar skills and is now a Level 6 guitarist. Yuchen's dedication to her academic studies and her artistic pursuits is a testament to her hard work and drive to succeed. As she continues to grow and develop her skills, Yuchen is sure to make a positive impact in both the business and arts communities.
Claudia Marjanovic is a professional dancer, choreographer and dancer based in Toronto. Since graduating with her BFA from Ryerson, she has danced and choreographed all over the world. Her most recent works include choreographer of Forever Plaid and Ghost The Musical premiering at Fallsview Casino in Niagara Falls and assistant choreographer for the Closing Ceremonies in Dubai for EXPO 2020. Locally, Claudia performs with Cirque Revolution and Diamond Dancers Entertainment and teaches dance and musical theatre throughout Toronto. Internationally, Claudia has performed with Daniel Ezralow Company, AIDA cruise lines and Creativiva.
Sydney Keir started her formal training in Toronto, Ontario at Canada's National Ballet School and Karpov Ballet Academy. She later relocated to New York, where she attended the Ailey Fordham BFA Program, a joint program between Fordham University and the Ailey School, where she completed a double major in Dance and Communications/Media Studies. She has performed with the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, Canadian Opera Company, Hit & Run Dance Productions, National Ballet of Canada, Dusk Dances, Nathaniel Hunt Dance Project, Boston Dance Theater, Cadence Contemporary Ballet, Karpov Ballet, Ballet Jorgen, and Buglisi Dance Theatre. Sydney has performed alongside The Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre in their 2017 City Center Season and 2018 Lincoln Center Season. Sydney was also an original cast member of the international touring show Isadora produced by Ardani Arts Management that featured Natalia Osipova. In 2019, she made her debut with the Canadian Opera Company in Robert Wilson’s Turandot. She can also be seen dancing on screen in Netflix's Umbrella Academy and Amazon Prime's All or Nothing.
Onija was born in St Mary Jamaica and as a young child moved to Canada with his family at the age of eleven. He grew up in Toronto\Brampton, as a growing artist Onija has had the opportunity to work with and learn from some of Toronto’s best. Onija uses his love for dance and acting to create and tell stories.
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A graduate of the Ryerson University Dance Program, Miranda is a 14-year professional, performing styles of dance such as Samba, West African, Afro-Cuban, and Contemporary. Her career has spanned TV commercials, cruise ship liners and numerous local, national, and international shows including Dusk Dances in British Columbia, Pies por Sudamerica Festival in Ecuador, and the Dance Migration Terra Brazil Tour in The Netherlands.
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Amanda has been dancing and showing a huge passion and love for dance ever since she was a little girl to now being 20 and being able to pursue it as her career. With faith, determination, and discipline she hopes that dance keeps taking her to new and higher seas.
- Official Car of the NAC Orchestra
