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Rise Ashen
Rise Ashen has devoted his life to the study of sound and movement. From his early years as a B-Boy in Montreal in the 80s to his studies at Fanshawe College (North America's Oldest Recording School) and the Banff Centre for the Arts, his focus has been on applying hi-fi knowhow to global dance music. His record collection spans the four corners of the world with club music of all tempos as his primary focus. As a DJ, he blends it all in a worldy mash and is always the sweaty and dynamic life of the party. He has played in clubs and festivals across the U.S., Canada, Europe and Asia. His study of Yoga has led him to combine his musical journey with his Yogi journey and he has been DJing extensively for yoga classes, festivals and events since 2012.
With his partner Tangent, he founded Capital Sessions Community House Dance Practices in 2010 to share the couple’s love for house dance music and culture.
His first album with Algonquin singer Flying Down Thunder received a Juno nomination in 2012, and the duo’s second album received a Native American Music Awards nomination in 2014. Since 2015 he has been collaborating with Silla, the Nunavut-based Inuit throat-singing ensemble, with whom he was long-listed for the Polaris Prize in 2016, nominated for a Juno Award in 2017 and for a Juno in 2019 as well as winning the Stingray award at Mundial in 2019 and Inuit Group of the Year and Artistic Video of the year at the SSSIMAs in 2021.
He believes music and dance are essential to human culture and that united, artists can lead humanity towards a more enlightened way of living. He aspires to embody the wise words of Fela Kuti: "when the higher forces give you the gift of musicianship… it must be well used for the good of humanity"
Sarah “Tangent” Lee
Dancer and designer Tangent has been performing and teaching dance since the nineties. She got hooked on the underground sounds of house and breaks in the first wave of Rave culture and never looked back. As founding member of the all-woman B-Girl Crew DECYPHER CRU (2000-2010), co-director of the house dance collective Capital Sessions (2008-present)and resident instructor at the Flava Factory Dance Studio (2011-present) she has been choreographing, performing, organizing events, teaching and studying dance for the last 20 years.
She has studied from dance masters and pioneers in NYC, Paris, London and Tokyo such as Ken Swift, Ynot, Whichway Shannon, Tone McGregor, Ejoe Wilson, Caleaf Sellers, Bravo, Archie Burnett, Marjory Smarth, Brian “Footwork” Green, Buddha Stretch, Sekou Heru, Dazl, Yugson, Mamson, as well as Mr. Wiggles, Tyrone Proctor, Jazzy Jay, Poppin Pete, Benny, Future and Aus Ninja, and Melissa Aguirre.
She has been actively involved in building up her urban arts community with her work with House of Paint Urban Arts Festival, Capital Sessions and Flava Factory Dance Studio.
She has been involved as artistic director, choreographer and dancer in several video projects, including for the Juno Award nominated musical group Silla + Rise and for the NAC Canada Performs and Revive series.
Having a trained visual eye and a meticulous attention to detail, her approach to dance is conceptual and she bears the name Tangent well, constantly surprising audiences and drawing on art-forms such as Martial Arts, Parkour and Yoga to inform her art.
DJ del Pilar
