Dancing manifesting gardens

The FOFA Gallery is happy to invite you to the finissage of the annual Undergraduate Student Exhibition, manifesting gardens. Join us for a curatorial walk with curator María Escalona at 4:00 pm, followed by a series of contemporary dance performances created in response to the exhibited artworks, starting at 5:30 pm. 

Snacks and refreshments will be available, and all are welcome!

The venue is wheelchair accessible. 

Yanik Savoie (he/him) is an Acadian artist residing in Tiohtià:ke /Montréal, originally from a small town in New Brunswick. He is a creator and interpreter fascinated by play, spirals, people watching, and textures, who moved to Montréal to pursue his passions. Studying Contemporary Dance at Concordia University, he uses video and montage in his creative process to generate movement vocabulary as well as archiving his work. He did the Movement Invention Project summer intensive at New Jersey Dance Theatre to expand his knowledge in the industry. At the moment, he is currently working towards performing in Sexy Dep at the Art Matters festival. Training since the age of 6, he has career goals of joining a dance company, travelling, and becoming a professor. Sharing his joy as a mover, he uses dance to puzzle and bewilder audiences inducing thoughts and reflection.

Ajani Hastings (he/him) is a dancer, choreographer, and artist originally from Toronto (Tkaronto), currently based in Montréal (Tiohtià:ke). Ajani is pursuing a BFA in Contemporary Dance at Concordia University. Hailing from Hiphop and commercial based competitive dance, Ajani trained in various genres of dance such as, Popping, Locking, Krump, Litefeet, etc. Later branching off into training from other styles such as Ballet, Contemporary, Modern, Jazz, Afro, Caribbean, etc, Ajani prides himself on becoming a versatile and diverse dancer. Being a very expressive and present personality, Ajani illuminates his movement practices through incorporating various aspects of his life and experiences into his choreographic works. Ajani is invested in exploring physically manifesting one’s personality through movement and choreographic works. Uplifting one’s self within a group and highlighting his racial identity and culture. Creating choreography that explores internal experiences and memories, Ajani seeks to explore how internal aspects of one's identity can be expressed and understood through the art of dance.

Anmarie “A” Legault (she,they,he) is a multidisciplinary artist from Tiohtià:ke /Montréal, Canada. Eclectic in aesthetic, style, approach and training methods, they pride themselves in having a background full of wide ranging experiences. Dancer, choreographer, creative director, dance teacher, stage coordinator, runway/photoshoot coach, drag artist, makeup artist, and more, they have worked with companies such as Joico, Redken, The Montreal Neurological Institute, Fierté Montréal, Ile Soniq and more. They can be seen in music videos such as Claire Ridgley’s “Gunshot” and Nick Saanto’s “Colours”.  In the drag world, they are known under the names Walter Ego and CAP$LOCK?!. Proudly pansexual and genderflux, they believe queer joy is radical, and aim to incarnate the fullest version of magnified pieces of themselves with every work they produce, however shifting and transient of an expression that might materialize as.

Etora Suedois aka YORA (she/her) is a dancer and choreographer from Guadeloupe (France). She accomplishes her dance career through Modern Jazz, Contemporary dance, African techniques and traditional dances as Gwoka, which is from Guadeloupe. As a Caribbean Afro-contemporary dancer, her movement is rooted in the rhythms, histories, and ancestral legacies of the West Indies diaspora. She embodies the fusion of traditional Afro-Caribbean dance, contemporary techniques, and personal storytelling, and uses her body as a vessel to explore identity, resilience, as well as individual and collective liberation. Her work is deeply influenced by the spirituality and cultural vibrancy of her heritage, her mixed identities, weaving together folklore, personal struggles, and modern expressions to honor the past while reimagining the future.

Skkandaloza (they/ them). Currently based in Tiohtià:ke; Skkandaloza is a multidisciplinary artist with a focus on video-performance direction. Born and raised in Jounieh, Lebanon, they immigrated to Canada to develop their studies in contemporary dance and intermedia at Concordia University. Skkandaloza began their practice by exploring through video the complexity of the queer arab identity as a political tool to challenge the confessionalism system. Influenced by Ryan Trecartin, David Lachapelle and Pussy Riot, their projects have taken a camp, hyper-pop, activist approach in which they use drag to deinstitutionalize the body and free the mind. Their works include the performance of their solo show “Louteh” at Embassy Gallery (Edinburgh, Scotland), participation in talks as part of the 25th Art Matters Festival, conduction of community movement-based workshop for the queer diaspora, a feature in Montreéal’s Nuit Blanche and much more. Skkandaloza strikes to create disturbance to create a safe space for their communities.

Bailey Parkinson (she/her) is a Métis/settler artist, writer and facilitator from oskana kâ-asastêki/ Regina, Saskatchewan. She now lives, creates and learns in Tiohtià:ke/Mooniyang/Montréal, Québec. Currently studying for her BFA at Concordia University, Bailey is interested in cultural and art spaces. She has also worked as an interpreter at historical museums in Saskatchewan and Montreal. She curated at the Art Matters Festival in 2024 and will be performing in the 2025 edition. Informed by the symbiotic relationship between art history and art making, her artistic practice includes painting, performance, digging in the archive, and telling her family’s stories. Her Métis identity heavily drives her position as an artist in her ongoing quest for self-definition. Her birthplace in the prairies is her muse, her identity emerges from her home, and she is innately and resolutely connected to that flat land.

Rory Patoka (he/him) is a multidisciplinary scenographer and projection designer from Baltimore. He is currently studying scenography/design for theatre at Concordia University, and producing work in Tiohtià:ke / Montréal in theatre, dance, live events and film. In his live performance design practice, he is focused on blurring the line between physical and digital in his work, to encourage illusion and distort the perspective of the audience through a combination of projection and physical design. He is also interested in on-site/public facing theatre, radio-theatre and other non-traditional forms of performance art. Outside of his performance design practice, he has been focused on directing and producing an open-ended documentary series about Baltimore City, with the goal being to capture the essence of a city honestly and organically, in a world of misinformation and narratives with ulterior motives. This work started in Baltimore but has now expanded into similar series in multiple cities, attempting to highlight cultural overlap, and what makes each place unique.

Charlotte Alexander (she/ them) is a fourth-year scenography student with a focus on light and projection. She approaches light as a conversation with art and audience, crafting light landscapes and creating worlds. Charlotte brings a tactile and surreal approach to light, changing our perception into a fluid, sculptural experience. Projection being a relatively new medium inspires Charlotte to experiment within her practice, using these powerful machines as transformative backdrops and simple light sources. In this exhibition, she imagines the human body as a canvas, using an overhead projector to reveal meaning in the performances around her. 

Laïla Breger (they/them)  is a Tiohtià:ke /Montréal-based multidisciplinary artist, arts educator, and cultural worker currently completing their bachelor's in art education at Concordia University. With over a decade of training in movement, flamenco dance, and music (classical violin and jazz singing), they integrate expressive arts and somatic movement literacy into both their teaching and creative practice. Rooted in a deep inquiry ofthe body’s intrinsic ability to self-regulate and heal, Laïla’s work explores the organicity of boundaries, the interplay between solitudeand collectivity, and transformative relationships. Movement and voice serve as vessels for these investigations, drawing connections between the body and its resonance within space.Seeing everyday gestures as opportunities to plant seeds, Laïla approaches creation as an evolving process—one that embraces both structure and fluidity. A continuing student in astrology, they seek to work with its cycles to explore the transformations shaping personal and collective experiences.

Celine Blais (she/her) is a dancer, choreographer and multidisciplinary artist raised, living, and creating in Tiohtià:ke/Montréal. Celine’s creative practice is rooted in the art of storytelling, exploring traces of the past to reimagine ideas of the self. Her work is inspired by the dreamy, camp and eccentricity found in the world around her, reminiscent of the time spent playing pretend and dressing up as a child. Her movement practice is heavily informed by her many years of training in bellydance in Penticton, BC and continues to shapeshift with the fusion of contemporary dance, installation art and somatic practices. Celine’s current research explores trauma as an echo in the body with movement being a form of free association, illuminating the memories that exist somewhere between the conscious mind and unconscious psyche. She is in the process of completing her BFA at Concordia University with a double major in Contemporary Dance and Communication Studies.

Su Seçkin (she/her)  I am a queer, Armenian-Zaza Turkish artist based in Montréal.  I have been a recipient of funding from Canada Council of the Arts, MAI, BC Arts Council and worked with choreographers based in North America, Middle East and Europe. I draw inspiration from improvisation, voicing, jazz, film, ancient land-based practices, religious studies, psychology and much more. I see dance as a process-driven art and my curiosity currently lies in the abundant nature of dance and how it relates to theatre, film, music, also psychology, ancient studies and embodiment.  Through my work, I aspire to unite intergenerational queer and West Asian artists, creating a platform for shared exploration and expression.By creating a platform for shared curiosity and artistic expression, I hope to encourage dialogue around adapting traditional practices and fostering new artistic forms rooted in these traditions.