SEASON

Margie Gillis

Choreographer, Director & Dancer

Internationally acclaimed dance Artist Margie Gillis is one of the most influential Canadian choreographers/dancers of the 20th and 21st centuries Her company, the Margie Gillis Dance Foundation, was founded in 1981. Margie has created more than one hundred and fifty creations, solos, duets, and group works, which have been performed around the globe. She has received numerous awards for her unwavering effort to develop her craft through experimenting, teaching, creation, innovation and performance. In 2023, Margie Gillis celebrated her 50th career anniversary: 50 years of creation, love, and dance.

Photo: Damian Siqueros

Pierre Lavoie

Lighting Designer & Stage Manager

Pierre Lavoie first collaborated with Margie Gillis in the 1990s and has designed every new work in her repertoire since then. He is equally at ease with modern and classical vocabulary, a versatility much appreciated by leading dancers and dance companies. Some lighting credits include productions for the Royal Swedish Ballet with Sabrina Matthews, Atlantic Ballet Theatre of Canada, and Alberta Ballet.

Photo: Unknown

Ruth Naomi Levin

Dancer

Ruth Naomi Levin is an independent dance artist currently based in Edmonton, Alberta. She holds an MFA in Dance from York University, is a graduate of the School of Toronto Dance Theatre and has performed and taught across North America. She is honoured to have been a member of the Margie Gillis Legacy Project since 2014 and thrilled to continue to work alongside such astounding artists and human beings as Ms. Gillis and the other dancers of the project. She also teaches and facilitates transformation through embodiment through her company Embodied in Motion. www.embodiedinmotion.com

Photo: Valérie Boulet

Zorya Arrow

Dancer

Zorya Arrow (she/they) is a settler, dancer, choreographer, actor, educator, auntie, gardener and therapeutic recreation facilitator living on Treaty 1 Territory whose performance practice, developed over 15+ years, investigates the multitudes of characters and emotional states moving through the body. As a dancer, Zorya has been privileged to work with a number of local and national choreographers. Zorya holds an honours degree in dance from the University of Winnipeg, in affiliation with The School of Contemporary Dancers Senior Professional Program. Supporting practices include devised theatre, physical theatre, clowning and Ukrainian folk arts as a member of Steppe Kolektyv.

Photo: Pablo Riquelme

Jolene Bailie

Dancer & WCD Artistic Director

Photo: Kristen Sawatsky

Carol-Ann Bohrn

Dancer

Carol-Ann grew up in Brandon, Manitoba and is in her eighth season dancing with WCD. Prior to that she danced with Gearshifting Performance Works for four seasons. She has performed works by Jolene Bailie, Margie Gillis, Rachel Browne, Robin Poitras, Jera Wolfe, Idan Cohen, Ralph Escamillan, Joshua Beamish, and many local choreographers. She is the founder of TEQ-tonic, a community adult drop-in dance program. Her work is influenced by her studies in Pochinko Clown and Grotowski, and she regularly practices Feldenkrais and Continuum Movement.

Photo: Silas Chipelski

Rachelle Bourget

Dancer

Based in Montreal, Rachelle Bourget is a contemporary dance artist from Winnipeg, Manitoba. A 2012 graduate of The School of Contemporary Dancers, she has worked with Daina Ashbee, Paco Ziel, Winnipeg’s Contemporary Dancers, ENTITEY/jason martin, VIVUS – James Viveiros, @tendance/C.Medina, Pablo Bronstein + The Plug-In Institute of Contemporary Art and Riley Sims. Working primarily as a solo artist, she has explored themes surrounding shame, isolation, escapism and the deconstruction of sex, beauty and fixation. She presented her solo AFTER THE CAUSE in Winnipeg at the Rachel Browne Theatre (2019) and in Montreal at Tangente Danse (2021) and Festival OFFTA (2022). Presently, she is creating a new duet piece, MERIDIAN RESPONSE, with the support of Studio 303, LA SERRE – arts vivants, Usine C and Tangente Danse.

Photo: Jonathan Malenfant

Sienna Denys-Peters

Dancer

Photo: Ross Jordan

Madison Guarino

Dancer

Madison Guarino is a creative, committed, and collaborative artist whose multifaceted practice encompasses choreography, directing, and performance. A proud member of Treaty One Territory, Madison is originally from Manitoba and is currently based between Toronto and Winnipeg. With a desire to dance everywhere and explore movement in all its forms, she has pursued diverse opportunities for artistic expression, working with choreographers including David Norsworthy, Robert Glumbeck, Roberto Campanella, Ryan Lee, Susie Burpee, Hanna Kiel, and Francesca Chudnoff.

Madison has participated in intensives across North America with organizations and artists including Hubbard Street Dance Chicago, Rubberband, Peter Chu, Pro Arte Danza, and Seerta Hector. She is a graduate of Toronto Metropolitan University, where she earned a BFA in Dance Performance. Madison is driven by a curiosity for movement and its ability to explore human connection. Through her work as both a dancer and maker, she continues to examine identity, artistry, and embodiment, allowing each experience to inform and shape her evolving artistic voice.

Photo: Kevin McIntyre

Margaux Labossière

Dancer

Margaux Labossière is a Franco-Manitoban dance artist based in Treaty 1. She holds a BFA in Performance Dance from Toronto Metropolitan University, graduating with distinction, and was Assistant Director and dancer with SQx Dance Company for five years, touring Canada, the U.S., Portugal, and Iceland. Her performance highlights include works by Jolene Bailie, Peggy Baker, Anne Plamondon, Vicki St-Denys, Apolonia Velasquez, Alysa Pires, Robert Glumbek, Roberto Olivan, Charles Moulton, as well as Fall for Dance North’s Merce Cunningham Centennials celebrations. A lifelong learner, Margaux has trained and participated in international residencies, and has developed and presented works in Portugal, Iceland, and Georgia. Her practice is rooted in contemporary dance, improvisation, floorwork, and embodied movement, with a focus on choreography, dance education, and the relationship between the body, nature, and community.

Photo: Jonathan Froese

Alexis Taylor

Dancer

Chelsea Kuik Tielman

Dancer

Winnipeg-based dance artist and movement educator Chelsea Kuik Tielman is thrilled (and quite frankly, honoured!) to make her debut with Winnipeg’s Contemporary Dancers (WCD) in Margie Gillis’ The Whole Bloomin’ Thing!