PAST SEASON: 2020 – 2021

Jolene Bailie

Jolene Bailie is a choreographer, director and producer of contemporary dance. Her work reflects on humanness, soul and identity to express a deeply human experience that is honest, complex and thorough.

Appointed Artistic Director, fall 2019, works performed by WCD since appointment include: Modulations, The Space In Between, Last Schema, Anthem, An Aspect of Alterity and Covid Sonata.  Bailie’s choreography has also been presented for Calibrations of Flux and Up Close and disDANCING for WCD’s Emerging Artist Initiative.

Since 2019, her choreography has been presented in Winnipeg, Vancouver, Regina, Toronto and online.  This is her first full length work for WCD.

Bailie has produced shows annually in Winnipeg since 2000, created 11 full-length works, and toured her work to national and international critical acclaim. Her career began with over a decade of solo performance; Highlights include performing works by Jose Limon, Anna Sokolow, Marie-Josee Chartier, Joe Laughlin, Denise Clarke, Deborah Dunn, Marc Boivin, Bill Evans and Rachel Browne. In 2004 her focus began to shift to choreography and then it shifted again in 2010 to focus primarily on creating for an ensemble of dancers. Collaborations with Hugh Conacher, Wanda Koop and Susan Chafe have been critical to her development as an artist.

Bailie holds a Masters of Fine Art in Dance through The American Dance Festival/Hollins University, where she studied under Thomas De Frantz. Her thesis performance, Gloria’s Sensoria, was presented at The American Dance Festival in 2012, under thesis advisor, Jeffery N. Bullock.

She holds a Teacher’s Certificate with Distinction from The Royal Academy of Dance; and a Bachelor of Arts Honors degree and the Gold Medal Award for Academic Excellence from The University of Winnipeg. Bailie is a graduate from The School of Contemporary Dancers and the Founding Artistic Director of Gearshifting Performance Works, a company that successfully operated for 19 years and where she created over 30 original works.

Photo: Gary Sewell

Hugh Conacher

Hugh Conacher is a lighting and multi-media designer, and a photographer. He has collaborated with choreographers, directors, visual artists, and dance and theatre companies throughout Canada and around the world, in venues large and small. His multi-disciplinary process, the foundation of which is over 30 years as a lighting designer, straddles the worlds of lighting design, new media technologies, projection and photography, using whichever media form best serves the vision of the project.

Originally from Toronto, Hugh has a long association with WCD, having worked as Resident Lighting Designer at WCD from 1983-2007, with WCD Artistic Directors Bill Evans, Tedd Robinson, and Tom Stroud. Hugh was a long time collaborator with WCD founder Rachel Browne, as well as current AD Jolene Bailie, having worked with Bailie on over 450 performances.

Hugh has been a member of the Associated Designers of Canada since 1982 and is a member of l’Association des professionnels des arts de la scène du Québec.

Photo: Leif Norman

Susan Chafe

Much of Susan Chafe’s work bridges boundaries between mediums. She has exhibited in art galleries nationally and internationally and collaborated with visual, theatre and dance artists from Winnipeg and elsewhere on text, sound, performance, video and installation based projects.

She has produced sound for numerous installations, videos and performances over many years. She previously created sound for Choreographer’s Jolene Bailie’s Sensory Life, Infinite World, Inspiro, All You Can Eat/The Top?, Myriad Beings, Happyland and Hybrid Human.

Susan Chafe studied graphic arts at Red River College and Fine Arts at The University of Manitoba. Her visual art has been exhibited at The Winnipeg Art Gallery in New Histories, Edge Manitoba, Contemporary Art in Manitoba, A Dress and Transformations: Objects into Art. Some other exhibitions include: Simultudes, Tinworks and Fax, all at Plug In ICA; Susan Chafe (Gallerie M, Montreal), Art Hotel (Amsterdam), Cultural Commentary (The McKenzie Gallery), Library (Anna Leonowens, Halifax), Perception Reception (Gallery 1.1.1.). Her work is in the collections of The Winnipeg Art Gallery and the Manitoba Arts Council.

Also a book designer, she designs artist books and catalogues for galleries across Canada and the U.S., and received the Manuel Dias Book Design of the Year award for Pauline Boutal, published by Editions du Blè.  This is her first project with Winnipeg’s Contemporary.

Photo: Leif Norman

Wanda Farian

Wanda Farian grew up on a dairy farm in southern Manitoba. She is a self-taught costume designer and works in multiple genres, including dance, theatre, television and film. Wanda has been designing for modern dance since1989; beginning at Winnipeg’s Contemporary Dancers and has created costumes under the direction of Artistic Directors Tedd Robinson, Charles Moulton and Tom Stroud. She has had the good fortune to collaborate with choreographers Danielle Sturk, Freya Olafson, Treasure Waddell, Ruth Cansfield, Rachel Browne and Karen Kuzak, and has toured to Montréal, Banff and New York.

Photo: Wanda Farian

Carol-Ann Bohrn

Carol-Ann Bohrn grew up in Brandon, Manitoba. WCD performance credits: The Space in Between, Modulations, Last Schema, An Aspect of Alterity, Anthem (all by Jolene Bailie) and Begin Again (by Jera Wolfe). Additional performance credits: Four seasons and 47 performances with Gearshifting Performance Works (Bailie, Marie-Josée Chartier, Rachel Browne), By Grand Central Station at Prairie Theatre Exchange (Thomas Morgan Jones), Sick + Twisted Theatre, Odette Heyn, Ming Hon, Saskatoon’s White Birch Ballet (Darlene Williams, Gioconda Barbuto, Josh Beamish), as well as for television commercials, music videos and film. Carol-Ann has participated and been mentored through the Cartae Open School at aceartinc and the Foundation Mentorship Program at MAWA. Carol-Ann is a graduate of The School of Contemporary Dancers and also trained at Ryerson University and The Royal Winnipeg Ballet’s Teacher Training Program. Carol-Ann also performs in WCD: Class at Home 1, a free online class by WCD.

Photo: Jenna Wilder

Mark Dela Cruz

Mark Dela Cruz is a Filipinx-Canadian dance artist based out of Treaty 1 Territory, known as Winnipeg, Canada, immigrated halfway across the Earth from their hometown, their Barangay; Osmeña, Solano, Nueva Viscaya, Philippines. WCD performance credits: Begin Again by Jera Wolfe, Artist in Residence projects Lucas is Lonely with Jasmine Ellis and Flesh + Machine with Danielle Sturk and Verge.  Additional performance credits: Weather Parade Dance Theatre, Christina Medina, Harold Rhéaume and Gearshifting Performance Works. For the last two seasons, Mark worked as a choreographer for a national registered charity called Outside Looking In. A graduate of the School of Contemporary Dancers, they’ve been able to deeply nourish and supplement their origins in street dance. Performances during the Covid-19 Pandemic: a live socially-distant performance at Rainbow Stage for Drop-In Dance’s Recital, an Instagram Live broadcast of ‘House Party’ by LIVE Dance, a Zoom broadcast for Young Lungs Dance Exchange and Begin Again with WCD. Mark also performs in WCD: Class at Home 1 and WCD: Class at Home 2.

Photo: @sarionss × @cdmren

Julious Gambalan

Julious Gambalan recently performed in WCD’s Emerging Artist Initiative shows Calibrations of Flux and Up Close and disDANCING; and previously for Verge: Remembering Rachel Browne. Born in Winnipeg, Julious is a 2020 graduate of The School of Contemporary Dancers and has a BA Honours in Dance (2020) and a BSC (2016). Through SCD, Julious had the opportunity to tour to the Stream of Dance Festival in Regina, New Blue Festival in Toronto and internationally to Vienna, Austria. Julious performs with support from The School of Contemporary Dancers. Julious also performs with NAfro Dance Productions.

Photo: Mark Dela Cruz

Hélène Le Moullec Mancini

Since graduating from the School of Contemporary Dancers with a B.A Honours in Dance in 2005, Hélène has worked as a dance artist in Winnipeg and in works by guest choreographers from all around the world. Select credits: 16 seasons with NAfro Dance Productions (Artistic Director, Casimiro Nhussi), six seasons and over 50 performances under the direction of Jolene Bailie at Gearshifting Performance Works (2013-2019, performing in works by Bailie, Rachel Browne and Marie-Josee Chartier), productions with Paula Blair and work with Stephanie Ballard and Brent Lott. Hélène has toured to Montreal, Toronto, Vancouver and China performing at galleries and festivals. Hélène was born in Notre Dame de Lourdes, grew up in Ottawa, and is also the Artistic Manager for the Winnipeg Comedy Festival.

Photo: Leif Norman

Shawn Maclaine

Shawn Maclaine was born in Halifax and grew up in Toronto and this is his second season dancing with WCD. Performance credits for WCD include: Last Schema, Covid Sonata, Anthem (all by Bailie) and COMMENTARY ON/OFF (by Ming Hon). Previously Shawn danced under the direction of Bailie at Gearshifting Performance Works for 26 performances, originating roles in numerous works, performing on tour, and in works by Jolene Bailie and Marie-Josee Chartier. Shawn is a graduate of The School of Contemporary Dancers where he performed in projects with Odette Heyn, GPS Dance Collective (in Leon, Mexico) and as an emerging dancer for WCD’s Verge. Shawn started training at the National Ballet School’s professional program, where he trained for 4 years. After additional training at The Royal Winnipeg Ballet School, Professional Division, his focus shifted to contemporary dance.

Photo: Fiona Witherell

Warren McClelland

Warren McClelland has danced with Winnipeg’s Contemporary Dancers for the productions: ACTUALIZE (2019), As Though I Had Wings (2017), For the Turnstiles (2016), GORGE (2015) and as an emerging dancer in Verge (2014-2016). Most recently, Warren danced Last Schema, Modulations, The Space in Between and Anthem for WCD. Warren previously danced under the direction of Bailie at Gearshifting Performance Works for 16 performances, in several works, in Winnipeg and on tour. Additional credits: Weather Parade Dance Theatre, Alex Elliot and Johanna Riley.  Originally from Brandon, Manitoba, Warren came to Winnipeg to train at the School of Contemporary Dancers, graduating in 2014, since then he has worked with many choreographers both locally and internationally.

Photo: Leif Norman