This project supports Black, Indigenous and People of Colour (BIPOC) artists and youth.
Rising Together aims to boost the capacity of emergent BIPOC artists and to engage new immigrant and refugee youth in the arts sector. It will help build intercultural understanding between diverse communities through dance, foster diversity and inclusion, and provide equity-seeking people with more opportunities to fully participate in Canadian society. There are two principal streams:
BIPOC EMERGENT ARTISTS PROGRAM
The program provides structured support to a cohort of BIPOC emergent artists, enhancing their capacity to become future leaders and build sustainable careers in the dance and arts sector through tailored mentorship and training from experienced industry experts.
The artists will gain skills in curatorial processes, audience engagement, grant writing, project management, marketing, and fundraising, and create work in studio which will be presented in a performance at the end of the project.
Participating artists:
Kaili Che 謝祖弘 is an interdisciplinary artist, emerging choreographer, and movement educator based on the unceded lands of the Coast Salish Peoples, colonially known as Vancouver. Her participatory works combine contemporary dance, improvisation, storytelling, sound, and installation using textiles and objects. Through immersive and collaborative processes, she explores Asian diasporic heritage, family lineage, climate justice, and community care. Kaili holds a BFA in Dance (with Distinction) from the University of Calgary.
Ysadora Dias is a dance artist based in so-called Vancouver, whose cultural heritage deeply informs her movement and creative practice. She has collaborated with numerous artists across the city and performed with companies including Co.Erasga, Raven Spirit Dance, Inverso Productions, and Action at a Distance. Ysa has also toured with MascallDance throughout Canada and New Zealand. In 2024, she participated in Dance West Network’s Re-Centering Margins Residency and was an artist-in-residence for Co.Erasga’s Salon Series fall 2025.
Jullianna Oke is an interdisciplinary dance artist of mixed race Japanese-Canadian descent, working in Vancouver as a settler on the unsurrendered lands of the xʷməθkwəy̓əm (Musqueam), Skwxwú7mesh (Squamish), and Səl̓ílwətaɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) Nations. She holds a BFA (Hons) in Dance from SFU, with her works exploring themes of identity through movement and video projection. Her work has been presented and supported through the Festival of Recorded Movement, Evergreen Cultural Center, The Dance Centre, and Mile Zero Dance.
Krystal Tsai is an emerging dance artist born and raised in Kaohsiung, Taiwan. She explores her culture and religious-related practices in her creation; relates her practice in contact improvisation and sensation-driven movement in her movement language. Outside of the studio, Krystal places her interest and continuously builds her experience in art administration, stage production management and many more.
IMMIGRANT AND REFUGEE YOUTH PROGRAM
Workshops for immigrant and refugee youth, delivered in partnership with schools and other partners, will engage them in dance and spoken word exercises. Led by established local BIPOC artists, the workshops will help the youth explore Canadian culture and society and how their own cultural backgrounds can connect, fostering a sense of belonging, and developing confidence and friendships. The workshops will also introduce them to volunteer and employment options in the arts sector.
Facilitators
Alvin Tolentino is the Artistic Director of Co.ERASGA. He is renowned for his contribution as an arts leader, curator, cultural programmer, teacher and advocate for the Pan Asian diaspora in Canada over the last 30 years.
Karla Comanda is a poet, editor, translator, educator and arts administrator, and an MFA graduate of creative writing at UBC.
Born and raised in Mindanao, Christopher Nasaire is a queer writer, editor, and visual artist. He writes fiction and creative nonfiction, with his works appearing in W49 Magazine and in Magdaragat: An Anthology of Filipino Canadian Writing.
Partners:
Coquitlam Settlement Workers in Schools (SWIS) Program
Little Mountain Neighbourhood House
Rainbow Refugee
Richmond Settlement Workers in Schools (SWIS) Program
Photos: Krystal Tsai/Albert Normandin; Jullianna Oke/Mikela Vuorensivu; Ysadora Dias/Luciana Photography; Kaili Che/Albert Normandin
This project has been made possible in part by the Government of Canada/Ce projet a été rendu possible en partie grâce au gouvernement du Canada.
