Bodies of Water, 2018
Directed by Darla Contois and Shaista Latif
Music Director: Ruben 'Beny' Esguerra
Visual Arts Director: Kaya Joan
Artistic Director: Karen Emerson
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Peace Camp is our flagship program that engages children and youth in social issues, building skills in conflict transformation through the arts. The 2018 Production, Bodies of Water, examined water as an essential building block of life, and how it connects us across time and place. The multidisciplinary performance addressed inequalities that result in issues like environmental racism, and heed Indigenous peoples’ calls to centre the importance of water in our societies.
Presenting the cast of Bodies of Water!
Unpictured: Malayki
Bodies of Water Creative Team
Darla Contois (Co-Director) is a Cree-Saulteaux performer, playwright and poet. She graduated from the Centre for Indigenous Theatre's professional training program in 2014, attended David Smukler's National Voice Intensive and premiered her solo show White Man’s Indian at Summerworks 2017 in Toronto. She was awarded the Emerging Artist award for her work at the festival. She has since gone on to direct, teach, and host workshops all across Turtle Island focusing in on Indigenous Arts and storytelling.
Shaista Latif (Co-Director) is a theatre creator and facilitator. Her work has been presented by Ontario Scene Festival, SummerWorks, Halifax Queer Acts, Rhubarb, Soulotheatre, and Why Not Theatre’s RISER Project. Her works The Archivist, Graceful Rebellions, and How I Learned to Serve Tea centre on the politics of inclusion.
Born in Colombia, JUNO Award-nominee Ruben 'Beny' Esguerra (Music Director) is a multi-instrumentalist, lyricist, arts educator, and community worker who has composed original scores for the CBC, City Life Film, Amnesty International, and the National Film Board of Canada. He has presented his pieces in festivals held in Canada, US, Cuba, Venezuela, Colombia, and Chile, and is currently the music director of several program based in the Jane and Finch neighbourhood of Toronto. Ruben is a PhD (ABD) candidate in Musicology/Ethnomusicology, specializing in traditional and urban music.
Kaya Joan (Visual Arts Director) is a multi-disciplinary mixed Afro-Indigenous artist living in T’karonto (Dish with One Spoon treaty territory). Creating is as essential as breathing, and she draws inspiration from absolutely everything. Her work focuses on healing, transcending ancestral knowledge, and creating dreamscapes inspired by the land of her ancestors (Turtle Island and the Caribbean). Kaya is in the process of completing a BFA through the Indigenous Visual Culture program at OCAD.
Artist Guides: Uche Ama, Mercedes D'Almeida, Claudia Edwards, Njla Nubyanluv, and Joe Recinos
Music Director's Assistant: Tristan Reid
Youth Guides: Paisley Aquarius, Braedon Brooks, Tanner Brooks, Walid Ibrahim, Francis Jarvis, Adewole Mponjika, Zara Phanson, Adam Samuel, Jamilia Son, Temesgen Tedros, and Guru Wilson
Shaista Latif (Co-Director) is a theatre creator and facilitator. Her work has been presented by Ontario Scene Festival, SummerWorks, Halifax Queer Acts, Rhubarb, Soulotheatre, and Why Not Theatre’s RISER Project. Her works The Archivist, Graceful Rebellions, and How I Learned to Serve Tea centre on the politics of inclusion.
Born in Colombia, JUNO Award-nominee Ruben 'Beny' Esguerra (Music Director) is a multi-instrumentalist, lyricist, arts educator, and community worker who has composed original scores for the CBC, City Life Film, Amnesty International, and the National Film Board of Canada. He has presented his pieces in festivals held in Canada, US, Cuba, Venezuela, Colombia, and Chile, and is currently the music director of several program based in the Jane and Finch neighbourhood of Toronto. Ruben is a PhD (ABD) candidate in Musicology/Ethnomusicology, specializing in traditional and urban music.
Kaya Joan (Visual Arts Director) is a multi-disciplinary mixed Afro-Indigenous artist living in T’karonto (Dish with One Spoon treaty territory). Creating is as essential as breathing, and she draws inspiration from absolutely everything. Her work focuses on healing, transcending ancestral knowledge, and creating dreamscapes inspired by the land of her ancestors (Turtle Island and the Caribbean). Kaya is in the process of completing a BFA through the Indigenous Visual Culture program at OCAD.
Artist Guides: Uche Ama, Mercedes D'Almeida, Claudia Edwards, Njla Nubyanluv, and Joe Recinos
Music Director's Assistant: Tristan Reid
Youth Guides: Paisley Aquarius, Braedon Brooks, Tanner Brooks, Walid Ibrahim, Francis Jarvis, Adewole Mponjika, Zara Phanson, Adam Samuel, Jamilia Son, Temesgen Tedros, and Guru Wilson
