Ground UP Dance Festival

Ground UP Dance Festival is focused on building community, giving dance focused performance platform, and supporting artists throughout their journey in creation and development in Kingston. This year's festival is running June 25th - July 12th, 2025.

Opening Night Party

Wednesday, June 25th

Get ready to kick off the season in style! Join us for the Opening Night Party of the Ground UP Dance Festival from 7:00-10:00pm. Immerse yourself into the dance community and festival atmosphere in one of Kingston’s most intimate venues.

The night features the captivating sounds of Foster, Shea & Sudac — a magnetic trio blending soulful melodies, rich harmonies and a rollercoaster of storytelling.

$10 admission. Great Vibes. See you there!

“after/ALWAYS”

Friday, June 27th at 7pm
Saturday, June 28th at 2pm
Saturday, June 28th at 7pm

This year’s “2nd Stage” performance will be located at The Baby Grand Theatre. This multi-disciplinary production of dance, theatre and music in a reflection of transformation. The performers shape-shift through their ever-changing ego, death of self and rebirth. Inspired by the book “Women Who Run With Wolves”, Foster, Kenney, Shea and Sudac portray a tumultuous and emotional journey of stepping into the future of “self”, all while carrying their intrinsic nature inside the body.

Morning Classes & Workshops

Yoga Flow
with Lia
Mon. July 7th at 9:30-11:00am

  • 80 Princess St, Kingston, ON K7K 1A4

  • $20 general, $15 student/artist

    Start your week off with a relaxing morning yoga. All levels are welcome. 

  • Lia discovered yoga more than 10 years ago as a way to complement other forms of exercise.

    Over time, it became much more than just a physical practice—it became a path to deeper mind-body connection and overall well-being. 

    As a behavioral scientist, Lia has observed the increasing mental and physical health challenges in academia and society at large. This inspired her to create Skandiflow, a space that makes yoga more inclusive, accessible, and community-driven—going beyond just the physical aspects of the practice.

    In her classes, Lia blends movement, stillness, and self-empowerment, ensuring that students of all levels feel challenged yet supported. She enjoys guiding energizing flows, but also loves offering deeply restorative classes with hands-on massage to help students fully relax and reset. Above all, she believes yoga is for everyone and is passionate about creating a welcoming space for all bodies, backgrounds, and abilities.

Youth Contemporary Class
with Sasha French
Tues. July 8th at 9:30-11:00am

  • The Baby Grand Theatre, 218 Princess St, Kingston, ON K7L 1B2

  • $15 student/artist

    Morning contemporary-based class for youth movers between the ages of 12 and 18, with at least 1-2 years experience.

  • Sasha Jimenez French is a vibrant Cuban American multidisciplinary artist, igniting creativity at the intersection of painting, dance, and activism. Her work reflects the fusion of her Cuban heritage and American experiences, resonating through captivating canvases and dynamic choreography.

Morning Class
with Ellen Furey
Wed. July 9th at 9:30-11:00am

  • The Baby Grand Theatre, 218 Princess St, Kingston, ON K7L 1B2

  • $20 general, $15 student/artist

    Morning

    As in, the beginning
    As in, a new day
    Or as in only the beginning of only this day.
    Or, the only beginning of the only day.
    Class As in, rehearsing this day to life with you.

    I want to sweat. I want to feel good and feel alive and feel connected to the people around me. I want to feel connected to music and the sounds of life. And I want to make that music with our bodies in synesthetic shapes, that, in their twisting, sing and drone and harmonize and resist. “When you call on me, when I hear you breathe, I get wings to fly, I feel that I’m alive.” We can start here, with Celine Dion’s giant call.

    This contemporary class ranges in intensities from subtle exercises to power ballad feeling and will include both highly structured improvisations and choreographed unison forms. Movement will push and also make use of/rehearse what’s already there.

  • Ellen Furey is a dance-artist in Tiohtiá:ke/Mooniyang/Montréal. Since 2012, she’s worked on numerous collaborative and interdisciplinary processes with independent choreographers, artists and dance companies in Canada and internationally. Her creations have been presented in Europe, Canada, in the USA and the UK. Ellen's artistic work currently also extends into emergent caring fields (death doulaship and spiritual accompaniment). She has been a leadership consultant at a Montreal dance company, Danse-Cité, since 2022, and is originally from Unama’ki/Cape Breton Island on unceded traditional Mi'kmaq territory.

Partnering Workshop
with Adèle Ross & Joshua Yates
Thurs. July 10th & Fri. July 11th
at 9:30-11:00am

  • The Baby Grand Theatre, 218 Princess St, Kingston, ON K7L 1B2

  • $50 general, $40 student/artist

    Born from our love of sharing dance, we developed this workshop with the aim of teaching partnering skills at all levels in a stimulating, enjoyable and challenging way. We believe in creating a supportive environment where roles are interchangeable. This workshop examines fundamental partnering mechanics. Its progression allows participants to experience partnering in both meticulous and improvised settings to develop a range of skills geared to enhance individual practices. Our goal is to cultivate everybody’s capacity to adapt their dance to many situations.

  • Adèle Ross is a Montreal-based performer and choreographer who, through Hip-Hop, developed a passion that led her to choose the professional path. Her training has allowed her to grow into a fascination for partner work, floor work and imagination. Adèle sees movement as a way to connect to our instincts and directly plug into sensations of pleasure and pleasure of expression. It is a precious vector of community.

    Joshua Yates is a contemporary and urban dancer, choreographer, and teacher. London born, but raised in Germany, Joshua started training in Ballet from a young age and proceeded to training in urban and later contemporary dance. In 2020, they graduated from London Contemporary Dance School with a BA (Hons) in Contemporary Dance. During their training, Joshua had the opportunity to develop their choreographic voice by creating and producing dance pieces both within and outside the course’s curriculum. Since training, Joshua has worked with Julian Nichols’ Bodies in Action Dance, collaborated with Paddington Arts, and taught dance and yoga in different dance schools and colleges such as Rambert Studios. In 2021, Joshua began producing multiple of their own shows, consistently showcasing their new choreographic work to the public. Since 2021, Joshua has participated in multiple workshops with Rubberband Dance Group, as well as taking part in Stephanie Decourteille’s Big Bang intensive training program. During the latter, they created a solo work titled Dedans that since has been featured in their latest dance productions, performed in London as well in Berlin at B12 Festival for Contemporary Dance in the summer of 2023. One of their latest works, Yonder, premiered at The Place theatre in London in January 2024, and Sous Tenus, a co-creation with Adele Ross, in July at Ground UP Dance Festival in Kingston, Ontario. Currently, Joshua is focusing on developing their own dance practice, whilst teaching at several schools such as loisirs Henri Julien. They are also back in creation for the second half of their most recent work, Yonder. They live and work in Montreal.

Workshop with Jessie Garon of Vazari Arts
Sat. July 12th at 10:00-11:30am

  • #303, 370 King St W, Kingston, ON K7L 2X4

  • $20 general, $15 student/artist

    During this class I will lead participants through an improvisation based structure that touches on systems I use as a creative practise warm up and as a way to generate choreographic material. This workshop plays with agency, togetherness and uncertainty through an improvisational group structure. Uncertainty is a rich, creative state without ego. Together we will play with ways to cultivate it intentionally. The structure of this practice encourages a deliberate degree of miscommunication. We aim to harness this chaos to let unexpected things appear and seek a generative state together that hinges on play and presence. This workshop is best suited to anyone with movement experience and for those looking to gain skills as an interpreter or creator.

  • Jessie Garon is a queer performer and choreographer working in contemporary dance theatre. She is a graduate of Dance Arts Institute after which she interned for Ate9 Dance Company (Los Angeles) under Artistic Director Danielle Agami. Since 2014, she has participated primarily in collaborative processes blending performative forms. Her work incites the potential of dance virtuosity, rigor and spectacle as materials to craft spirited and surreal dance theatre. As an interpreter she has worked for and alongside artists such as Brandy Leary/Anandam Dance Theatre, Jennifer Dallas/Kemi Contemporary Dance Projects, Serge Bennathan, Lemi Ponifasio/MAU (New Zealand), Clarice Lima/Futura (Brazil), Sara Porter and Sasha Ivanochko.  Garon is the founder and Artistic Director of Vazari Arts and a 2024 Johanna Metcalf Performing Arts Prizes nominee. Her work has been shown across Canada, including the Theatre Centre (ON), Pumphouse Theatre (AB), Refinery Theatre (SK), Édifice Wilder Espace Danse (QC) and Salle Bernard-LeBlanc (NB).

Mainstage Performance at Lake Ontario Park

Friday, July 11th at 7pm
Saturday, July 12th at 7pm

The highlight of our summer programming, the Ground UP Dance Festival’s Mainstage performances charm are audiences with professional dance works from Montreal, Toronto, and Kingston. Bring a blanket and pack a picnic and enjoy dance beside the lake at sunset! This year’s festival artists are:

Vazari Arts
Haley Dimek
Kiara Flavin
Katherine Ng
Movement Market Collective

PWYC tiered pricing $15, $20, $25
Family friendly & accessible seating available
Food truck on-site

Community Events

Accessibility

The Ground UP Dance Festival is committed to providing accessible programming. If you require any support leading up or during the festival events please contact us at groundupdancefestival@outlook.com

The Baby Grand (218 Princess St, Kingston, ON K7L 1B2) is located inside the Kingston Grand Theatre, situated in the heart of downtown Kingston, and is a wheelchair accessible space. Wheelchair-accessible parking is available on Princess Street. The Baby Grand is on the second floor of the Kingston Grand Theatre and can be accessed through the administrative doors beside the main entrance on Princess Street. Elevator access is available from the main lobby. The theatre is fully accessible and features a sprung floor, professional sound and lighting systems, and two accessible washrooms onsite.

The Kingston School of Dance (#303, 370 King St W, Kingston, ON K7L 2X4) is located at the Tett Centre for Creativity and Learning and is a wheelchair accessible space. Accessible parking spaces are available in both the lower parking lot and the accessible lot adjacent to the Tett. KSD is on the 3rd floor and can be accessed through the main doors. The school's studio space is also accessible, featuring sprung dance flooring, adjustable barres, mirrors, and professional sound and lighting. There are two gender neutral washrooms onsite.

Lake Ontario Park (920 King St W, Kingston, ON K7M 8H3) has accessible parking and pathways to the waterfront performance area. The park has wheelchair accessible, gendered washrooms. This year, Ground UP has the option for seated tickets close to the performance pad and along the paved area at the top of the hill. There is a wheelchair accessible ramped path to the performance pad seating. Audiences are also welcome to enjoy the show on the grassy hill, and are encouraged to bring their own chairs or blankets.

Pedal Works Café (101C, 1412 Princess St, Kingston, ON K7M 3E5) is located on the main floor and is a wheelchair accessible venue with a non-gendered washroom.