PERFORMER

Amelie Giusta is a multidisciplinary artist, performer, and emerging choreographer based in Toronto, ON. She is a recent graduate with Distinction from Toronto Metropolitan University, where she earned a BFA in Performance Dance. During her time at TMU, Amelie had the opportunity to work with renowned artists and educators, including Hanna Kiel, Ryan Lee, Raoul Wilke, Esie Mensah, and Vicki St. Denys.

Most recently, Amelie performed in Eshi, choreographed by Esie Mensah; A Journey to the Motherland, choreographed by Lua Shayenne; and Dancing with Blindness at Fall for Dance North. She also served as rehearsal director for Echoes of the Same Tree at Fall for Dance North. And has worked as an Assistant Choreographer in the full length production ZAYO for Esie Mensah. Her artistic development has been further shaped by emerging herself in intensives like Modus Operandi (BC), and Decidedly Jazz Danceworks (AB).

Rooted in a deep commitment to artistic exploration, Amelie dances to stay grounded in her truth. She is driven by a desire for continuous growth and transformation, cultivating curiosity, uncovering new layers of expression, and fostering meaningful connections through her work.

CHOREOGRAPHER/PERFORMER

Kwasi Obeng-Adjei is a Brampton-based multidisciplinary artist, emerging choreographer, and dance educator whose practice is rooted in traditional African forms and African street dance. With over a decade of experience in the dance community, Kwasi has built an impressive performance and creative resume, including appearances with the Pan Am Games, Giants of Africa Gala, Raptors Halftime Show, Asake Canadian Tour, AfroFest, Luminato Festival, Kultureland Festival, and many more.

Kwasi has made a continued commitment to promoting and sharing dance within his community. He recognizes the importance of strengthening the dance ecosystem in Ontario and providing tangible opportunities for youth—beginning with workshops, programs, and cultural events that celebrate and educate. Kwasi’s choreographic journey expanded in 2023 when he presented an original work at Night Shift, produced by Citadel + Compagnie and co-presented with Fall for Dance North. Drawing on a free-form, exploratory approach, his work is driven by connection, cultural lineage, and curiosity.

In 2025, Kwasi presented Echoes of the Same Tree in collaboration with Nigerian-based artist Ambrose Tjark as part of Homegrown Signature 2 programming for Fall for Dance North, marking a significant milestone in his artistic development.

CHOREOGRAPHER

From centre stage to the classroom, Kingston-based dancer, choreographer, and educator Jessica Irwin-Champagne brings precision, creativity, and passion to every performance and learning experience. She has trained extensively in ballet, tap, jazz, lyrical, hip hop, musical theatre, cheerleading, modern, and contemporary, competing nationally and internationally and earning many distinctions.

Jessica holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts (Honours) in Performance and Choreography from York University, performing in mainstage productions and as a featured member of the York Dance Ensemble. She trained in Cecchetti Ballet and modern techniques including José Limón and Martha Graham, refining her choreography under Julia Sasso. Professionally, Jessica has performed in numerous live stage events for TDC Entertainment and Sole Power Productions. Since 2017, she has been a performing member of contemporary company Movement Market, appearing in many professional works. She also spent several years portraying a variety of princess characters for a mobile event company.

Jessica believes that dance is the art of movement—a vehicle for storytelling, self-expression, and human connection and she strives to inspire dancers to pursue excellence with energy, precision, and passion—embracing creativity, and achieving their artistic goals.

PERFORMER

Movement Market Collective is a group of professional and pre-professional dance artists, coming together to support and create opportunities towards local, professional dance in Kingston.

CHOREOGRAPHER

Robert Stephen is a Canadian choreographer, dancer and teacher. A graduate of Canada’s National Ballet School, he danced with the National Ballet of Canada from 2004–2018, with a promotion to First Soloist in 2011. He has worked with many choreographers including Crystal Pite, Wayne McGregor, Christopher Wheeldon and James Kudelka. In 2011, he won the Clifford E. Lee Choreography Award from the Banff Centre, and the Audience Choice Award for Choreography at the Erik Bruhn Competition. In 2018, he joined Gauthier Dance/Dance Company Theaterhaus Stuttgart for two years, performing works by Ohad Naharin, Hofesh Shechter and William Forsythe. Since his return to Canada in 2020, Robert has been commissioned by Ballet Kelowna three times, to create Celestial Mechanics (2021), In the Light of the Waking Sun (2022), and Mustard (2024). Since 2021, he has been an Artistic Staff member at Canada’s National Ballet School, where he teaches and choreographs for the Professional Ballet and Company Life programs. He has choreographed for Toronto Metropolitan University’s Performance Dance program, and is a regular guest teacher for the National Ballet of Canada’s company class.

COMPANY

Grand Poney is an indiscernible, visionary and noble beast. Established in Montreal by founder Jacques Poulin-Denis, the interdisciplinary company devises a hybrid and collaborative process based on choreographic abstraction, musical composition and theatrical dramaturgy. It draws its narrative from the infinite traits of the human existence: its physical and psychic states, its impulses and principles and its relationship to others and to itself. Grand Poney consistently utilizes a measure of unfeasibility to bridge the imaginary to the obvious.

FACILITATOR

Christopher House is a choreographer, performer, educator, mentor and sometime curator and editor. Born and raised in St. John’s, Newfoundland, he joined Toronto Dance Theatre as a dancer in 1979 and was named a Resident Choreographer in 1981. He became the company’s Artistic Director in 1994, a position that he held for twenty-six years. He created more than sixty choreographies for TDT over a period of forty years, including a dozen full-length works, and has created work for many other organizations and individuals including Portugal’s Ballet Gulbenkian, the National Ballet of Canada, Les Grands Ballets Canadiens, Ballet British Columbia, Cirque du Soleil, Artistic Fraud of Newfoundland, The Newfoundland Dance Project, The Hidden Cameras and soloists Peggy Baker, Claudia Moore and Guillaume Côté. His works have been performed in nineteen countries worldwide; in 2018, his retrospective program House Mix was performed in fifteen Canadian cities coast to coast and in Bogotá and Medellin, Colombia. He left his position at TDT in August 2020 to focus on new aspects of his artistic practice and mentorship.

Christopher has taught technique and creative practice across Canada and in the USA, UK, and The Netherlands. Since 2006, his teaching and directing have been influenced by his work with post-modern icon Deborah Hay; his performance of Hay's I'll Crane For You was named as one of the top five dance Canadian dance events of 2015 in the Globe and Mail. In the last several years, he has expanded his practice as mentor and facilitator, working with younger choreographers and leading workshops for established artists at the Banff Centre, the University of Calgary, Studio 303 in Montreal and in the Summer Love-In in Toronto.

FACILITATOR

Alexei Baro is one of the driving forces behind La Vida in Kingston, and the heartbeat of its dance floor. A natural entertainer, instructor, MC, and host, Alexei doesn’t just start the party, he is the party. His infectious energy and dynamic dance style have a way of pulling everyone in and keeping the floor alive all night long.

With formal training in multiple dance styles and a deep appreciation for the culture of movement, Alexei teaches and performs salsa, bachata, cha-cha-cha, rumba, and merengue with both skill and passion. He is a graduate of Physical Culture and Sports from the University of Matanzas in Cuba, a foundation that shapes his approach as the lead instructor of Latin Dance Kingston at La Vida.

Before bringing his talents to Canada, Alexei spent 10 years as a tourist entertainer in Cuba, starring in numerous cabaret shows at the Melia Varadero Hotel. His performances left a lasting impression on guests from around the world, earning him a reputation as a performer who truly connects, captivates, and leaves people wanting more.

PERFORMER

Mazinibi’iige otherwise known as Kaiya Mongrain is an Anishinaabe multimedia artist specializing in digital illustrations and acrylic paintings. She comes from a remote reserve where a lot of her art is inspired by the beauty of the traditional homelands of the Teme-Augama Anishnabai. Her artwork takes a lot of inspiration from the natural world and her inspirations as a contemporary Fancy Shawl Dancer who has been dancing in Pow Wow for over ten years.

PERFORMER

Originally from Waterloo, ON, Haley Dimeck is a contemporary dancer, instructor, and visual artist. She graduated from Dance Arts Institute in 2020, having worked with renowned choreographers including Peggy Baker, Robert Glumbek, and David Norsworthy to name a few. In 2019, Haley choreographed and presented her first full-length work, The Hidden Revealed, for Unwrap Theatre. She created her first dance film as 2020 co-recipient of The Winchester Prize, and in 2022, hosted the online film festival event, Movement Offerings. She has also performed in multiple works with Portal Dance and the Guelph Dance Festival. Having moved to the Kingston area summer of 2024, Haley could not be more grateful for the community she was met with here. Her more recent choreographic and dance projects include work with Ground UP and the Juvenis Festival. As a creator, Haley loves exploring the intersections between moving paint around on a canvas and movement in the body. She’s always taking in new inspiration and cannot wait to be a part of Spring UP this month!

PERFORMER

Elissa Morgan (she/her) is a Kingston-based dance artist, instructor, and choreographer who believes in the power of movement to connect and inspire. She teaches at the Kingston School of Dance and is a board member (and former performer) with the GroundUP Dance Festival. Trained in artistic gymnastics, acrobatics, ballet, contemporary, and lyrical dance in her hometown of coastal Tsawwassen, BC, she began teaching in 2012 and later joined Only Human Dance Collective in Toronto as a performer, choreographer, and creative director. She has since performed professionally with TDC Entertainment at large-scale corporate and live events across the GTA as a dancer, acrobat, and aerialist. She draws on her diverse training and experience to blend disciplines in her work, with a focus on strength training, storytelling, and community. Her journey bridges art and science - she also holds a Master’s degree in Public Health and brings that lens into how she teaches, creates, and connects through movement. Outside the studio, she works as a health researcher and public servant at Veterans Affairs Canada.

PERFORMER

Charlotte Tessier is a Toronto-based dance artist and educator, originally from Kingston. She is an original member of Movement Market Collective and has participated in Ground UP Festival as both a performer, workshop facilitator, and community member. Charlotte is currently a dancer with Ming Movement performance program and teaches full-time, bringing her passion for movement into both artistic and educational spaces.

FACILITATOR

Melissa Prince has been dancing since the age of two, making her stage debut as a “Twinkle Toes” ballerina. She trained and competed in various dance styles throughout her childhood and teen years, dancing competitively until she was 18. Before graduating from high school, she earned her BATD teaching certification. Melissa moved to Kingston to study Drama and Film at Queen’s University, where her passion for dance continued to thrive. She taught and choreographed at a local studio and was actively involved in university dance programs and productions, including the Vogue Charity Fashion Show, Movement Market, and The Juvenis Festival. After graduating from Queen's, Melissa has been working locally in the film and production industry. 

PERFORMERS

QBSC is a nationally recognized institution dedicated to shaping well‑rounded, technically proficient, and artistically confident young dancers. Our training environment is strengthened by the Host Family Program, which places students with trusted local families who offer stability, warmth, and daily support. This community‑based model ensures that each dancer is cared for holistically while pursuing demanding professional training. QBSC prepares students for success in post‑secondary programs and the professional arts sector, grounded in a culture of respect, honesty, and community.

CHOREOGRAPHER

Lauren Runions (b. 1989) is a dance artist, choreographer, facilitator, and arts administrator based in Tkarón:to/Toronto and sometimes Kjipuktuk/Halifax. For Lauren dancing involves moving-thinking, writing, choreographic objects, community labs, performances and daily independent practice. Their work investigates the role of choreography as a reciprocal spatial practice. Lauren’s work questions how social choreographies shape everyday embodied awareness and inform their responsibility to living with intersectional ecologies.

Lauren has choreographed site-specific works for MOCA, Nuit Blanche, Long Winter, Radiant Rural Halls, and Nocturne. They have acted as movement director for music videos in collaboration with Rachel Bobbitt, Fucked Up, The Weather Station, Alessia De Gasperis, Ian Daniel Kehoe, New Fries, and Jordan Hart. They are the artistic director of project I/O Movement which offers site-responsive performances, community workshops, and public residencies. In 2018, public dance residency This is Our Place was supported by The Bentway’s Community Incubation Program.
As a dancer, they have most recently worked with Susannah Haight, pounds per square inch performance/Gerry Trentham, Christopher Willes & Adam Kinner, SLOW DANCE LAB/Sally Morgan, Jacinte Armstrong, Mocean Dance, kloetzel&co./Melanie Kloetzel & Anandam Dancetheatre/Brandy Leary, Lisa Phinney, and New Mineral Collective. Lauren is a graduate of George Brown College's Performance Dance program and holds an MFA from NSCAD University with Oslo National Academy of the Arts/KHiO.

PERFORMER

Winnie Seaby is a Kingston School of Dance alumni, who has trained in a variety of styles and furthered her education through programs including the Limón Winter Intensive in New York City, and the American Dance Festival’s Pre-Professional Intensive at Duke University in North Carolina. She hopes to pursue a career in contemporary dance.

PERFORMER

Ella Stotz is a passionate high school student with over 12 years of dance experience. While training in a variety of styles including contemporary, ballet and tap, she also teaches young students at the Kingston School of Dance.

Ella has performed at multiple local dance and arts festivals including the Ground UP Dance Festival and played the Swan Lake Ballerina role in Blue Canoe’s production of Anastasia: The Musical. Most recently, Ella served as the youth dance project leader for the 2025 Juvenis Festival, where she showcased her first original choreography in her production Resonance.

PERFORMER

Chantal Aucoin is a dancer at the Kingston School of Dance, with training in contemporary, jazz, acrobatic, and ballet technique and creation. Growing up as a dancer has allowed her to connect with movement as a form of expression and storytelling. This connection and love for movement inspires her to continue to grow as a dancer and develop her artistry. Currently, Chantal dances for the Kingston Youth Dance Ensemble (KYDE) and shares her love for dance when teaching the young dancers at the Kingston School of Dance, where she enjoys every step of her journey as a dancer.

PERFORMER

India Frost is from Kingston and has been dancing since the age of 14. Having been a PTP Student with Quinte Ballet School of Canada for 1 year, India is in love with ballet, and obsessively watches old and obscure ballet performances in her spare time.

PERFORMER

Gabrielle Cortes, born in Cape Breton, Nova Scotia, and having grown up near Miramichi, New Brunswick, started dancing at the age of three. Throughout her early years, she trained primarily in jazz and hip hop. At 14 she began to train professionally in ballet upon joining the Quinte Ballet School of Canada. Since then, she has had the opportunity to travel to four different countries with the purpose of dancing.

PERFORMER

Hannah Thompson is from Sarnia and has been dancing for over 13 years. She recently completed her first year at QBSC, where she has grown as both a dancer and an artist. She loves the sense of community and connection that dance creates and is passionate about expressing herself through movement. Hannah hopes to pursue a professional career in dance and is excited to be performing at Ground UP.

PERFORMER

Kendrah MacNeil is originally from Ottawa and came to Belleville in 2024 to dance with QBSC, where she has continued dancing for the last 2 years and her love for dance has grown and she's improved so much with her training. She has been dancing for around 4 years now with no prior experience. Ballet is her favourite style because it challenges her to grow and improve. She loves dancing with QBSC and is very excited to perform with the Ground UP festival this summer.

PERFORMER

Ella Warner is from Brighton and has been dancing for 12 years. She has completed 3 years at The Quinte Ballet School of Canada where she has grown as an artist and as a creator. She loves the creativity that dance brings and the sense of community it builds as an athletic art form. She was a dancer for Team Canada Hip hop (2025) and competed in Slovenia at the IDO World Hip Hop and Popping Championships. Ella hopes to continue a career professionally in dance and is excited to be performing at Ground UP festival this summer.

PERFORMER

Alexandra Deyarmond is from Belleville and has been dancing for 14 years. She is going into her sixth year dancing with the Quinte Ballet School of Canada. She loves the expression and creativity involved in dance and enjoys being able to express emotions through the art form.