Faculty – Dance

Suzanne Liska

Suzanne Liska is a dancer, choreographer, teacher, and researcher specializing in dance improvisation and somatics since 1998. Suzanne has originated in roles for choreographers Rebecca Bryant, Maxine Heppner, Pam Johnson, Karen Kaeja, Susan Lee, Kathleen Rea and Takako Segawa. Suzanne has choreographed and performed works presented by DanceWorks CoWorks, Dusk Dances, Dance Matters, DARK, and Harbourfront Centre. As a company dancer for Kathleen Rea’s REAson d’etre Dance Productions, Suzanne danced in the three times Dora Award nominated “Long Live”. Upcoming projects include co-creations with celebrated dance artists Susan Lee and Takako Segawa, JJ Lee (visual artist), and Sabrina Budiman (videographer).

Receiving Bachelor Degrees in Arts and in Education, Suzanne has been a teacher since 2001. She teaches professional dancers, actors, community dancers, and high school and elementary school students. Her main classes include Conditioning, Somatics (Alexander Technique), Solo, Contact, and Ensemble Improvisation/Composition and advanced partnering. Suzanne has taught workshop intensives for Collective Gulp in Ottawa, CCDC in Calgary, CINN in Tokyo, and Leviathan studio in BC and for Ryerson University, George Brown and Humber College in Toronto. She has been a faculty teacher at the Randolph Academy for Performing Arts College program and a course director in York University’s Dance department.

Funded by a SSHRC award, she received her MFA in Choreography at York University. Investigating Contact Improvisation and the Alexander Technique within the choreographic process, she conducted her research in Tokyo and Toronto.

Areas of Research and Academic Specialty: Contemporary/Modern Dance, Somatics

Personal Website www.suzanneliska.com

Wesley McKenzie

Nikolaos Markakis

Nikolaos Markakis was first introduced to dance at the Cretan Association of Toronto Knossos, where he studied Cretan Folkloric dance. He was introduced to western styles of dance in high school and followed his passion of movement to York University where he completed his BFA in 2013. Post his undergraduate degree, he has performed and choreographed with Half Second Echo and performed for; Susie Burpee, Valerie Calam, Marie-Josee Chartier, Alison Daley, David Earle, Hanna Keil, Shannon Litzenberger, Tracey Norman and Peter Randazzo. Nikolaos recently completed his MFA at York University where he researched the possibility of hybrid choreography between Cretan Folkloric and Contemporary dance practices. His main objective is to use his two embodied dance recourses in his creative practice to allow an organic approach, and a cultivating environment for his two worlds of dance to live in his choreography. Recently Nikolaos has been appointed to the Board of Directors of CADA-ON.

Mary Jane Warner

Mary Jane Warner has extensive teaching experience at all levels, from elementary to graduate school. She was the founder of the historical dance group Entrée Dance, which performed Renaissance and Baroque dance in schools and other community settings in the American Midwest, and directed the dance program at Kirkland College in Clinton, New York for six years before returning to Canada in 1980.

At York University, she has taught courses in dance history, notation, repertory, movement analysis, ballet and dance education. She has served as Chair of the Dance Department, director of the Graduate Program in Dance and associate dean of the Faculty of Fine Arts. Her expertise in dance pedagogy brought her onto the development team for the Province of Ontario high school dance curriculum.

Dr. Warner is a Fellow of the International Council of Kinetography Laban and a certified notation teacher and author of Laban Notation Scores: An International Bibliography, Volumes I – IV. She has provided certified checking for notation scores including works by Anna Sokolow and Leonide Massine, and has reconstructed works by Doris Humphrey and Marion Scott. She was the primary organizer and administrator of the Laban/Bartenieff Institute for Movement Studies Program at York University.

An authority on Canadian dance, Professor Warner published the bookToronto Dance Teachers: 1825-1925 as well as numerous articles on dance in Toronto. With colleague Norma Sue Fisher-Stitt, she developed a CD titled Shadow on the Prairie an interactive multimedia dance history tutorial that was released on the York Fine Arts recording label in 1997 – the first dance history CD-ROM ever published. Working in collaboration with York dance professor Selma Odom, she completed Canadian Dance: Visions and Stories, an anthology of Canadian dance published by Dance Collection Danse. She recently completed a SSHRC grant documenting the work of several senior choreographers. She was instrumental in the establishment of Toronto Heritage Dance, an ensemble with a mandate to raise awareness of our modern dance tradition through performance, educational and preservation activities. She has received funding through the Ministry of Health Promotion to place students in community centres to teach dance to older adults as part of the Healthy Communities Fund.

Areas of Research and Academic Specialty: Dance history, notation, repertory, movement analysis, ballet technique, dance education

Selma Odom

Selma Odom is a dance historian and writer. Recruited to York University in 1972, she was founding director of the MA and PhD programs in dance and dance studies, the first offered in a Canadian university. She was awarded the Faculty of Graduate Studies’ Teaching Award in 1998 in recognition of her contributions to the advancement of academic excellence and the quality of graduate teaching at York University. As Professor Emerita and Senior Scholar, she continues to teach graduate seminars and serves as Adjunct Associate of the Centre for Drama, Theatre and Performance Studies of the University of Toronto.

Dr. Odom’s research focuses on dance, music, education and gender. With a background in English literature and theatre history, she has published many articles and reviews since the 1960s in books, academic journals, reference works, magazines and newspapers. She frequently presents in international symposia and conferences, and is invited to lecture in universities and schools in Europe and the United States. She has done extensive work for scholarly and professional organizations, curated exhibitions and film festivals, advised publishers such as Oxford University Press and consulted for various cultural agencies. She is a Member of the Board of Directors of Dance Collection Danse, Canada’s national dance archives and publisher dedicated to the preservation and dissemination of Canadian theatrical dance history.

Dr. Odom co-edited Canadian Dance: Visions and Stories, an anthology of thirty-five essays on Canadian dance and dance artists published by Dance Collection Danse in 2004. She is currently writing a book based on her long-term research on practice, identity and oral transmission in Dalcroze Eurhythmics.

Areas of Research and Academic Specialty: Dance History; Dance Writing

Karen Bowes-Sewell

Karen Bowes-Sewell is a Certified Feldenkrais Practitioner and member of the Feldenkrais Guild of North America. She is a senior scholar in Dance at York University where she taught ballet, conditioning for dancers, and somatic education for many years as an associate professor. Karen was a principal dancer with the National Ballet of Canada and brings her rich experience as a performer, teacher and researcher to her therapeutic movement practice. She established Feldenkrais Movement for All in 2005, working extensively with Pivot Sport Medicine & Orthopaedics, the Artist Health Centre Foundation, and the Feldenkrais Centre in Toronto. Karen has a private practice in the Grand Bend area of southwestern Ontario where she focuses on integrative movement health to address issues of chronic pain and neurological dysfunction, and to refine performance skills for athletes and artists.

Areas of Academic Specialty: Ballet, conditioning for dance, and somatic education.

Evadne Kelly

Evadne Kelly is a dance artist and scholar with a PhD in Dance Studies from York University, an MA in Anthropology from McMaster University, and an Hon. BA in Women Studies, Equity Studies, and Anthropology from University of Toronto. She has presented and published on topics relevant to the fields of anthropology and dance studies with a focus on the political and social dimensions of trans-locally performed dance traditions. Publications of her research can be found in Pacific Arts Journal, The Dance Current, Performance Matters, and Fiji Times. Dr. Kelly was an invited participant of the 2015 Mellon funded Dance Studies summer seminar at Northwestern University, where she developed her book manuscript, Dancing Spirit, Love, and War: Expressing the Trans-Local Realities of Contemporary Fiji, currently under contract with University of Wisconsin Press. Research for her book received support from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council doctoral award and builds on her 20 years of professional experience as a company member, teacher, and rehearsal director for celebrated choreographer, David Earle.

Dr. Kelly continues to work in (and advocate for) diverse areas of dance research. In 2016, she co-organized The Other “D”: locating ‘D’ance in Drama, Theatre and Performance Studies in Canada, at University of Toronto. In 2017, she co-convened the World Dance Alliance Global Summit at Memorial University in St. John’s, Newfoundland, which critically engaged the social, political, and therapeutic aspects of community-engaged dance. Most recently, Dr. Kelly was under contract with the Canadian Museum of History, researching and writing about popular dances of the 1960s, 70s, and 80s.

Syreeta Hector

Keiko Kitano

A “Masterful choreographer” (Globe and Mail), Keiko Kitano is an independent dance artist with a unique style influenced by her study of Butoh and Japanese dance. She has been a guest artist at numerous festivals, has worked with many artists in Tokyo and abroad. In 2001, she co-founded The Tokyo Dance Collective along with multimedia artist Rick Thomson and composer TAMURAN Music, with the aim of unifying dance, music and multimedia by creating new interactive pieces for dance, media, and music.

A resident of Toronto since 2003, Keiko has collaborated with many local artists such as Parmela Attariwara, Aki Takahashi, Nagata-Shachu, Rick Thomson and others, as well as international artists such as TAMURAN Music and costume designer Shingo Tokihiro. Her choreography has been presented at various venues and festivals. As a dancer, she has worked with many local choreographers including Holly Small, Sashar Zarif, Susan Cash, Maxine Heppner, Viv Moore, and Emily Cheung.

Keiko always enjoys working with artists from different disciplines and cultural backgrounds yet with similar sensibilities. Her interests are in forms of Japanese dance and Butoh both for study and dance creation. She holds a Master’s degree in Dance, was a full-time faculty for the Japan Women’s College of Physical Education (Dance Major 1991 – 2003) teaching Modern Dance Technique, Improvisation and other various disciplines associated with modern dance. Since 2006, Keiko has been a part-time faculty for the Department of Dance at York University and continues to create and perform around the Toronto area.

She has been excited to be a part of Toronto’s “First Impression Campaign” and looks forward to her upcoming projects in March 2011 with her new solo piece for the Green Tea Collective, a group she co-founded.

Academic Specialty: Performance, Contemporary/Modern Dance

Personal website

Julia Sasso

Julia Sasso is a choreographer, teacher, mentor, performer and the Artistic Director of Julia Sasso dances. She began dancing in 1960 in Detroit, Michigan where she trained with Cecchetti ballet master, Rose Marie Floyd. In her teens she was a scholarship student at the American Dance Center (Joffrey Ballet, NYC) and an apprentice with the Harkness Ballet (NYC). Sasso attended York University’s Dance program from 1974-1976. Throughout her professional career she has developed her artistry through ongoing training in the Skinner Releasing Technique (SRT), Improvisation, Authentic Movement, theatre, voice, Pilates, ballet and contemporary dance techniques.

Sasso performed internationally with Toronto’s Dancemakers (1984-2000) and was Assistant Artistic Director and principal company teacher for a dozen years. She was a featured performer in original works and repertoire by Carol Anderson, Serge Bennathan, Anna Blewchamp, Christopher House, James Kudelka, Bill James, Lar Lubovitch, Tom Stroud and Doug Varone, among others. Sasso has appeared as a guest artist with Fondation Jean-Pierre Perreault, Toronto Dance Theatre, Winnipeg’s Contemporary Dancers and in the work of choreographers, Conrad Alexandrowicz, Sarah Chase, Murray Darroch, Sasha Ivanochko and Claudia Moore among others.

Sasso has created extensively for the concert stage, for theatre, feature film and television. Her choreography has been commissioned and presented throughout Canada, in the United States and abroad by Harbourfront Centre, Canada Dance Festival, Stratford Shakespeare Festival of Canada, Toronto Dance Theatre, Dancemakers, Winnipeg’s Contemporary Dancers and DanceWorks, among others. Feature film credits (choreography) include Boy Meets Girl (1998) and The Life Before This (1999). Film treatments of her pieces have been screened on television and at film festivals worldwide. Sasso has created works for all of Canada’s recognized Professional Training Programs (PTPs) in contemporary dance and countless works for The School of Toronto Dance Theatre’s PTP. Independently and as Artistic Director of Julia Sasso dances, Sasso has created, produced and presented five full evening length dance works. NOW magazine nominated Sasso Toronto’s BEST CHOREOGRAHER in 2013 and 2014.

Highly regarded as a teacher of contemporary dance techniques, Sasso has taught internationally at distinguished learning centres including UCLA, Cornell University, Canada Dance Festival, Le Groupe Dance Lab, Peggy Baker Dance Projects, Dancemakers, Volcano Conservatory, Canada’s National Ballet School, Régroupement Québécois de la Danse (RQD), Ryerson and Simon Fraser Universities; in Budapest, Mexico, England, Wales, Scotland, Austria and Germany. An internationally Certified Teacher of the Skinner Releasing Technique™, Sasso is a core faculty member (since 1995) in the School of Toronto Dance Theatre’s PTP and (since 2006) teaches in the Department of Dance at York University.

Sasso has received awards from the Canada Council for the Arts, Ontario Arts Council, Toronto Arts Council, Chalmers Foundation, Laidlaw Foundation, Metcalf Foundation, John McKellar Foundation, Dancers’ Transition Resource Centre (DTRC), Skinner Releasing Institute, York University, Paul Taylor Dance Company, Royal Winnipeg Ballet PTP, Joffrey Ballet, Harkness Ballet and The Cecchetti Council of America.

Sasso is currently engaged as Artistic Associate with Forcier/Norman (DanceWorks/NextSteps) and as a creative collaborator/performer with Sore for Punching You/Allison Cummings.

Julia Sasso is recognized as “one of the foremost dance artists in the country.” – The Dance Current

An established choreographer, performer, master teacher and artistic mentor, Julia Sasso began dancing in 1960 in Detroit (USA) where she trained with Cecchetti ballet master, Rose Marie Floyd. In her teens she was a scholarship student at the Joffrey Ballet School (NYC) and an apprentice with the Harkness Ballet (NYC). Her artistry has been shaped by curiosity, investigation and investment and continues to evolve through ongoing training in the Skinner Releasing Technique™, Improvisation, Authentic Movement, theatre, voice, Pilates, ballet and contemporary movement techniques.

Sasso performed internationally with Toronto’s Dancemakers (1984-2000) and was the company’s Assistant Artistic Director and principal teacher for a dozen years. She was a featured performer in original works and repertoire by Carol Anderson, Serge Bennathan, Christopher House, James Kudelka, Bill James, Lar Lubovitch, Jean-Pierre Perreault and Doug Varone among others. She has appeared as a guest artist with the companies of Toronto Dance Theatre, Winnipeg’s Contemporary Dancers, blackandblue dance projects and the Contemporary Civic Ballet (USA) among others and in the work of notable independent choreographers including Sarah Chase, Murray Darroch and Claudia Moore. “one of perhaps a dozen contemporary modern dancers in Canada who is simply breathtaking in motion.” –The Ottawa Citizen.

Sasso continues to perform in the works of others as well as her own, and has choreographed extensively for the concert stage as well as for feature film, theatre and television. Her choreography has been commissioned and presented throughout Canada, in the United States and abroad by Harbourfront Centre, the Canada Dance Festival, the Stratford Shakespeare Festival of Canada, DanceWorks, Dancing on the Edge, Toronto Dance Theatre, Dancemakers, Winnipeg’s Contemporary Dancers, Workshop Foundation and Monika Laszlo (Hungary), Gearshifting Performance Works, Crooked Figure Dances, Four Chambers Dance Projects, HOWDARESHE productions, Contemporary Civic Ballet, du Maurier World Stage, Tarragon Theatre, Theatre Passe Muraille, Theatre Centre, Factory Theatre, Dancers for Life, Peterborough New Dance and Edward Day Gallery among others. Her contribution to professional theatre and concert dance has been acknowledged with eight Dora Mavor Moore Award nominations. Sasso has created choreography for all of Canada’s professional contemporary dance training programs and since 1995 she has created numerous pieces for The School of Toronto Dance Theatre’s PTP where she is a faculty member.

SPORTING LIFE was commissioned by the CanDance Network in 1995 and was presented in Ottawa and Toronto. In 1998, Sasso was the Canadian commissioned by the PanAmerican New Creation series (a series of international co-productions between Canada, Mexico and the United States) and created MAA for a company of interpreters from all three countries. Co-commissioned by Harbourfront Centre, the Canada Dance Festival and nightswimming in 2002, Beauty was Harbourfront Centre’s first dance commission in more than a decade. Sasso has collaborated on a number of projects with the developmental theatre company nightswimming including Brian Quirt’s stage adaptation of Jane Urquhart’s, The Whirlpool (2000), Beauty (2003), Andrew Massingham’s award winning solo show Rough House (2005) and the betrayal project (2006).

She created choreography for the Volcano/Art of Time Ensemble’s award winning production of Mauricio Kaegel’s,Variété in 2004. In 2005 she trained and coached the company and created movement for Peter Hinton’s acclaimed production of Stephen Sondheim’s Into the Woods at the Stratford Shakespeare Festival of Canada. In 2009 Sasso choreographed and directed Túl a folyón (Beyond the River). An international co-production between Hungary, Slovakia, Canada and Czech Republic, the full-evening length work for two dancers and an actor premiered at Hungary’s National Dance Theatre (Budapest) and in Bratislava, Slovakia later that year. Sasso created choreography for the feature films, Boy Meets Girl (1998) and The Life Before This (1999). Film treatments of her pieces SPORTING LIFE, DUST, SCHMERZEN (IN THE HOTHOUSE) and It was like this have been screened on television and at film festivals world wide. She created choreography for the hit HBO television series, Queer as Folk.

Julia Sasso dances was established and incorporated (as THE DANCE CREATION GROUP) in 2000 as a project-to-project based company. Finding the incorporated company model cumbersome it was dissolved in 2006 following the creation and presentation of the company’s two highly acclaimed full-evening length productions, Beauty (2003) and the betrayal project (2006). As an independent artist Sasso continues to choreograph and direct commissioned work, self-generated and collaborative movement based projects.

Highly regarded as a teacher of contemporary dance techniques, Sasso has taught at distinguished learning centres worldwide. She is a faculty member of York University’s Department of Dance where she has designed and delivered courses in Composition, Choreography, Improvisation, Repertory and Contemporary Dance Techniques at both the Graduate and Undergraduate levels. She is also a faculty member of The School of Toronto Dance Theatre’s Professional Training Program. Sasso is an internationally Certified Teacher of the Skinner Releasing Technique™(SRT) and one of Canada’s few active certified facilitators. She has regularly and in recent years increasingly taken on the role of dramaturg, mentor, outside eye, facilitator and rehearsal director for myriad artistic projects.

Sasso’s work has been recognized and honoured with awards, grants, scholarships and bursaries from among others, the Canada Council for the Arts, Ontario Arts Council, Toronto Arts Council, Chalmers Foundation, Laidlaw Foundation, Metcalf Foundation, John McKellar Foundation, Dancers’ Transition Resource Centre, Skinner Releasing Institute, York University, Paul Taylor Dance Company, Royal Winnipeg Ballet Professional Program, Joffrey Ballet School, Harkness Ballet and The Cecchetti Council of America. Her biography is included in Who’s Who of Canadian Women (U of T Press Inc.).

An active participant in the local, national and international dance communities Sasso is a member of CADA/CDA, DTRC, Dance Ontario, Toronto Arts Coalition, SCDS and SDHS. She served as co-chair of the Dancers for Life Organizing Committee, has served on numerous boards, juries and advisory committees and lends mentorship and support to countless dance related initiatives.

Areas of Academic Specialty: Repertory, Contemporary/Modern Dance

Personal Website