Eyes on Beginnings: Spring 2025

Saturday March 29, 2025
2:00 - 4:00 PM ET
Doors open at 1:30 PM
at the Winchester Street Theatre Winchester Street Theatre , 80 Winchester Street (VIEW MAP)

Accessibility Info: Unfortunately the Winchester Street Theatre is not currently wheelchair accessible. There are three steps outside of the front entrance, a small platform, and then three more steps to the lobby (a straight hallway that then leads you to the theatre). To access the private gender-neutral restrooms, there are five additional steps at the end of the lobby. The seats in the theatre are on risers with stairs; please contact info@tdt.org if you have any questions regarding accessing our space.

Spring 2025 Edition

It is always an inspiring moment when a new creative idea sparks, and with our new Works-In-Progress Series, you can be in the studio where it happens. Occurring once in the fall and spring, Toronto artists have the chance to share 10 minutes of new material followed by a facilitated audience feedback session. Come to discover fresh choreographic propositions and play an important role in the development of artistic works in our community by offering your perspectives! This is a free event, RSVP is recommended.

Artist Participants

Photo by Michelle Reid

Eshan Rafi

Eshan Rafi (b. 1986, Lahore) is an artist working across time-based, lens-based and choreographic practices. Their works deal with the intersection of political events and personal archives, often staging the impossibility of representation. Rafi is an alumni of the Home Workspace Program at Ashkal Alwan in Beirut, Lebanon, and has participated in residencies at Fondazioni Antonio Ratti in Como (IT), Saas-Fee Summer Institute of Art in Berlin (DE), and the Banff Centre for the Arts (CA), among others. Their work has been exhibited, performed and screened internationally including at Links Hall, Chicago (US); SummerWorks Lab, Toronto (CA); Sharjah Film Platform (AE); M:ST 9 Performance Art Biennale, Calgary (CA) and neue Gesellschaft für bildende Kunst, Berlin (DE). Rafi’s artistic practice rests on a history of community building in queer of colour communities, including working in collectives to develop decolonial and anti-capitalist pedagogies. They hold an MFA in Art, Theory and Practice from Northwestern University.

Cassandra Toutou

Born in Montreal, Quebec Cassandra Toutou is a dance artist and choreographer based in Brampton. Her love for Afro-dance was cultivated at home during her childhood via her Cameroonian upbringing. From then on she has continued to develop her training by including elements of her cultural background and personal style. She fuses aspects of Ndombolo, Azonto, Konto, Coupé Décalé and Ambass Bey into her movement. Growing up in an African household, her ear for music was developed early on by the grandiosity of music videos and live performances, listening to various genres such as Makossa from Cameroon, Soukous from Congo, Highlife from Ghana and Nigeria. These experiences have helped shape her training and her love for African culture. She aspires to bridge the two realms that have marked her artistry the most into one, to oust the concept of polarity and to allow her movement to waver between continental and diasporic worlds.

Photo by Nancy Thavaruban

Kala Dance Collective, Choreographer Rachana Joshi

Kala Dance Collective is rooted in Bharatanatyam, with a vision to honor classical technique while pushing the boundaries of tradition. Our work centers around exploration and experimentation, discovering new pathways of expression within the form. We aim to tell stories that reflect our Canadian diasporic experiences, celebrate our heritage, and showcase the richness of South Asian culture through dance.

At Kala, we question how Bharatanatyam shapes our Indo-Canadian identities and how these identities fit within an evolving contemporary arts landscape. We are passionate about creating a vibrant, inclusive space for South Asian diasporic bodies to explore and perform diasporic dance. This vision led to the creation of the Prep + Practice program, offering free classes for intermediate and advanced Bharatanatyam dancers from all banis. These sessions focus on building a strong foundation through warm-ups, form-focused exercises, and exploratory adavu practice, fostering growth in a community-driven environment.