on the MOVE 2012: Presenter biographies Keynote Address—Moving Parts: Working together to make dancing life better. Eroca Nichols: After earning her Honors BFA in Film/Video/Performance and Sculpture from California College of the Arts (San Francisco and Oakland, CA), Eroca Nicols’ artistic practice shifted to dance and movement. She studied in the professional programs at both Ballet Creole and The School of Toronto Dance Theatre before pursuing further training in release-based and improvisational dance forms. She is currently a Toronto-based dance artist and educator. Her choreographic work through her company, Lady Janitor, has appeared at: Nuit Blanche, Toronto, The Cube (Bristol, UK), Dance in My Backyard, Toronto's International Dance Day, Dance Matters Performance Series, Fresh Blood, Guelph Contemporary Dance Festival, Fringe Toronto and The Young Centre for the Performing Arts. In addition to her own work, Eroca also performs in the work of others among these artists are Pam Johnson, Les Imprudanses, Kaeja d'Dance and Dreamwalker dance projects. Eroca is Co-Founder of the Toronto Dance Community Love-In, with fellow dancer Amanda Acorn. She teaches contact and contemporary dance as well as Ashtanga Vinyasa yoga. Eroca’s teaching and training are deeply influenced in her continued study of the Axis Syllabus. Panel—Year One: What’s Your Action Plan? Sarah Matton attended Ryerson University’s theatre dance program where she achieved her BFA. She is also a qualified Tap and Jazz teacher (A.D.A.P.T.) and a qualified acro teacher (P.A.E.C.). She is also an associate of the Royal Academy of Dance. Sarah has performed in Canadian Opera Company’s Nixon in China and Aida. Theatrical credits include: Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat (Stage West Calgary), Peter Pan, Dance Legends (Drayton), Legends (The Grand), and Cats (Stirling Theatre Festival). Film and TV credits include Silent Hill II (Alliance Atlantis), Lady Gaga (MMVAs 2011), and Being Erica (CBC). Sarah has worked for Royal Caribbean cruise lines, and toured Bermuda, New England and the Eastern Caribbean. In the past she has also performed at fFIDA. Sarah has won various awards for her choreography and continues to teach at several studios in and out of the Toronto area. Sarah is also the co-founder of Canada’s first agency for Dance teachers, Quick Ball Change Lee “Lethal” Pham wears many hats: B-boy, artistic director, entrepreneur and now actor. Known in the breaking industry as Lethal, he is a fifth generation member of world renowned crew The Supernaturalz. While proudly representing Canada and his crew across the many world stages, he also passionately teaches breaking here at home and internationally. Founder and co-artistic director of the not-for-profit organization Break It Down; he has spearheaded successful partnerships with Toronto District School Board, Harbourfront Centre and York University. He is also the co-owner and manager of international marketing organization Back to the Underground, with notable clients such as Red Bull, Cadbury Adams, Molson and R-16. His newest endeavour, acting as Eddie from the cast of the Millions will prove to be one of his finest hats yet. Pamela Rasbach is a Toronto-born choreographer and the Artistic Director of Typecast Dance Company. A graduate of Canada’s National Ballet School and Ryerson University’s Theatre Performance Dance program, she is currently a Masters of Choreography student at York University. Her career in on the MOVE 2012: Presenter biographies choreography includes three full length works for Typecast including; Laser Blade, Synthetica, Missed Connections and her upcoming project Tomato Soup. She has also choreographed pieces for DanceOntario’s Dance Weekend, Nuit Blanche, Fresh Blood, Ballet Jörgen, Cawthra Park, Claude Watson, and the Ontario School of Ballet. Pamela was a participating artist at TAKT Kunstprojektraum in Berlin, and has had dance films featured at a Berlin gallery, Kulturamt FK. Cara Spooner has presented performance-based work at Toronto's Nuit Blanche, XPACE Cultural Centre, The Harbourfront Centre's HATCH Emerging Performance Project, Pleasure Dome, The Art Gallery of Mississauga, The Festival of New Dance in St. John's Newfoundland and Stromereien 11 in Zürich Switzerland. She has worked with Diane Borsato, Jess Dobkin, Daniel Cockburn, Robin Lasser/Adrienne Pao, Sky Fairchild-Waller and Alicia Grant. www.cargocollective.com/caraspooner Matt Sweet has developed his skills as an administrator through pursuing a variety of administrative roles across multiple sectors. He started his career working in the film industry, and has since worked in both the academic administrative sector as well as the dance industry. As an Arts Manager his greatest assets are his comprehensive knowledge of production planning and execution, his extensive contacts in the technician marketplace, and his ability to run planning sessions with large groups. Currently Matt is also pursuing a second degree in Psychology. Bageshree Vaze is a unique and multi-talented Indo-Canadian artist. As a dancer, choreographer and musician, her live performances embody the richness of India’s intricate culture with a modern sensibility. Raised in St. John’s, Newfoundland, Bageshree initially trained in Bharatha Natyam, and studied vocal music with her father. She later trained in Kathak dance with Jai Kishan Maharaj in New Delhi, and studied vocal music with the renowned Veena Sahasrabuddhe in India. Bageshree has three CDs to her credit, including Tarana, a breakthrough album of music for Indian dance (released in India by Times Music as 'Khanak'). In 2010, she performed as a solo artist in Pt. Birju Maharaj's 'Vasantotsav' Kathak festival in New Delhi, and was awarded the K.M Hunter Award in Dance. In 2011, Bageshree premiered in Toronto a solo contemporary Kathak choreography entitled ‘Avatar (9)’, and she is currently working on a new production 'Damaru/Mudra' which will premiere in May 2012 at the Harbourfront Centre. www.bagashree.com Workshop—Leaping into the Unknown Amanda Hancox is a graduate of the Arts Educational School in England. Over her 30 year performance career she worked extensively across Canada as a dancer and an actress in theatre, film, and television. Amanda has been Executive Director of the Dancer Transition Resource Centre since 2006.Throughout her tenure at the DTRC, Amanda has contributed her expertise to a number of major international and national conferences. Additionally she acts as a consultant and presents workshops on career transition within and outside the arts community. She is an Executive member of International Organization for the Transition of Professional Dancers (IOTPD), and a Board member of the Dance Media Group, and member of the International Network for Cultural Diversity. on the MOVE 2012: Presenter biographies Panel—Presenting Yourself Professionally Tanya Crowder: “A marvelous dancer with wonderful control” (Globe and Mail), Tanya Crowder, a professional dance artist for 16 years, was a company member of Newton Moraes Dance Theatre and Kaeja d’Dance. During her career she also danced for several independent choreographers including Julia Sasso, Claudia Moore, Kate Alton, Eryn Dace Trudell, Lin Snelling, Darcey Callison, Pam Johnson, and Allison Cummings. Tanya joined Sinha Danse (Montreal) in 2010 for the creation and performance of the full-length and excerpted versions of 'A Matter of Life and Breath' for shows in Montreal, Vancouver and Guelph. She is rejoining the company for a new project to be presented at 5ieme Salle in Montreal in 2013. Tanya has taught at 509 Dance Collective, GMD, and Turning Pointe Dance Academy. She is Production Manager for Series 8:08’s Choreographic Performance Workshop, and founder and Artistic Director of Dance Matters Dance Productions and her artistic umbrella HOWDARESHE Productions. Danny Davalos: A performer since the age of seven, Davalos is trained in jazz, folklore, contemporary and hip hop dance. In 2002, Davalos joined Do Dat Entertainment and since then has performed with a long list of top musicians and entertainers—from Rihanna to Keisha Chante to The Boomtang Boys and more. His range of skills has earned Davalos choreography and performance work with Latin American artists such as Ricky Martin, Shakira, and Thalia. Davalos is a veteran of national and international stages, performing on tour with the likes of Shawn Desman (2010-11 & 2005/06) and Danny Fernandes (2009), as well as at the Much Music Video Awards (2011, 2005). He has brought his unique choreography to TV, as on Popstars “The One” (2003) and So You Think You Can Dance Canada. Currently the owner of O.I.P. Dance Centre – home of Do Dat Entertainment – Davalos teaches hip hop classes and workshops throughout North America. He is also the artistic director and producer of O.I.P. Dance Company. Christopher House was born and raised in St. John’s, Newfoundland. Artistic Director since 1994, he has contributed over sixty works to the company’s repertoire. He has also created choreographies for Lisbon’s Ballet Gulbenkian, the National Ballet of Canada and Les grands Ballets Canadiens, among others; made several short videos, and directed two collaborations with The Hidden Cameras. His work has been presented across Canada and in such cities as New York, Mexico City, London, Berlin, Tokyo, Beijing and Mumbai. He has received many honours including three Dora Mavor Moore Awards, the Muriel Sherrin Award for International Achievement in Dance in 2009 and an honorary doctorate from Memorial University of Newfoundland. As Artistic Director of TDT, he has been responsible for a broad range of education and outreach initiatives and several international collaborations including Up Until Now (2009) by post-modern icon Deborah Hay, the Berlin/Toronto Project (2009) and the Paris/Toronto Project (2011). Networking Lunch Megan Andrews is a dance artist, teacher and freelance writer/editor originally from Vancouver. In 1998, she initiated the Canadian dance magazine, The Dance Current, was Publisher and Founding Editor on the MOVE 2012: Presenter biographies through June 2011 and continues as Interim Publisher.