Richard King is an Educator, Researcher, and a Grammy Award winning recording engineer. Richard has garnered Grammy Awards in many fields, including Best Engineered Album in both the Classical and Non-Classical categories. Richard is a Professor at McGill University in Montréal, Canada. A long-standing member and Fellow of the Audio Engineering Society, Richard is a regular convention presenter. His research interests include small environment acoustics, the process of music mixing, and immersive audio recording and reproduction. His book Recording Orchestra is part of the “AES presents” series, and the Second Edition was released in August of 2024.

Dave Horrocks is a mastering engineer, drummer and percussionist from Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Associated with Infinite Wave Mastering studio and Sundae Sound recording studio. Formerly the co-owner of Sundae Sound recording studio. 

Aanii, ndinaawamagaanadog! Maygabow Ogidajew Kwe, nindizhinikaaz. Gaa- Aanii, ndinaawamagaanadog! Maygabow Ogidajew Kwe, nindizhinikaaz. Gaa-waabaabiganikaag + Um’oha, ndoonjibaa, Migizi ndoodem. This traditional Anishnaabemowin greeting roughly translates to: "Hello, all of my relatives! My name is Woman Standing on the Mountaintop. My family is from White Earth, and I currently reside on the unceded lands of the Umoⁿhoⁿ people, commonly known as Omaha, NE, USA. I am Eagle clan."

Valerie St. Pierre Smith is a two-spirit multi-disciplinary artisan, writer, educator, and healer known for her use of color, texture, technology, and upcycling. Her creative practice is rooted in the cultural legacy and aesthetic traditions of her Anishnaabe ancestors, while employing contemporary technologies to explore expressions of identity, sustainability, and the role of technology in modern design. A bridge between cultures and times, Valerie’s work reflects her experience as a mixed blood Anishnaabe-kwe, and has been shared across Turtle Island, including at the Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity, Calgary Fashion Week, the National Museum of the American Indian, the Kennedy Center, McCarter Theatre, Berkeley Repertory Theatre, and with Pilobolus Dance Theatre. A bit of a unicorn, she is also actively engaged with her research, teaching, and writing practice, focusing on indigenizing and decolonizing western Euro-centric design practices. Both her creative and scholarly practices reflect her knowing that fashion, art, and adornment are a dialogue between self, community, cultures, time, and place. Her work celebrates her heritage while also serving as a medium for healing, social justice, and the expression of identity. Valerie holds a B.F.A. from Stephens College and an M.F.A. from San Diego State University. 

Reese Wilson is a performer, choreographer and educator based in Mohkinstsis (Calgary). Since graduating from the University of Calgary, with a B.Ed (2023) and BFA in Dance (2020), Reese has trained fervently both locally and abroad, most recently in the b12 Research and Dance workshop festival in Berlin, with Stefan Crainic, Lisard Tranis and Josephine Haas. As a performer for both stage and screen, Reese has had the opportunity to participate in choreographic processes as well as perform original and repertoire works by Meghann Michalsky of Project InTandem, W&M Physical Theatre, Kloetzel&Co, Corps Bara Dance
Theatre, Marie France Forcier, Nicole Charlton-Goodbrand, and Karissa Barry. Her self-choreographed, directed and performed film, A Practical Guide to Serenity, was presented at the Ignite Festival for Emerging Artists and WildDogs International Screendance Festival in 2021. Reese is a dedicated advocate of Dance Education for all populations and finds unmeasurable joy in regularly teaching both the youth as well as within the local professional dance community.

Hélène Simoneau (she/her) is a choreographer exploring themes of intimacy, agency, identity, sexuality, and power. In the last few years, she has received a Guggenheim Fellowship, a Choreography Fellowship at New York City Center, and most recently, she was awarded a Pillow Lab residency at Jacob’s Pillow in Becket, MA. She was also a resident artist at Baryshnikov Arts Center, NYU/Tisch, NCCAkron, and a fellow of The NYU Center for Ballet and the Arts, Ailey’s New Directions Choreography Lab, the Bogliasco Foundation, and the Swiss International Coaching Project for Choreographers (SiWiC) in Zurich. Simoneau was awarded first place for Choreography at the 13th Internationales Solo-Tanz-Theater Festival in Stuttgart, Germany, for her solo “the gentleness was in her hands.” Her choreography has been commissioned by Oregon Ballet Theatre, The Juilliard School, Charlotte Ballet, PARA.MAR Dance Theatre, Vitacca Ballet, Amy Seiwert’s Imagery, BalletX, the Ailey School, Dimensions Dance Theatre, and the American Dance Festival. Originally from Eastern Québec, Simoneau now divides her time between Montréal and NYC.

Photo Credit: Whitney Browne

Kaitlyn Seibold, based in Mohkinstsis (Calgary) AB, is a movement researcher, performer, choreographer, and educator. She holds a BFA in Dance Performance from Toronto Metropolitan University and an MFA from York University, where she was awarded the Lipson Family Endowment Award for her choreographic promise. Kaitlyn has worked with renowned choreographers such as Vicki St Denys, Louis Laberge-Cote, Robert Glumbek, Ryan Lee, Hanna Keil, Matjash Mrozewski, Colleen Snell, and Apolonia Velasquez, immersing herself in a diverse range of styles and approaches. Currently teaching at Alberta Ballet and performing with Project InTandem and Ballet Bodies YYC, her research investigates the fluid boundaries between physicalized theatre and contemporary movement. With over 30 original works to her name, Kaitlyn’s choreography invites audiences to experience the emotional and physical depths of the body on both stage and screen. 

Alisia Pobega (she/her) completed her dance training in Montréal at L'École Supérieure de ballet du Québec. 

In 2000, Alisia joined Les Grands Ballets Canadiens where she danced for over 12 years, performing in works by numerous international choreographers and rising to the rank of soloist. 

She is currently an independent artist in Montréal dancing for choreographers Jane Mappin, Andrew Skeels, Hélène Simoneau and Kvarcakova-Galdeano and is a member of The Legacy Project, directed by Margie Gillis. 

Along with Louis-Martin Charest, they have developed and teach a series of workshops: Presence and Interpretation Method For Dancers. They have also collaborated on several short dance films. 

Alisia teaches classical ballet and contemporary dance for established institutions such as Danse à la Carte, Studios GB, l’École Supérieure de ballet du Québec, L’École de danse contemporaine de Montréal, Springboard Danse Montréal and Compagnie Marie Chouinard. She also spends time in the studio as rehearsal-director, rehearsing pieces for Les Grands Ballets Canadiens, Cas Public, Les Ballets Jazz de Montréal (BJM), Véronique Giasson and Anne Plamondon Productions. 

Since June 2023, she has been the Artistic and General Director of Danse à la Carte.

Photo Credit: Michael Slobodian

Taylor MacLeod (she/her) is a performer, dance educator and arts enthusiast from Mohkinstsis (Calgary, Alberta). She received her Bachelor of Arts in Dance, with a concentration in choreography and performance with distinction from the University of Calgary. Since emerging in the local arts scene, she has performed with Kloetzel and Co., WM2, Project InTandem, Corps Bara Dance Theatre, and Ballet Bodies. Taylor has had the opportunity to perform across Canada
in Regina’s Stream of Dance, Calgary’s Fluid Festival, Annual Alberta Dance Festival, and Skylines Dance & Film Series, as well as Edmonton’s The Works Festival and Prairie Dance Circuit. 

In her teaching and choreography, Taylor explores pushing technical and creative limits, while seeking to foster kind and inclusive spaces. Her work draws upon vulnerability, human connection and behaviour, and welcomes collaboration to continuously create a fresh perspective.