I:POLITICAL

She feels liberated when she is able to act as a physical portal for her own and other collaborator’s stories, ideas and sketches. Katherine is co-artistic director of Nostos Collectives and a program coordinator for Kaeja d’Dance. She continues to investigate her own creative practice and has presented her work through numerous festivals and platforms across Canada. Her passion for sharing has brought her to teach at The School of Toronto Dance Theatre, Canada’s National Ballet School, Canadian Ice Academy, Ballet Edmonton, Decidedly Jazz Danceworks, The University of Alberta, Edmonton Public School Board, and YYC Contemporary Training.

She uses her background in Fine Art, Interior Design, and Fashion Design to inform her work and loves to explore both fashion history and fashion futurism. Her film work includes indie features See for Me (Wildling Pictures); Heavy (Fulldawa Films) and Cardinals (Wildling Pictures). In theatre she has worked with The Lower Ossington Theatre creating costumes for Legally Blonde, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat, Anne of Green Gables, Jesus Christ Superstar, and Mouse Trap. In dance, she has worked extensively with Mateo Galindo Torres of Guetcha Guaritcha (blue(dot)political, i:variations, and i:political); Lua Shayenne Dance Company (Kolo, Tales &Dances Around the Baobab, KIRA the Path | La Voie, and the upcoming Frontiers); and Peggy Baker Dance Projects (locus plot, Krishna’s Mouth, and Who We Are In The Dark).

He has performed extensively internationally at notable venues such as Massey Hall, NPR Tiny Desk Concerts, the JUNO’s, and Lincoln Center. Described as a “percussion & electronics wizard” (Bob Boilen – NPR Music), Harrison’s performative and compositional style merge his classical music background with his passion for electronic music. In recent years, Harrison’s commissions have been coveted by Kaeja d’Dance, ProArte Danza, Guetcha Guaritcha, Toronto Dance Theatre, Human Body Expression, Architek Percussion, Fifth Wind Quintet, CCDT, Dr. Morris Palter (University of Arizona), Popular Demand Pictures Inc., NB Tourism, and Division 85 Films. Harrison is also co-founder of his groups Mear and Taktus marimba duo.

Winner of the 2015 TD Grand Prize Jazz Award at the Montreal International Jazz Festival and the 2016 Stingray Jazz Rising Star Award, where she presented her second album Home Inspiration, “an emotionally charged music filled improv and exceptional musical orchestration”-FIJM. Therrien just launched with her Montreal renowned Quintet a new jazz album Why Don’t you Try, her fourth record, one year after releasing Pensamiento her afro-colombian inspired jazz album recorded with 12 musicians in Bogota, Colombia. Her first record On Track was released in 2011. Therrien holds a bachelor’s degree in jazz performance from University of Montreal, a degree in arts management and a certificate from Instituto Supérior de Arte, in Havana-Cuba, where she studied classical trumpet, latin jazz, percussion and Cuban music history. She was also selected to participate in 2012, at the Banff Center Jazz and Creative Music workshop held by Dave Douglas and Vdjay Iyer.

These musical endeavours had led him to tour around the world and collaborate with different musicians and artists such as: Tony Malaby, Peter Brötzman, Kym Myhr, Ricardo Arias, Hyperculte, Carmen Gil, Bram Stadhouders, Carmelo Torres, María Valencia, Ava Rocha, Negro Leo, Michael Gatonska, Alba Fernanda Triana, Ricardo Gallo, Juanita Delgado, Katie Duck, Kike Mendoza, Ingebrigt Haker Flaten, Matts Gustafson a.o.. He is currently teaching bass and improvisation ensembles at the Javeriana University, Bogotá, Colombia.

She’s been part of festivals across the Americas, such as Night Shift 2020 Presented by the Citadel & Compaigne, Fall for Dance North’s Open Studio, The Rhubarb Festival, DanceWeekend Ontario, Aluna Theatre’s Panamerican Routes Festival, Panamania’15, 12th Bienal de la Habana, Vanguardia Dance Projects, International Dance Meeting in Guantanamo, CounterPulse Performing Diaspora in San Francisco. Performing works by Kaha:wi Dance Theatre, Jaberi Dance Theatre, Kaeja d’Dance, Victoria Mata, Aria Evans, Alejandro Ronceria, and Arsenio Andrade, to name a few.. She is currently a residency artist at Aluna Theatre incubating her choreographic development. She’s choreographed for Trey Anthony’s How Black Mothers Say I love You and recently is developing her solo “nudoDESnudo”. Her passion for social justice is the driving force for creation in Irma’s choreographic and performance work.

James has expanded his skillset into the realms of lighting, audio and video design, carpentry along with stage and production management throughout the past decade. James has worked on many acclaimed productions – and was on tour internationally for who we are in the dark with Peggy Baker Dance Projects, and Jungle Book with Kidoons across North America until COVID-19 stopped things.  James looks forward to bringing We Are Political to you from Guetcha Guaritcha as Stage Manager and set carpenter along with this fabulous team of collaborators.