Trilogy of BEing (solo)

While based in Trinidad until 2019, Jillia was a international touring dancer for major soca bands Machel Montano and Kes the Band for 12 years, Stage Manager for the National Theatre Arts Company of Trinidad and Tobago and led a Children’s Theatre Camp catering to over 300 children for 3 years under the auspices of the Patrons of the Arts Foundation in Trinidad and Tobago. She also worked in film, featured in numerous music videos and video ads, was nominated for Best Crossover Artist by the Trinidad and Tobago Caribbean Music Awards (2017) and released her Debut album ‘Black Cinderella’ in December 2019. Since moving to Toronto in 2020 she has worked with not only KasheDance and Cultural Pluralism in the Arts Movement Ontario (CPAMO) but also as a dance artist with Kaeja d’Dance, Wind in the Leaves Collective (WITL), Jumblies Theatre, Luminato, Hart House at University of Toronto, Sensorium at York University and Etobicoke School of the Arts and Kinetic Dance (Halifax, NS). You can find her most recent digital works in “In Case of Emergency” Kaeja d’ Dance (dance artist), ‘Searching for Eastman Series’ – WITL (dance artist), ‘Covid Creations Film’ – WITL (Production Manager), and ‘Konversations Series’ – KasheDance (Project Coordinator). 

Cheryl has performed with companies such as Little Pear Garden Dance Company, The Chimera Project, The Parahumans, Impromptu Movements, and various independent artists as well. She has danced in short films and music videos like The Grey, Wind Dancer, and Her & Her which has been awarded at various film festivals. Cheryl is the Co-creator of MC² with Michael Mortley, with whom they have created their first work Treading “Same, Same But Different”. She is in her eighth season with KasheDance, having toured multiple works throughout the Caribbean, Canada & USA, and is currently the Rehearsal Director for the company. 

Her work has been presented at venues and festivals across Canada since 1996 including The Theatre Centre, Hysteria, Edgy Women/ Montreal, Toronto Dance Theatre’s ‘Four at the Winch’, SummerWorks, M:ST Performative Art Festival, 7a -11d, Canada Dance Festival, Fluid Festival, Moving Pictures Festival and Trinity Square Video, Older and Reckless, School of the Toronto DanceTheatre, Theatre Passe Muraille, Porchview Dances, Bright Nights (Citadel et Cie) among many more. Internationally her work has been presented in Accra, Ghana, and Chiang Mai, Northern Thailand. She has self-produced her own multidisciplinary full-length works, Quiver ’02, Clutch ’06, Devouring Lions ’09, Final Savage Land ’13 and Exhale ’18 in Toronto.

She has since been engaged in many capacities in a multitude of disciplines – designing for dance, theatre, multi-media, circus and even freak shows, and stage managing music venues, producing dance, running her own venue, and touring internationally to over 350 cities (several times over) in more than 30 countries throughout North & South America, Europe, Australia, Asia and the Far East. She has collaborated with scores of National artists, companies and festivals ranging from The Royal Winnipeg Ballet, and Esmeralda Enrique Spanish Dance Co to Lua Shayenne Dance Co., and Canada’s internationally acclaimed Holy Body Tattoo. She has also lit numerous international festivals and artists including the IABD (International Association of Blacks in Dance) Conference, The Toronto International Tap Festival, as well as Artists who include: multi award winning dancer Patricia Guerrero and Flamenco master, Joaquin Grilo.