For the past 8 years, Mile Zero Dance operated from Spazio Performativo, a venue and workspace dedicated to performance creation, training, and presentation, and recognized with the Spirit of McCauley Award. We are so grateful to have had this space to offer residency opportunities to so many artists, providing them a space for inspiration and to delve into new ideas.
At the end of our 35th season, and before we moved out of the space, we welcomed these fantastic artists and would like to introduce them to you!
We wish them all the best of luck as they continue to follow their passion and create.
Charelle Jeree (she/her)
IG: @charelle_socafit
Charelle used her residency to focus on a piece that she wrote that gives tribute to her ancestors. It’s intention was to be delivered through movement, speech, and breath. The inspiration for this piece came from a recent trip to Tanzania that was spiritually significant for Charelle because of its familiarity. “This is how we spoke, this is how we speak, this is how we connect, this is how we feel.”
Deviana Bonilla (she/her)
Deviana is a Meixcan born person with a passion for movement, teaching, feeling, talking, and planning. Her focus for her residency included getting her body and creative energy flowing and moving again after a stagnant period. The space served as inspiration for creating large movements to fill the room, and an opportunity to conceptualize new projects.
Jason Romero (he/him)
Jason Romero is a Canadian Movement Artist whose current focus is to push himself creatively and to maintain a rigorous Movement practice during these unprecedented times. Having worked in television/film as well as many works for the stage, Jason’s accomplishments span a variety of mediums and audiences. Through a series of interviews Jason explores what the unknown creature hiding deep in the sea could be. Using first hand accounts told by characters created by HP Lovecraft a Detective sets out to get to the bottom of stranger events that are dating back to before the first people. A set of dramatic readings paired with a haunting score Jason hopes to take you along as he explores these cosmic horrors.
Marynia Fekecz (she/her)
Marynia is a dancer, performing artist, choreographer and dance educator who creates multi-disciplinary and socially engaging dance for stage and the public space. She uses the body, visual imagery, technology and props to create thought provoking and visually stimulating dance experiences. During her residency, Marynia worked with dance artists Kate Stashko and Krista Lin, and outside eye Linnea Swan to choreograph a piece built on motifs and repetition. The movements evolve through the use of dynamics, tempo, perspective, and spatial directions.
Shrina Patel (she/her)
Shrina Patel is a Choreographer, Actor, and the Artistic Director of Shaktiflow. Her work is embedded in story-telling and focuses on socio-cultural and gender inequality. Her unique eastern fusion choreography holds the intention to provoke conversations, which challenge the traditional social norms held over the individual based on their gender, race, and ethnicity. Shrina’s intent for her residency was to expand her choreography skills and combine visual imagery with the music and movements of Gujarati folk dance known as Garba. She collaborated with Erin Gruber to work on integrating innovative methods of storytelling with the intention of attracting individuals belonging to her South Asian community, and also showcase Gujarati culture to the wider Albertan community and beyond.
Truus Verkley (she/her)
IG: @truusverkley
Truus Verkley is an artist, educator and parent who has worked in dance and theatre all over the world. She loves the diversity of dance which has resulted in her training in everything from contemporary to can-can to traditional Bulgarian dance. Her work is representative of that variety including being presented by organizations like Springboard Dance and Dancers Studio West, but also by the historic town of Fort Steele and Vinok Worldance. She has a real passion for dance and theatre for young audiences which she shares through her company Puddle of Mud Productions as well as with several other arts organizations throughout the province.