Reclaiming the Narrative is a roundtable discussion centered on the experiences of being a black artist in Canada.
When: Feb 4, 2025. Doors and cocktails 6:30pm, Artist talk 7:00pm - 8:00pm.
Where: Residence Inn by the Marriott (Calgary Downtown/Beltline) | Harvest Cafe Space (Second Floor)
The discussion will feature renowned local and national black artists in recognition of Black History month and in celebration of the impact black artists make on our communities year-round. In partnership with the Marriott Hotel, Springboard Performance and the YMCA is thrilled to host artists Syreeta Hector (Toronto, dance artist), Sabrina Naz (Calgary, jazz dance artist), and Wakefield Brewster (Calgary, former Calgary poet laureate, Spoken word artist) in this significant conversation.
During the evening these featured artists will come together to generously share their experiences as black artists in Canada and to discuss how art can examine, impact, and redefine culture. All three featured Canadians offer their art in service of necessary and meaningful dialogue about race, culture and identity - and about the meaning of art itself.
The evening will also feature a potent duet performed by Sabrina Naz and Wakefield Brewster, and Syreeta Hector’s dance-theatre work Black Ballerina will be presented in subsequent evenings (Feb 6-9) throughout the city in partnership with the YMCA.
Don’t miss this incredible opportunity to learn from and be inspired by three exceptional Black Canadians. Registration is required, entrance is free.
Reserve your seat now; space is limited.
Featured Artists
Syreeta Hector ·
Syreeta Hector is a dance artist in Toronto, Ontario. Her solo work called “Black Ballerina” focuses on the dualities within one’s identity, along with Syreeta’s blackness and indigeneity in relationship to classical ballet. This solo gained recognition at the SummerWorks Festival, won the Stratford Festival Lab Award for Research and Creation, and was nominated for a Dora Mavor Moore award in Outstanding Performance by an Individual. While she continues to tour “Black Ballerina,” Syreeta is developing a new dance theatre work which will be the second chapter in the “Black Ballerina” series.
Syreeta has been commissioned to make ensemble works for Mocean Dance (Nova Scotia), ProArteDanza (Ontario), and most recently will create a new work for Kittiwake Dance Theatre (Newfoundland). Although performance and creation endeavours remain a priority for Syreeta, she derives an equal measure of inspiration by teaching movement and choreography. She is honoured to be a part of the Department of Dance as an Assistant Professor at York University.
Wakefield Brewster ·
Wakefield Brewster stepped onto his first stage as a Poet and Spoken Word Artist, January 1999. He's now known as one of Canada’s most powerful Professional Performance Poets. Wakefield became the sixth Poet Laureate of Calgary in 2022, first Black Poet Laureate of Calgary, ever. During National Poetry Month in April 2024, after a quarter-century of Professional Performance Poetry, Wakefield released his first written Poetry collection titled: WakeWord (Frontenac House) For more about Wakefield and his Lyrical Life, please visit: http://wakefieldbrewster.com (http://wakefieldbrewster.com)
Sabrina Naz Comănescu ·
Canadian dancer Sabrina Naz Comănescu is a dynamic member of the nation's artistic landscape. Her passion for dance and ethnography is rooted in the multitude of genres found in the African diaspora with a focus on Caribbean and American movement and music. She has helped cultivate western Canadian dance communities for over a decade as a performer, choreographer, filmmaker, dance instructor and student. She has had the privilege to gather knowledge, teach and perform throughout Canada, The United States, The Caribbean and Europe. She has developed a practice along the way that celebrates cultural diversity and holds close to the ideology of Sankofa, “learning from the past to inform the future, reaching back to move forward, and lifting as we climb”. She is also the current artistic associate for The Diversity Performing Arts Club of Calgary and is about to begin her 10th season as a dancer in the Decidedly Jazz Danceworks Company.
"Once we start telling our own stories and each other’s, it’s impossible to believe that any one of us are at all alone."
Wakefield Brewster
Poet and Spoken Word Artist
Partners
