CAMINOS 2019, presented by Aluna Theatre in partnership with Native Earth Performing Arts, was a festival of new performance works-in-progress featuring artists from across the Americas. The event included Mura Buai (Everyone Everyone), a Force Majeure Production in collaboration with Friday Creeations and Aanmitaagzi, created and co-directed by Chenoa Gela. The festival showcased bold experimentation in theatre, dance, and interdisciplinary performance, fostering cultural exchange and innovation.
Hot Brown Honey is an explosive and genre-defying performance that blends hip hop, dance, spoken word, circus, burlesque, and cabaret to challenge stereotypes and celebrate women of colour.
Hot Brown Honey is an explosive and genre-defying performance that blends hip hop, dance, spoken word, circus, burlesque, and cabaret to challenge stereotypes and celebrate women of colour. Presented by TO Live in association with Why Not Theatre and Native Earth Performing Arts, the show delivers a bold call to action for diversity, inclusion, and social change—all wrapped in a high-energy, glitter-filled, and empowering theatrical experience.
Written and performed by Meegwun Fairbrother, Isitwendam (An Understanding) is a powerful solo performance blending Indigenous oral tradition, contemporary storytelling, and physical theatre. Co-created and directed by Jack Grinhaus, this Bound to Create Theatre production explores themes of loss, reconciliation, and cultural identity through a deeply personal lens. The work was nominated for multiple Dora Mavor Moore Awards, including Outstanding Production, Outstanding New Play, and Outstanding Performance by an Individual.
Choreographed by Daina Ashbee, Pour is a raw and visceral dance work exploring themes of womanhood, cycles of violence, and the reclamation of the body. Presented by TO Live in association with Theatre Centre and Native Earth Performing Arts, the piece is marked by its physical intensity and emotional depth, using repetition, endurance, and stark imagery to challenge and engage audiences on a deeply personal level.
Written and performed by Jacob Boehme, Blood on the Dance Floor is a bold and unflinching autobiographical work that explores the artist’s experience as a gay Aboriginal man living with HIV. This Ilbijerri Theatre Company production, directed by Isaac Drandic, combines dance, theatre, and storytelling to confront stigma, identity, and resilience. Presented at the Progress Festival by Theatre Centre and Native Earth Performing Arts, the piece is both deeply personal and universally resonant.
Created by Michelle Olson, Gathering Light is a Raven Spirit Dance production that traces the cycles of nature and the resilience of the human spirit. Inspired by the life cycle of plants, the work uses contemporary Indigenous dance to explore growth, transformation, and renewal. With a blend of movement, music, and visual imagery, the performance offers a meditative reflection on our connection to the earth and to each other.
A Punctuate! Theatre and Alberta Aboriginal Performing Arts co-production, presented in association with Native Earth and Theatre Centre. Written by Matthew MacKenzie and directed by Brendan McMurtry-Howlett, After the Fire follows four characters reuniting in the aftermath of a devastating wildfire. Featuring Sheldon Elter, Jesse Gervais, Kaitlyn Riordan, and Louise Lambert, the play examines friendship, community, and resilience in the face of destruction. Nominated for the 2019 Dora Mavor Moore Awards for Outstanding New Play and Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble.
