Bodies of Nature

Originally from Markham, Daniel began as a street-dancer learning the style of popping at age 13. In 2017, he became an elite member of Toronto dance crew "Footnotes," led by Andrew "Pyro" Chung and Mariano "Glizzi" Abarca, where he trained in hip-hop, house, breaking, locking and popping. Immersing himself in street-dance culture, he began battling, becoming an active member of the Toronto street-dance battle scene.

Expanding his range into commercial choreography and competitive team dancing, he joined the Renegades in 2019, achieving milestones such as the golden buzzer / top 3 finalist on Canada's Got Talent and world finalists at HipHop International. 

Tia Beete is a Jamaican-Guyanese Canadian dancer from Brampton Ontario. Tia holds a strong passion for lifelong learning,  supporting marginalized communities, and street-style dance culture. Tia has been dancing for 15 years starting her dance journey at the age of 6 years. Tia continued her training throughout high school at St. Thomas Aquinas regional arts program and as a competitive dancer at her local dance studio. Later, during college, Tia began her freestyling journey and training in 2021 under footnotes academy while also studying Early childhood education at George Brown college. Within her 15 years of dance Tia has learned a variety of dance styles such as jazz, tap, popping, house, Afro, and dancehall; however, Tia’s most beloved and strongest forms of dance are Locking and Hip hop. Tia’s passion for street-style dance started after growing up watching Missy Elliot and Sean Paul music videos on BET with  her twin and older sister's TV. Now as a young adult Tia connects strongly to dance after spending time educating herself to learn about street dance culture and the history of her own Afro-Caribbean culture. Tia’s future goals are to continue dancing, teaching and learning to one day share her talent and passions with others and her future students down the road.

Ashley Chawla is a versatile dancer with over 20 years of experience in the performance arts.

Her classical training in ballet and contemporary, as well as a background in tap, jazz and acrobatics, pushed Ashley to expand her knowledge into the world of street dance. With training in Hip-Hop, Locking, Breaking, and Waacking, Ashley has travelled across North America to places such as Montreal, Vancouver, New York, Florida and Houston, regularly participating in street dance competitions while continuously being educated on the origins and histories of these dances. Her extensive training comes from companies such as Footnotes Dance Academy (Toronto, ON) and Asymmetry Creations (Axelle Ebony, Montreal, QC). Ashley has appeared in music videos with Canadian artists, including HERDD, Shaun Frank and Johnny Orlando.

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She presently acts as a community leader, striving for safe spaces within the Toronto street dance community, helping organize and run street dance competitions, freestyle sessions, and teaching her weekly class Punk, Pose, Waack at Co.Lab Dance Studios.

Tanjot Panesar is a movement artist and dance educator from Milton, Ontario whose mission is to share authenticity in his dance experiences with others. He began learning bhangra, a Punjabi dance style at the age of five, and continued to immerse himself in Punjabi culture. Throughout his dancing journey he became fascinated with expressing his artistry, telling stories and thus began training in other movement styles such as hip-hop grooves, popping, contemporary fusion, qi-gong and improvised movement to help gain an appreciation of what has come before his time and to expand his toolset.

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In his early teens, Tanjot came across meditation and breathwork as a means to strengthen the quality of life and find deeper belonging. In doing so, he has been developing a niche style of movement that is authentic to himself and his life experiences which are composed of dramatic visuals and movement driven by breathwork. In the development of his work, he has been inspired and has worked with Galen Hooks and Markus Pe Benito.

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At his core, Tanjot is a speaker and educator. He has previously directed Origins - a competitive dance team in the local post-secondary scene, taught and facilitated his Mindful Movement Workshop Tour in Vancouver, Toronto, Mississauga, Hamilton, and Waterloo. Most recently, he has presented a stage piece called “BIRDS” at FeverAfterDark 2022, telling the story of how social and economic freedom exists from an idealist’s point of view and how humans are consistent with their pursuit of attaining higher levels of ‘freedom’.

Elvina Raharja (she/they) is an Indonesian interdisciplinary artist currently working within dance, film, and fashion in Toronto, ON. Their artistry strives for conscious and intentional creation, stemming from their experiences as a Southeast Asian immigrant and mindfulness practices. Driven by curiosity and love for dance, Elvina has trained under Footnotes Dance Academy, Raoul Wilke, Monica “Knivesz” Fernandes, and more to expand her foundational knowledge in hip-hop, house, krump, popping, locking, and contemporary. Now, she is working professionally in commercial and contemporary spaces as a movement artist, creative producer, and content creator.

Tyler is a 23-year-old Toronto-based dancer, always eager to explore and elevate movement through his versatile skill set. Initiating his dance journey over 5 years ago as a street dancer, Tyler has thorough experience in both freestyle and choreography. Specializing in Wh/aacking, he continues to expand his dance knowledge by training styles like Hip-Hop, House, Jazz Funk, and Popping. Currently, he is training with ADDO Company and the Footnotes Academy Intermediate Team.

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Since moving to Toronto in 2021, Tyler has proactively established himself as a freelance artist by seeking and creating opportunities. His notable credits include: Durex, It Gets Better Canada, Johnny Orlando, and York Region Pride. 

Further, Tyler is a dedicated dance instructor teaching weekly Wh/aacking classes and is an active leader in the Toronto Wh/aacking community. As a queer person of color, he always hopes to bring visibility to and foster safe spaces for BIPOC and LGBTQ+ individuals—giving back to the community that perpetually empowers him. An equity-based, social justice lens guides his artistry.

He is passionate about pushing his boundaries and synthesizing different styles through movement, but not losing the traits that define his dance: his technique, his precision, his goofiness, his intention, and his respect for culture.

To Tyler, dance is a boundless realm in which he hopes to continue nurturing his creative soul.

Charlotte “Char” Carbone is a designer by day and a street dancer by night. They hold a BDes in Fashion Design from Toronto Met University, and work primarily in apparel and costume design for performance and TV/film. After training in ballet for 10 years but stopping due to serious injury, they shifted focus inwards and found a love for street dance. The queer street dance style waacking is now Char’s main style. They enjoy creating multidisciplinary projects that combine street dance, fashion, and abstract storytelling. You can see Char performing and battling across Canada with the grass roots community T.O. Whaacking, or walking balls as Electra Poseida with The Kiki Haus of Poseida.