This week, we sat down with dancer, choreographer and studio co-owner of Harbour Dance Centre, Moe Brody. In her episode, we talk about her journey as a professional dancer in the Vancouver Industry, the history of Harbour Dance Centre, and advice to dancers thinking about moving into Vancouver to pursue a career in dance.

Sponsored by Harbour Dance Centre

ABOUT MOE BRODY

As co-owner of Harbour Dance Centre, Moe Brody has deep roots within the industry and is broadly recognized as a leading choreographer, teacher, and mentor. 

Her repertoire includes multiple genres of dance and because of this, she is routinely hired for her choreography for film, television, stage productions and industrials. 

After graduating with a degree in Human Kinetics from UBC, Moe returned to the dance world as a dancer with the NBA Grizzlies Extreme Dance Team. Subsequently she was hired as choreographer for the CFL’s BC Felions and UBC’s Dance Team. 

​Her talent in choreography in the entertainment industry grew to be widely recognized landing her positions as choreographer for Twilight Zone,The X-Files, The Order, 90210, Virgin River, No Tomorrow (Netflix), Home Before Dark, Main Event, Man In The High Castle, The In-between and several TV Movies. Included as well were feature films with Hayden Panetteire in I Love You Beth Cooper, for Ashanti and Brittany Snow in John Tucker Must Die, Dr. Doolittle 3 and Percy Jackson & The Lightening Thief. Her commercial credits include Toyota, McDonalds, Barbie, Kyocere, Coca-Cola and Disney.

Her favorite place to be is in class, sharing a good story or two. Adding her uncanny natural knack for comedy into the mix, it’s no wonder that she has achieved much success both on camera and in the studio.

Moe Brody | Instagram
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This week, we sat down with educator, choreographer and dancer, Nii 'Prince' Engmann. In his episode, we talk about about his experience as a black dancer in the Vancouver Dance Industry, allyship in the Black Lives Matter movement, and the importance of having integrity as an artist.

Brought to you by Harbour Dance Centre

ABOUT NII 'PRINCE' ENGMANN

Nii "Prince" Engmann is an educator, choreographer and dancer from Vancouver, BC. Born in Toronto, Prince grew up dancing and playing instruments in a cultural setting which contributed to his movement and understanding present day. He has had the opportunity to dance and work for the likes of Mandy Moore, Tony Testa, Kenny Ortega and Chris Scott and currently teaches Afrobeats and HipHop classes around the world. Prince hopes to spread his love and understanding of music, movement and culture in every space he enters.

Nii 'Prince' Engmann | Instagram
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We're back! This week, we sat down with the Director of PraiseTEAM, Missy Reyes. In her episode, we talk about about the connection between spirituality and dance, challenges she’s faced during this uncertain time and how she’s using her voice as a female POC to affect change in her community. 

This episode is brought to you by Harbour Dance Centre. Harbour Dance Centre is a place to explore what dance is to the individual. Whether it’s the music, the movement, an artist, or a familiar memory; your body can create a stimulus for the mind that brings a sense of harmony. The result is a feeling of personal growth that can expand to all aspects of life. It’s not just a dance class, it's giving your body life, connectivity, and challenge. With over 100 Drop-in Classes a week, and variety of Workshops, you'll find a class you love. Visit www.harbourdance.com for class schedule and more information.

Missy Reyes | Instagram
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Now each week, we would normally bring you a guest or guests who talk about their experiences working in the industry along with some personal opinions about hot topics in our community. Now, you may have seen that we are moving to remote recordings of our episodes to encourage social and physical distancing during this pandemic. While we batch our upcoming episodes, we want to take a listen back to our favourite moments of Season 1. 

Have you ever wondered what your life would be like after dance? Or, have you asked yourself, “When would be the right time to hang up your shoes?” 

This week, we sat down with Toronto Legend, Kojo ‘Tuch’ Mayne. Through Toronto’s premiere entertainment company – Do Dat Entertainment – Tuch has transformed his passion for dance into a thriving career. Tuch has risen to the top of his craft as a sought after dancer/performer and choreographer known for his performance abilities & professionalism.

Tuch joined Do Dat Entertainment in 1998, and since then has performed with top musicians and entertainers, such as Shawn Desman, Eve & Gwen Stefani, Jully Black, Missy Elliott, and Selena Gomez. He’s worked with Sean Paul, Rihanna, Christina Aguilera, and Jay-Z in music videos and commercials. In addition, Tuch has appeared in numerous television/film and stage productions such as: the 2011 Much Music Awards, the Listener series, 2010 Olympic Torch Ceremony, E! News Weekend, the motion picture Honey featuring Jessica Alba, the Junos, and the BET Awards.

A few highlights have been assisting Luther Brown on So You Think You Can Dance Canada, Lifetime’s 2014 biopic "Aaliyah: The Princess of R&B" & the 2015 Pan Am Opening Ceremony. Most recently, Tuch choreographed for Chinese superstar Kris Wu’s performance on the 2018 iHeartRadio MMVAS and the 2019 television series “TallBoyz” on CBC.

With over 20 years of experience, Tuch is a fixture in the Toronto dance industry, having taught classes & workshops internationally, guiding and working with up-coming artists, and judging at the World Of Dance Competition 2011- 2012 & the 2017- 2018 Canada Hip Hop Dance Championship. 

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Hosted by Roy Urbanozo

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DONATE to our COVID-19 Toronto Dancers Relief Fund here!

Are you a visible minority who struggles with your voice in the entertainment industry? Are you a dancer who loves to create and wants to transition into choreographing? Or did you work on a Film or TV Show last year and looking for ways to build longevity within the commercial world? 

This week, we sat down with Amanda-May Wilson. She is a professional dancer and aspiring choreographer, born and raised in Toronto, Canada. After being self-taught for many years, she began her formal dance training at 14 years old, studying hip hop, jazz, contemporary and musical theatre through several collectives, companies and troupes. Through achievements such as The Pulse On Tour's Elite Protege Scholarship and The Monsters of Hip Hop Show, she has trained and worked closely with global industry heavy-hitters such as Brian Friedman, Gil Duldulao, JaQuel Knight & Parris Goebel, to name a few.

You can see Amanda-May onscreen in Full Out (Family Channel/Netflix), Heartbeats (Myriad Pictures/Das Films), Disney's Zombies (Disney) & The Next Step (Family Channel/Disney). She's worked with artists such as Deborah Cox, Janet Jackson, and Agnez Mo, as well as major brands, Nike and Roots. You can catch her choreographic works in Make It Pop (Nickelodeon), Firefly (TIFF), and Utopia Falls (Hulu), Amanda- May is looking forward to continued growth in her craft and what she prays will be a career of longevity in dance.

Amanda-May Wilson | Instagram | Facebook | YouTube

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Recorded at Dancelife X Centre
Thanks Steph for allowing us to use the space to record!

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DONATE to our Relief Fund for Toronto Dancers! 
 

Do you constantly take heels classes as a way to feel empowered through your sensuality, vulnerability? Are you the type of dancer who has doubts if this career is right for you? This is Season 2, Episode 3 - Number 036 called Faith & Affirmations with Kaela Faloon. 

Now, it’s no secret that the COVID-19 pandemic has affected artists around the world. But, if there’s one thing that we know about artists, it’s that we are very resourceful, resilient and above all, supportive. Just this last week, dancers have been participating in online dance classes from their favourite instructors, challenging eachother to in-home sessions and have been providing resources and support to one another. 

At the Dance Plug, we started a relief fund dedicated to the freelance dance artists residing in Toronto who are dealing with tremendous financial losses due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Now as most of you know, most dancers in our community are not eligible to apply for Employment Insurance as they are Independent Contractors. You can find the link to donate here.

About Kaela Faloon:

FROM SMALL TOWN MANOTICK, ONTARIO TO NOW BIG CITY LA, KAELA IS A TRUE EXAMPLE OF WHAT HARD WORK, DEDICATION, AND UNDENIABLE FAITH CAN ACHIEVE. KAELA'S HUMBLE BEGINNINGS STARTED AT THE AGE OF 11 WHERE SHE BEGAN TRAINING IN BALLET, JAZZ, CONTEMPORARY AND HIP HOP AT HER HOME STUDIO "GRETA LEEMING". FOLLOWING THIS SHE WAS ACCEPTED INTO RYERSON'S DANCE PROGRAM, WHERE SHE IMAGINED PURSUING DANCE AS A CONTEMPORARY COMPANY MEMBER, BUT TO HER SURPRISE HER DANCE CAREER TOOK A WHOLE NEW DIRECTION AND KAELA WAS INTRODUCED TO THE COMMERCIAL WORLD. FROM THERE KAELA BEGAN WORKING WITH WELL RENOWNED CHOREOGRAPHERS ON NUMEROUS PROJECTS AND PERFORMANCES.

KAELA’ S CREDITS INCLUDE; IHEART RADIO MUSIC AWARDS, TIFF (TORONTO INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL), WE DAY, CALGARY STAMPEDE, GREY CUP,  FASHION ART TORONTO, LUMINATO FESTIVAL, AND THE PAN AM GAMES

MUSIC VIDEOS –  RIHANNA, DRAKE, SNOOP DOGG, NELLY FURTADO,  SHAWN MENDES, SHAWN DESMAN, AND JULLY BLACK TO NAME A FEW

SHE HAS ALSO WORKED WITH ARTISTS ON NUMEROUS LIVE AND TOURING PERFORMANCES, SOME OF THESE ARTISTS INCLUDE MEGHAN TRAINOR, NICK JONAS, FIFTH HARMONY, MYA, ESTELLE, FLO RIDA, CARLY RAE JEPSEN, MIA MARTINA, MASSARI, HEDLEY, THE ROOTS AND MANY MORE.

IN 2016, KAELA INCORPORATED HER HEELS COMPANY, SENSUAL HEELING, WHERE SHE TRAINS WOMEN AND MEN HOW TO EXUDE CONFIDENCE IN THEIR HEELS. HER COMPANY HAS HAD HUGE SUCCESS, WITH CONTINUOUS SOLD OUT WORKSHOPS AND SHOWS, AS WELL AS FEATURED PERFORMANCES AT TORONTO’S FASHION WEEK, CHOREOBALL, INDUSTRY NIGHT, MONTREAL'S ARTICIEN, HER CREATIVE, AND MANY MORE. KAELA RECENTLY ANNOUNCED THAT SHE WILL BE TAKING HER CAREER TO THE NEXT LEVEL, AND SAYING goodbye TO TORONTO, AND HELLO TO LOS ANGELES CALIFORNIA. KAELA IS EXCITED ABOUT THIS NEW CHAPTER, AND LOOKS FORWARD TO CONTINUING TO INSPIRE ARTISTS TO UNAPOLOGETICALLY LIVE IN THEIR PURPOSE.  

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Sponsored by Dancewear Centre Toronto | Website | Instagram

Need Dancewear? Dance shoes? That unitard you've always wanted? Dancewear Centre has got you covered from head to toe. Shop in-store or online at www.dancewearcentre.com.

"Dance Is Life. Live Your Passion"

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This week, we sat down with Artist and Financial Director, Nissrine Shuman. She is a professionally trained dancer who has both CPA and ACCA designations with over a decade worth of experience working in creative industries. She provides financial stewardship and helps create a bridge between artists and the finance world. 

Have you asked yourself the following questions: Do you consider yourself to be a starving artist? Are you guilty of accepting low or no wages just to have a specific name or brand on your resumé? Or are you an instructor at a dance studio and wondered why you’re not entitled to certain government perks like holiday, overtime or vacation pay? 

In her episode, we talk about the difference between being an Employee and an Independent Contractor, the importance of Financial Literacy and why you need it to survive in a capitalist society, and what is the most valuable commodity a dancer possesses. 

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Episode Recorded at EverythingAnisha Studios - THANK YOU so much for your continued support of our platform!

If you're looking for a very affordable space to have a photoshoot, record your self tapes, have a meeting, host a private lesson, check them out! 

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Looking for financial assistance? How to budget? Invoicing? Accounting? E-Mail Niss here

Kicking off Season 2 is the dynamic duo, Flow XS.

Originating in Brampton, Ontario, their unique advantage lies in the fact that they are brothers who have trained together for over 10 years, dancing on studio, competitive and performance teams. Both as individuals and as Flow XS, they have also participated in various battles/freestyle events in Canada and the US and have taught hip-hop choreography workshops at various studios in Toronto, Canada. They are members of the world famous immaBEAST dance company founded by LA choreographers, Willdabeast Adams and Janelle Ginestra. Recently, you can find the brothers on the newly released Disney feature film, Zombies 2.

In their episode, we talk about teaching at a young age and its benefits, the importance of training and having a strong support system. 

Michael "Hydroflow" Scheitzbach - Instagram

Kevin "Kid XS" Scheitzbach - Instagram

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Today’s episode is brought to you by Dance Vocab. The world’s first and only app designed with the aspiring dancer in mind! Learn and practice hundreds of individual dance moves across multiple styles anywhere, anytime - the perfect way to practice outside of dance class! Download the app today! It’s free on iOS, Android and on dancevocab.com

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The Dance Plug Canada

www.thedanceplug.ca | COMING SOON

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This week, we sat down with Toronto-native Samara Tong. In her episode, we talk about her journey as a dancer from Toronto to London, the VISA Process for the UK and the opportunities London has for dancers.