Dancers 2010/2011 Season

Kimberley Cooper, Artistic Associate & Resident Choreographer

  Kimberley has been dancing and creating dance for most of her life.  She has seen, choreographed or danced in every DJD show since the company’s inception in 1984.  She became an apprentice in 1989, and has been Artistic Associate/Resident Choreographer since she returned from a sabbatical funded by Canada Council for the Arts in 2001.  In 2002, Cooper was named Emerging Artist of the Year by Alberta Dance Alliance. Cooper also dances and choreographs independently.  She has performed, studied and/or taught in Canada, the USA, Spain, Japan, The Turks and Caicos Islands, and Cuba.  Her independent choreography has been presented by One Yellow Rabbit, The University of Calgary, eko Dance, Youth Dance Unlimited, Alberta Dance Theatre, DSW, Loose Moose Theatre Company, Theatre Calgary, Springboard Dance, Dances For small Stages  (Vancouver), Alberta Dance Alliance (Edmonton), and SUNY Potsdam (NY USA).  Cooper has created two short films for Bravo!FACT and appeared in several others.  In the fall of 2009, her piece wowandflutter enjoyed an eight city national tour.  Cooper has contributed much choreography to DJD’s repertoire since 2001 Her eighth full-length piece, Wilds, will priemer in March 2011.

Sarisa F. de Toledo, DJD Artistic Assistant, Canvas Artistic Director, Choreographer

Sarisa was hired as an apprentice for DJD in the Fall of 1994 and since then has performed in fourteen seasons with the company. In addition to dancing with DJD she has performed with One Yellow Rabbit, Sage Theatre and Edmonton Festival Ballet as well as working with several independent choreographers and directors.  She was Artistic Director for DJD's dancer-choreographed evenings Larimer St., root 7 and Alchemy  (Co-Artistic Director with Kimberley Cooper) as well as Artistic Director for DJD's June production Tinge and Tone in 2008. Sarisa has also choreographed for Alberta Dance Explosions, eko dance projects and Alberta Theatre for Young People and teaches for the DJD company and school, independently around Alberta and as far as Vada, Italy. She was rehearsal director for DJD's, twentyfive, and has been Artistic Assistant for the company since 2007.

Marc Hall, Dancer

Born and raised in Jamaica, Marc began his formal training there at the Edna Manley College of the Visual and Performing Arts where he studied various forms of dance including Caribbean folklore, African dance, Cuban modern dance and Ballet. As a dancer with the National Dance Theatre Company of Jamaica he did numerous performances and tours throughout the UK, the USA, Canada and the Caribbean. Following that, Marc was awarded a full scholarship to attend the London Studio Centre in England for three years of work towards a BA honours degree. He performed in The Lion King in London for a year and a half and then joined another UK based company, Sakoba Dance Theatre. Subsequently he returned to Jamaica to teach at the Edna Manley College but after a year he was invited to be a member of Ballet Creole, a Toronto based Afro-contemporary dance company. Marc moved to Calgary in the fall of 2009. 2010: A Tap Oddity marked his debut with DJD in March. This is his second season with the company.
Catherine Hayward, Dancer

Catherine grew up in Winnipeg where she began dancing at the age of five. Her studies led her to Ryerson University where she graduated with honours from the dance program, earning her BFA. While in Toronto, Catherine had the opportunity to work with independent choreographers such as Heidi Strauss, Kathleen Rea, and Vicki St. Denys. An interest in jazz dance brought her to Calgary to train in the Professional Training Program at DJD. During this time she immersed herself in the Calgary community performing in the DJD school tour of Live & in Sync, Shift, The Fluid Festival and eko dance projects, as well as dancing in and choreographing for Footprints, Alberta Dance Explosions and Re:verb. Catherine has studied in various locations in North America and has travelled to Sweden to study the Lindy Hop. Recently she had an opportunity to perform the Lindy in the Bravo!FACT video called Swing Fling Thing. Catherine teaches in The School of Decidedly Jazz and is excited to be in her fourth season dancing with DJD.
Dinou Marlett-Stuart, Dancer

After dancing for twelve years in Calgary, Dinou traveled to England to attend Performer's Dance College where she completed a three-year degree programme and then danced professionally for two years in many lead roles in original productions throughout England. Since returning to Calgary in 1994, Dinou has been teaching, as well as producing, choreographing and performing in various projects such as Calgary Cares and Alberta Dance Explosions. She was a guest artist in the DJD school show Live & in Sync (2001) and Kimberley Cooper’s Popular (2001) for OYR's High Performance Rodeo. She understudied roles in Perched on the Edge of a Quarter Note and was a full-time company member from 2002-04. Dinou was blessed with a daughter in 2004 and since then has had a chance to work with Kimberley Cooper as a dancer and Rehearsal Director for the Bravo production of Distemper and DJD’s in Charcoal and Crimson. She returned to DJD in 2007 with a new vision of her craft and has danced in a variety of shows including AIR at DSW and the Bravo!FACT video, Swing Fling Thing. She is grateful for the support of her family and friends in continuing her career.

 
Ivan Nunez Segui, Dancer
  Ivan started dancing at the age of nine. When he was twelve he began his formal training at the National School of Art in Havana and after seven years graduated from the school in 1990. He immediately joined the Folklorico Nacional de Cuba and was principal soloist from 1996 until he left the company in 2001. Since then, he has been a freelance dancer and teacher working in Cuba, Japan, England and Canada. He was a guest dancer for DJD’s ¡BULLA! project in 2004, and returned to Calgary in the fall of 2005 to continue dancing with the company.  This is his seventh season with DJD.
Danielle Wensley, Dancer

Danielle has been dancing in Calgary since she was three years old. She has been involved in performance groups such as The Young Canadians and eko Dance Projects, both giving her extensive experience and appreciation for the process of creating dance for stage. She was involved with the Professional Training Program at The School of Decidedly Jazz for several years where she developed love and respect for jazz music and dance.  Danielle has trained and worked at DJD for the past ten years. She performed in Footprints, a production created by the members of the DJD Professional Training Program as well as Live & in Sync!, DJD's educational touring show (2006 and 2007), and she continues to teach classes at The School of Decidedly Jazz. This is Danielle’s fourth season with the company.