Our Cast & Team
Alba Nadal
Guest Artist/Dancer
Alba Nadal was born in Zaragoza and brought up in Catalonia, first with Olga Roig in Manresa and later on, at Institut del Teatre in Barcelona. She travelled to Madrid at the young age of twelve to continue with Victor Ullate, and finished her formation at the Royal Ballet in London. Since 2004 until 2019 she danced with the Royal Danish Ballet and from 2029 to 2024 was a soloist at the Badisches Staatstheater Karlsruhe under the leadership of Bridget Breiner. Alba is currently a freelance dancer and educator in PAR (Programa d’Alt Rendiment) in La Factoria Cultural de Terrassa.
Alba has received numerous accolades, including a Reumert nomination as "Best Dancer" in Denmark 2017 for "A Naked Feeling" by Stefanos Bizas from Danish Dance Theatre and "Beginning and Ending" by Oliver Starpov for the role of Forest Queen, The Royal Danish Theatre. She has danced principal roles ranging from classical works such as Flower Festival (Bournonville), “Dark Angel” in Serenade (G.Balanchine), “Birthe” in Folk Tale (A. Bournonville), Pas de six en Napoli ( A.Bournonville); "Russian pas de deux" and "Pas de quatre" in Swan Lake (P.Martins), and contemporary works by Kevin O’Day, Jiri Kylian, Fernando Hernando Magadan, David Dawson, among others. She has also appeared in collaborations in Cross Connection Ballet Company’s Galas, Gala IBSTAGE 2017, Kammerballetten and Girona en Moviment Galas from 2018 until present day.
Dance has always been the force that has driven her to all her adventures and get through life challenges. It is her element for constant research to keep growing in this art form and as a human being. Dance is love, the place where she is daily rediscovering herself and home to many feelings, struggles and joy.
Emma Galvin
Emma Galvin (she/they) originally from Calgary, AB, is a dance artist based in so-called Vancouver. They are a recent graduate from Modus Operandi, directed by Tiffany Tregarthen, David Raymond, Kate Franklin, and Maiko Miyauchi. In their years of study with MO, Emma has performed works by Out Innerspace, Yi-Chun Liu, Mariko Kakizaki, Ella Rothschild, Spenser Theberge, Yin Yue, Shay Kuebler, Vanessa Goodman, and Brandon Lee Alley. She has had the opportunity to work as a student apprentice and dancer for Joshua Beamish/MOVETHECOMPANY in productions of ‘Source Amnesia’ and ‘SALT’. In the 2024/25 season, Emma was a dancer with Ballet BC Annex, touring works by Medhi Walerski, Michaela Taylor, and Zachary Seto, through Metro Vancouver, Vancouver Island, and Interior BC. Most recently, Emma was a participant in Inverso Production’s Performance Research Project, collaborating in creative processes with Lesley Telford, Josh Martin, and Shion Skye Carter.
Sophia Makarenko
Sophia Makarenko grew up on Bowen Island B.C. and is a freelance dance artist currently based in Vancouver, Canada. She joined Arts Umbrella in 2019 where she trained under the direction of Artemis Gordon and graduated from the Post-Secondary Dance Diploma Program. Sophia has worked with artists such as Crystal Pite, Medhi Walerski, Fernando Hernando Magadan, Doug Letheren, Aszure Barton, Ethan Colangelo, and Yvan Dubreuil. She has also performed works by Sharon Eyal, Marco Goecke, Sidi Larbi Cherkoui, and William Forsythe. During the 2022/23 season, Sophia was a dancer in the Ballet BC Annex Project, and she later joined Ballet BC dancers in their production of ‘Over the Ridge’ which was in collaboration with The Fugitives. In 2022, she was a participant of Arts Umbrella’s Young Choreographer Mentorship Showcase led by Crystal Pite which instigated her desire to create and perform her own work. Throughout the past three years she has worked as a performer, choreographer, actor, and teacher throughout Canada. She has performed with companies such as Blackout Art Society and Crossmanuever, and has done local and international video projects with Petrichor North Records. During 2023, Sophia co-founded the Canadian dance collective Paper Rabbits, with the goal of expanding and redefining how dance is perceived. The work of the collective aims to portray the intricacies of temporality, femininity, surrealism, and how these things can be investigated through dance theatre.
Ariana Barr
Raised in Victoria BC, Ariana has nurtured her love of dance and expression since the age of six. With the unwavering support of her family, she has developed her practice from early days in the living room, to collaborative spaces and stages across Canada. Ariana’s formal training began at the Pacific Dance Center and continued through the Arts Umbrella Graduate Program and Performance Research Project. In addition to performing with Ballet Edmonton for six seasons under the artistic direction of Wen Wei Wang, Ariana has also worked with several Vancouver-based companies including Inverso Productions, Vision Impure, Joshua Beamish/MOVETHECOMPANY, Rachel Meyers and Wen Wei Dance. In 2023, Ariana was honored to receive the Edmonton Artist’s Trust Fund Award for her
contributions to the Edmonton arts community. Ariana now lives and dances as a guest on the traditional, unceded territory of the Coast Salish peoples. She is deeply grateful to spend her life being shaped, continuously, both by the people she works with and by the transformative power of movement itself.
Marisa Gold
Dance artist, commissioned writer/spoken word performer
Marisa Gold is an intuitive multidisciplinary artist born and raised in Vancouver, BC, with a passion for soulful creative expression. She holds a Bachelors of Fine Arts in dance from Simon Fraser University, is a graduate from The Ailey School Independent Study program (NYC).
Marisa has professional experience as a spoken word poet, film/tv actor, musical theatre performer, voiceover artist and vocalist. As a collaborator, Marisa joyfully brings her multifaceted experience to each creative process she takes part in.
Most recently, Marisa has had the opportunity to collaborate with Mascall Dance, Odd Meridian Arts, Raven Spirit Dance, Action At A Distance, Inverso Dance, The Biting School, and Belle Spirale Dance Projects.
She has also created dance works for re:Naissance Opera, Dance Cafe (DOTE), The Search Party Productions, Off The Corner Productions, Sound Body Culture, Theatre La Seizieme, Arts Assembly, BLOOM (Mascall Dance), Museum of Anthropology -UBC, The Dance Deck, Co Erasga Salon Series, FORM Festival, Innovate Film Festival and Vine Arts Festival.
As a poet, Marisa has performed spoken word at various slams and events across BC including: Versus Festival, Vancouver Poetry Slam, The African Descent Festival, Afro Van Connect, Her Tribal Roots Collective, Immigrant Lessons Collective, and The Nelson Mural Festival. Her poetry is also featured in short films created by Pandapix Productions, Hadron Films, Front to Bax Productions, Obscura Studios and DA Productions.
Marisa's artistic influences are strongly rooted in the heart space of her ancestors. Her work is embedded in self reflection, a deep love for humanity and reverence for our planet Earth.
Photo: Sylvain Senez
Will Jessup
Will is a professional dance artist based in Vancouver, BC, originally from Alberta. He began his professional training with Lamondance under the artistic direction of Davi Rodrigues. After three years with the company, he transitioned to freelance work, performing with Ne.Sans Opera and Dance, Voirelia: Dance, Psychology & Philosophy Hub, Okams Racer, and Dance//Novella.
In 2022, Will performed on the Queen Elizabeth Stage in Orpheus and Eurydice, directed by Idan Cohen and presented by Vancouver Opera. He also participated in The Devil's Intervals with Zimmerdans in Halifax, Nova Scotia.
Will’s choreographic work has been presented at The Annex (Vancouver, BC), The BlueShore Centre for the Performing Arts, and Men in Dance in Seattle. Most recently, he collaborated with Belle Spirale Dance Projects on Universus, performing works by artistic directors Alexis Fletcher, Sylvain Senez, and internationally acclaimed choreographer Fernando Hernando Magadan. This work was presented at the Vancouver Playhouse in March 2025.
Brenna Metzmeier
Brenna Metzmeier is a multidisciplinary artist based in Vancouver, BC, originally from Terrace, BC. She trained at the Victoria Academy of Ballet, earning her diploma in 2016. Brenna's artistic collaborations include; Ballet Etoile, Sawdust Collective, Pi Theatre, The Banff Dance Company, Inverso Productions, Vision Impure, Opera Box, State of Underdress, Little Chamber Music, Corporeal Imago, Wen Wei Dance, Edmonton Opera/Nicole Von Arcs, Action at a Distance, and Belle Spirale. She is also a founding member of CAMP, recognized for its selection in multiple festivals, residencies and choreographic commissions.
Brenna continues to collaborate with Corporeal Imago, Belle Spirale, and CAMP, and recently completed a residency at the Irish Aerial Creation Centre. There, she created and performed a piece titled ‘I,I’, which marked the initial stages of developing her own solo work.
Justin Rapaport
Justin Rapaport (he/him) is a freelance dance artist, choreographer and stager who enjoys collaborating and creating with like-minded artists and individuals. Most recently, he has worked with Kidd Pivot, Anne Plamondon and PARA.MAR Dance Theater. Justin is a former member of Ballet BC, where he had the opportunity to perform various solos and lead roles by choreographers such as Crystal Pite, William Forsythe, Aszure Barton, Ohad Naharin and Sharon Eyal. Justin received his formal training at New World School of the Arts, followed by The Juilliard School, where he earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts.
Justin has delved into the choreographic realm throughout his career, starting with Peter London Global Dance Company in 2014 and has gone on to create numerous collaborations for the company. He has gone on to create with HD Theatre, Boykin Dance Projects, Dance Deck Dix and Ballet BC. Most notably in 2021, Justin created Passing By at Ballet BC, in collaboration with Evan Rapaport and Rae Srivastiva, which was selected as a finalist of the 14th Copenhagen International Choreography Competition, and awarded the Danish Dance Theater Award by Pontus Lidburg. Justin had the opportunity to set Passing By on Dansk Danseteater and present the work at the Copenhagen Summer Dance Festival in July 2023.
While growing in Miami, Justin was a trained violinist for 10 years, in addition to his rigorous dance training, but had to put it to the side as dance became his full-time focus after high school. He stills fiddles around with it from time to time. Outside of dance, Justin loves being outdoors biking or at the beach, and the occasional decadent donut.
Photo: Michael Slobodian
Lazaro Silva
Lazaro began his dance career at the age of 21, at the "Universidade Federal de Sergipe" (Brazil). To continue enhancing his studies, he attended Ballet Celia Duarte Dance School, where he took private ballet classes with his teacher, Klely Perelo, to further improve his technique. In 2018 Lazaro joined Lamondace where he trained for three years at the program and has since been a dancer for the Lamondance Company, directed by Davi Rodrigues.
Throughout his years with Lamondance he has had the pleasure of working with many artists such as Alexis Fletcher, Alex Neoral, Nicolas Ventura, Wen Wei Wang, Yoshito Sakuraba, Lara Barclay, Brandon Lee Alley, Kirsten Wicklund, Heather Dotto, Racheal Prince, Alysa Pires, Heather Laura Gray and Cristina Bucci.
Photo: Michael Slobodian
Nevon Boyden
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Devon McLean
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Victoria Bell
Lighting Designer
Victoria (V) is a Vancouver based scenographer (lighting, sound, set, and projection designer), technical director and Studio 58 graduate. Victoria is an ADC and IATSE 118 member, and a strong proponent for union membership and their justified authority. She is also a Stir recognized "Game Changer" in this year's fall arts guide.
She was born in Cheam, England, and immigrated to Vancouver, Canada, with her family as a child. She grew up in the East Van arts scene and was a member of quite a few artistic collective in her teens. Being an Anarchist and a trans woman she has deep ties to the politics inherent to creating art, especially live performance. Much of the work she features in focuses on contentious issues present today or that the ramifications of which are still felt, be that personal or global. Coming into her own as an artist and an adult in the Vancouver East side she has a specific focus on the issues that affect that area; poverty, BIPOC and LGBTQ2IA+ rights, Land back, gentrification and rise of authoritarianism in retaliation to these movements for equity.
She sees her work as focusing on the depth in shadow and its necessity to show detail in the light. Working between vibrant colours and muted tones, while using Physical structure to fully infuse her designs into the world of the piece. Using physical structures on stage with the performance creates a more literal connection to the lights, she very specifically doesn't want to just work in the grid "above" the performance, she is entangled with the performance as a whole, not just its outward final presentation. She wishes her designs to be objects wielded by and into the metaphor of the text.