COMPANY

The artistic vision of Raven Spirit Dance Society is to share stories from an Indigenous worldview. Our medium is contemporary dance; and, we incorporate other expressions such as traditional dance, theatre, puppetry and multi-media to tell these stories.

By sharing this work on local, national and international stages, Raven Spirit Dance reaffirms the vital importance of dance to the expression of human experience and to cultural reclamation. Raven Spirit Dance aims to explore how professional artistic work is responsive and responsible to the community it is a part of and to continue to redefine dance’s place in diverse community settings. Raven Spirit is Vancouver-based yet indelibly tied to the Yukon through its projects and inspirations, as our Co-Artistic Director, Michelle Olson is from the Tr’ondek Hwech’in First Nation.

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

PRESIDENT – Mary-Elizabeth Manley
TREASURER – Kathleen Mcdonagh
DIRECTOR – Justine Wallace
DIRECTOR – Sharon Muranko
DIRECTOR – June Bird

VISION STATEMENT

We envision a world that centers Indigenous sovereignty, leadership & experience.

CREATIVE PHILOSOPHY

The moment of an impulse is the collision of inherited worldviews, traditional and urban cosmologies, and personal and collective histories. From this place, one dances and creates and it is how one arrives at an expression that is distinct. Raven Spirit values how indigenous expression is realized through contemporary dance in this way. It values creating an environment for dialogue and critique and values pushing the boundaries of the work and our cultural selves.

STAFF

MICHELLE OLSON (She/her) - CO-ARTISTIC DIRECTOR
Michelle Olson is a member of the Tr’ondëk Hwëch’in First Nation and the Co-Artistic Director of Raven Spirit Dance. She studied dance and performance at the University of New Mexico, the Aboriginal Arts Program at the Banff Centre and was an Ensemble Member of Full Circle First Nations Performance.  Michelle works in areas of dance, theatre and opera as a choreographer, performer and movement coach and her work has been seen on stages across Canada. Selected choreography/theatre credits include Gathering Light (Raven Spirit Dance), Salmon Girl (TYA – Raven Spirit Dance), Map of the Land, Map of the Stars (Gwaandak Theatre), Frost Trees Exploding Moon (Raven Spirit Dance), Mozart’s Magic Flute (Vancouver Opera), The Ecstasy of Rita Joe (Western Canada Theatre/National Arts Centre), Death of a Chief (Native Earth Performing Arts/National Arts Centre) and Evening in Paris (Raven Spirit Dance). She was the recipient of the inaugural Vancouver International Dance Festival Choreographic Award. She graduated as a Certified Movement Analyst from Laban/Bartenieff and Somatic Studies Canada and is currently teaching at Langara’s Studio 58.
JEANETTE KOTOWICH (She/Her) - ARTISTIC ASSOCIATE

Originally from Treaty 4 territory Saskatchewan, Jeanette creates work that reflects Nêhiyaw/Métis cosmology within the context of contemporary dance, Indigenous performance, and Indigenous futurism. Jeanette has self-presented and been programmed at theatres and festivals across Turtle Island and internationally.

Her solo Kisiskâciwan premiered in Vancouver 2022, and has since toured to 10 cities nationally, and to Germany and Australia. Her ensemble work Kwê was presented at Matriarchs Uprising and Dance in Vancouver 2021/22. She is now working on a new ensemble called BOLT, a work for 4 performing artists. Jeanette is the Artistic Associate at Raven Spirit Dance, and co-founder of aka collective. She facilitates movement workshops with Indigenous worldview, workshops on de-colonial perspectives in the arts, and is a Métis dance and cultural knowledge carrier. She resides as a guest on the Ancestral and unceded Sḵwx̱wú7mesh, Səl̓ilw̓ətaʔɬ/, and Xʷməθkʷəy̓əm territories, colonially known as Vancouver. movementhealing.ca

Photo: Yvonne Chew

KIMIRA REDDY (She/Her) - COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR

Kimira grew up dancing on stages around South Africa. With experience in working in the film and theatre industry as a Set/Production Designer, she is grateful to be creating and practicing her art on the land of the Coast Salish People. As a business owner, she considers herself an entrepreneur at heart as she brings her experience with strategic planning and creative communication to Raven Spirit.

She holds a Masters in Fine Art in Design from the University of British Columbia and a Bachelors in Entertainment Technology from the Tshwane University of Technology. She has published two thesis’s in her career. As an innovative thinker, her most recent thesis involves incorporating virtual reality into the creative set design process to enhance the communication between collaborators.

Kimira is thrilled to be a part of the Raven Spirit circle and shares similar values with the company. With a strong vision and drive to take Raven Spirit to new heights, she is excited to share what makes Raven Spirit Dance so special with the world.

STARR MURANKO (She/her) - CO-ARTISTIC DIRECTOR
Starr Muranko is dancer/choreographer, Mother and Co-Artistic Director with ​Raven Spirit Dance. As a choreographer she is most interested in the stories that we carry within our bodies and Ancestral connections to land that transcend time and space. Her work has been shared locally and nationally including the Dance Centre, Talking Stick Festival, Coastal Dance Festival, Dancing on the Edge, Native Earth Performing Arts, Weesageechak Begins to Dance, Impact Festival and InFringing Dance Festival.  Featured works include Chapter 21, Spine of the Mother and before7after as well as recent collaborative work Confluence and her current research for a new piece Tracing Bones. 
 
A proud company dancer with the Dancers of Damelahamid since 2005, she has toured across Canada and internationally and trained under the guidance and mentorship of the late Elder Margaret Harris. She is currently Artist-in-Residence at Ballet BC alongside colleague and longtime collaborator Margaret Grenier. Starr has facilitated workshops through ArtsStarts, Vancouver Aboriginal Friendship Centre, Native Education College and Vines Art Festival and holds a BFA in Dance from SFU’s School for the Contemporary Arts. She honours and celebrates her mixed Ancestry of Omushkegowuk Cree (Moose Cree First Nation – Treaty 9), French and German in all of her work.  

 

Photo: Melanie Orr

MUNEERA WALLACE (She/Her) - MANAGING DIRECTOR

Muneera (she/her) hails from India, and is honoured to be living on the gorgeous, unceded lands of the Coast Salish People – currently on Salt Spring Island. As managing director, she brings to Raven Spirit her passion for systems and structure, and a curiosity to learn the ways of Indigenous organisation and leadership.

Muneera’s love for supporting people extends to her work in wellness as an Ayurvedic practitioner. Ayurveda is a traditional, East-Indian system of medicine that takes a holistic, nature-based approach to healing.

A hobby dancer herself, Muneera is fascinated by the myriad cultural expressions of dance across the world, and how movement can be a medium for spiritual growth and self-discovery. 

Muneera takes pride in directing the operations at Raven Spirit Dance as it grows and flourishes.

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CONTACT

#230 – 111 West Hastings
Vancouver, BC
604-646-0010
info@ravenspiritdance.com