Meeting place for aboriginal and indigenous artists at CINARS

Room : Turtle Island Lounge

How do you approach and welcome aboriginal and indigenous cultures in your artistic programming?

Moderator : Barbara Kaneratonni Diabo, artistic director and choreographer A'nó:wara Dance Theatre (Québec).

Choreographer and artistic director Barbara Diabo welcomes you to a space dedicated to the Aboriginal artists present at the CINARS Biennial, whether in the official programme or the Off section. This space for dialogue is also a meeting place to help better understand respect for cultures, to support the initiatives of programmers, agents and producers registered with CINARS. Join the conversation on how to improve relations with First Nations in the performing arts.
Whatever is your artistic discipline or no matter at what stage you are in your production process, this venue has been designed to facilitate the right ways of welcoming diverse artistic expressions from ancestral First Nations cultures.
Barbara Kaneratonni Diabo is a Kanien'keha:ka (Mohawk) of mixed heritage, originally from Kahnawake. She is artistic director and choreographer for A'nó:wara Dance Theatre. An award-winning choreographer and performer for over 25 years, she creates work to highlight Aboriginal themes, stories and perspectives. To do so, she combines powwow, Haudenosaunee and contemporary dance styles to invoke an artistic fusion that reaches diverse audiences. Diabo performs across Canada and internationally, and was one of eight privileged performers invited to perform at the Gathering of Nations (New Mexico) - the world's largest powwow - as part of its first hoop dance competition (2015). Barbara Kaneratonni Diabo also works with a number of organisations, including La Danse sur les routes du Québec and the Indigenous Performing Arts Alliance, helping to educate people, create safe spaces and support indigenous artists around the world. Her Mohawk culture teaches her that dance is more than a performance, Diabo performs and creates for generations to come, to honour her ancestors, for a sense of community, to inspire and encourage cultural pride and to lift spirits. She is the winner of the Prix de la Danse de Montréal 2021 in the Performer category, awarded by the Regroupement Québécois de la Danse.