Enter, Dancing … Narratives of Migration, a project initiated and co-ordinated by Carol Anderson, records the stories of eight individuals who have come to Canada, brought their dancing and continued to evolve their art and practice here. It is the intention of Enter, Dancing to record their stories first-hand.

While there are many wonderful dance artists of diverse background working in Canada today, these eight people, all first-generation Canadians, were selected to represent an immigration timeline from the 1960s to the 1990s, and a range of global diversity. As individuals, their motivations for immigration span a nomadic continuum from fleeing persecution to arriving in Canada as dance students.

Here, in essence, we hear the dance narratives of BaKari Ifasegun Lindsay (Trinidad/Tobago), Zab Maboungou (Congo), Yvonne Ng (Singapore), Alejandro Ronceria (Colombia), Rina Singha (India), Alvin Tolentino (Phillipines), Wen Wei Wang (China) and Sashar Zarif (Iran/Azerbaijan).

The interviews weave responses to four questions:

What is the story of your immigration to Canada – when, why and how?

What was your dance practice/training in your country of origin?

What is your practice now?

What has been built or changed through your efforts?

These are inspiring chronicles, full of practical wisdom and deeply considered perspectives on dance. Thanks to each of these artists who have so generously shared tales of their journeys and their dance.