 Dancer: Sandra Samba. Photographer: Diana Rodriguez. Sandra Samba is a professional dancer specializing in Hip-Hop and commercial styles, known for her dynamic presence and powerful storytelling through movement. Her journey began in a high school dance program as a student athlete, where she discovered a deep passion for dance. Inspired by her sister—a professional dancer whose dedication lit the path—Sandra committed herself to the craft with unwavering determination.
Based in Montréal, Sandra has performed with some of the city’s most celebrated artists, including Fouki, Marie-Mai, and Laurence Nerbonne. These experiences have shaped her versatility and elevated her professionalism across a variety of performance settings. She has also trained with world-class choreographers in Los Angeles, continuously refining her skills and expanding her creative vision. Sandra is driven by a mission to inspire others—especially people of color—through her artistry. With dreams of performing on global stages alongside the world's top artists, she strives to break barriers and connect with audiences through authentic, impactful performances. Her work is not only a celebration of movement but also a call to dream big, defy expectations, and embrace the power of expression. Find Sandra Samba on IG, TikTok, and YouTube.
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 Healthy Dancer Canada is accepting applications and nominations for the 2025 BIPOC Emerging Dance Artist Scholarship. This scholarship supports emerging BIPOC artists pursuing careers in dance in Canada. It is open to artists aged 18-30 who self-identify as emerging/early stage professional dance performers and/or choreographers in any and all genres. For additional information visit BIPOC Emerging Dance Artist Scholarship - Healthy Dancer Canada. Applications are due by May 1.
Congratulations to Sarah Hin Ching Yu and Jai Yi (Judy) Luo, this year's Healthy Dancer Canada BIPOC Emerging Artist Scholarship Winners 2024! Thank you to all of this year's applicants, who are receiving Healthy Dancer Canada memberships.  Dancer: Sarah Hin Ching U. Photographer: Chloe Lam Sarah Hin Ching U 余衍晴 (she/her) is a Chinese-Canadian dance artist/choreographer, trained and influenced by a multitude of styles including contemporary, ballet, breaking and hiphop. My main intentions in my creations are 1. Explore and promote the cross-pollination between contemporary dance and street dance. 2. Investigate the integration of new media tools such as AI editing and Augmented Reality application in performance-making, pushing the boundaries of choreography beyond physical movement. My work has been presented by Dancing on the Edge (Vancouver), National Arts Centre, Capsule: Video series (Ottawa), The Dance Centre (Vancouver), NewWorks (Vancouver), REvolver(Vancouver), DanceWorks (Toronto), Skampede (Victoria), Free Flow Dance Theatre (Saskatoon), Good Women Dance(Edmonton) among others. In 2022, I received the Professional Performing Artist Award from British Columbia Arts Council and have recently received Professional Development award to train under bboy Savage Rock in the art of breaking. I been awarded residencies at Circuit est (Montreal), Dance Arts Institute (Toronto), Impulse Theatre (Victoria), City of Port Coquitlam, ArtStarts (Vancouver), and Plastic Orchid Factory. Other notable performing credits include Dancing on the Edge 2019 with Danse Carpe Diem/Emmanuel Jouthe (Montreal) and Nuit Blanche 2021 with Jackie Latendresse (Saskatoon). I graduated Simon Fraser University in 2021 with a BFA in dance and kinesiology. Website: https://www.sarah-u.com/. Thank you to Allegro Performance + Wellness for supporting this recipient!  Dancer: Jia Yi (Judy) Luo. Photographer: Gregg Jann Autillo Jia Yi (Judy) Luo is a Chinese-Canadian dance artist based out of Toronto, Ontario. She voyages towards people, patterns, puzzles and play with her trusty blue suitcase. Building on faith and the gift of grace, physical movement and dumpling parties are her chosen mediums to meet and bridge communities. Judy is a former member of touring company Rambert 2 (London, UK). She holds her BFA in Performance Dance from Toronto Metropolitan University and is a laureate of the Hnatyshyn Foundation’s Developing Artist Grant. Known for her stage presence and versatility, her commercial credits include Nike, SportChek, Tim Hortons, Hallmark Channel, Jessie Reyez and Feist. Judy collaborates alongside Anne Plamondon (Montreal), Liam Francis (UK), and Nova Bhattacharya (Toronto). Switching between the hats of performer, rehearsal director and educator, she marvels at the body's intelligence and delights in sharing this fascination with others. Follow along her creative endeavours on her Substack publication, "mindthemoves." Website/blog https://judyluo.substack.com/.
Thank you to TAB Fitness for supporting this recipient!  HDC is accepting applications and nominations for the BIPOC Emerging Artist Scholarship 2024 until April 30, 2024.
Learn more about the scholarship and how to apply here.  Dancer: Lucia Llano. Photographer Meghan Van Der Giessen. Healthy Dance Canada's BIPOC Advocacy Working Group is pleased to announce the runner-up for the Healthy Dancer Canada BIPOC Emerging Artist Scholarship 2023, Lucia Llano!
Lucía Llano was born and raised in Bogotá, Colombia where she trained at MISI - School of Musical Theatre. She graduated with honours from York University with a BFA in Dance. As a student, she performed with the York Dance Ensemble and was awarded the Dance Department Fund and the Kondor AMPD Awards. Lucía continued her professional development upon graduation and participated in the Kenny Pearl, ProArte Danza and most recently the Deltebre Dansa Summer Intensive in Spain. She has worked with choreographers such as Mateo Galindo Torres, Dave Wilson, Nina Milanovski and Sophie Dow. In 2022, she danced in Jessie Reyez's music video ‘Mutual Friend’ choreographed by Martha Hart and most recently enjoyed working with hART Dance Company. Lucía is a lifelong learner who aspires to grow as a performance artist and promote movement education in Toronto and her home country. Thank you to The Fifth Dance for supporting this year's runner-up! Healthy Dancer Canada and The Fifth Dance are thrilled to assist with Lucia's development and career aspirations. Follow Lucia on Instagram: @maluciallano. Learn more about the BIPOC Emerging Artist Scholarship.  Dancer: Bryn Bridgen. Photographer: Miles Clark Healthy Dance Canada's BIPOC Advocacy Working Group is pleased to announce the winner of the Healthy Dancer Canada BIPOC Emerging Artist Scholarship 2023. Congratulations to Bryn Bridgen!
Bryn is an Indigenous freelance dance artist based in Vancouver BC. As an emerging artist, Bryn has most recently worked for local dance company Dance//Novella, under the direction of Brandon Lee Alley and Racheal Prince. She was a performer in their newest work “STANCE” presented at The Polygon Art Gallery, and is also a dancer in their full-length work “When The Walls Come Down” most recently performed in the Sound Off Festival 2023, The Dance Centres International Dance Day 2023, and VIDF 2022. Bryn’s professional training includes the GibneyPRO Pilot Program 2022 directed by Alexandra Wells, Gilbert T. Small II and Bret Yamanaka, the Modus Operandi Link Program directed by Kate Franklin, David Raymond and Tiffany Tregarthen, and Lamondance under the direction of Davi Rodrigues and mentorship of Racheal Prince. Throughout her training, she has performed works by Rena Butler + Maleek Washington, Laja Field, Noam Gagnon, Richard Walters, Kirsten Wicklund and others. She has also worked with a variety of teachers including Beverley Bagg, Crystal Costa, Francesca Dominguez, Kevin Shannon, Nicolas Ventura and Zina Zinchenko among many others. Bryn will be returning to GibneyPRO in New York City for the 2023/2024 season. Healthy Dancer Canada is thrilled to be able to assist with Bryn's development and career aspirations. Follow Bryn on Instagram: @brynbridgen. Learn more about the BIPOC Emerging Artist Scholarship. Applications are now open for The Healthy Dancer Canada BIPOC Emerging Artist Scholarship! An initiative created to support emerging BIPOC artists pursuing careers in dance, this scholarship aims to address existing barriers faced by BIPOC artists, and improve access to supports that will further racialized artists in their professional pursuits.
This opportunity is open to BIPOC artists ages 18-30 who self-identify as emerging/early-stage professional dance artists in any and all genres. Both independent submissions (applying for yourself) and nominations (on behalf of another qualifying artist) will be accepted. Applicants may also express interest in HDC’s Mentorship Program, which will pair the emerging artist with an established dance professional in a mentoring relationship for approximately six months. The Mentorship Program aspires to offer further professional advice, guidance, resources, and emotional/social support to BIPOC artists in the early stages of their dance career. See the print document to learn more and to complete the BIPOC Emerging Artist Scholarship application. Submissions are due by May 1st, 2023.  The BIPOC Advocacy Working Group is pleased to announce that our very first Emerging Artist Scholarship was awarded to Gabriela Ortiz! Gabriela Ortizis an emerging dance artist based on Treaty 1 territory and member of Mujer Artista, a Latin American group of artists located in Winnipeg, MB. She is currently obtaining her B.A in dance through the Theatre and Film department of the University of Winnipeg and the School of Contemporary Dancers. Gabriela has worked with choreographers like, Gaile Petursson-Hiley, Rossana Filomarino, Sarah Matry, Paula Blair and Jolene Bailie and has had the opportunity to collaborate with The Mariachi Ghost music band. Gabriela is the recipient of the "Talentos" scholarship provided by the Mexican government institution EDUCAFIN. Over the years she has also been a volunteer for different non-profit organizations like Mentores UG and Foro Inudacion located in Guanajuato, Mexico.
The BIPOC Advocacy Working Group was also able to offer another scholarship this year due to a generous donation from one of our members, K.V.K. Athletics Inc. Thank you so much for your participation in our program! Hayley Ng received this scholarship because of her desire dance but to also help dancers through herlove of science. Hayley is a Chinese Canadian ballet dancer, physiotherapy resident, and PhD student at the University of Toronto. She started dancing at age 3, and trained in pre-professional ballet throughout high school, where she competed in international ballet competitions and performed in various ballet productions. While obtaining her Bachelor’s degree in Kinesiology at McMaster University, she performed soloist roles with Hamilton City Ballet in full length ballets, such as Coppelia and the Sleeping Beauty, with her favourite being the lead role of the Sugar Plum Fairy in the Nutcracker. Furthermore, she choreographed ballet pieces for McMaster’s Recreational Dance Team. During her master’s, she continued her ballet training and launched her professional dance career, where she performed in virtual dance projects with the Dance: Corps company, as a dance artist for the Youth Day Global event, and as an artist in the Quarantine Qapsule digital archive on the Museum of Toronto website. Hayley is passionate in both dance and physiotherapy, as they both fill her soul in different ways. Dance provides an opportunity for her to express herself artistically, while physiotherapy provides an opportunity to help others regain their independence and improve their mobility. As she works on her PhD in using dance as a rehabilitation tool for people post-stroke, while continuing her pursuit of dancing professionally, she hopes to integrate her passions together in her future career. We would also like to acknowledge Emily Duckett and Swadhi Ranganee Thanabalasingam for their applications and participation in our Emerging Artist Scholarship application. All artists will be receiving an HDC membership as well as mentorship from some of our HDC members. Healthy Dancer Canada is pleased to announce our new BIPOC Emerging Artist Scholarship Program! This new scholarship aims to address existing and/or anticipated barriers faced by BIPOC artists pursuing careers in dance, and to improve access to supports that will further racialized artists in their professional pursuits.
The dire discrepancy between opportunities available for White versus BIPOC artists is not only evidenced in the lived experience of these artists, but one further evidenced by rigorous scholarly research. According to 2016 research by Data USA, approximately 79.5 percent of female-identifying ballet dancers are white, while only 6.72 percent are African American. Data USA also found that among post-secondary ballet students, white students earned 90.7% of Bachelor’s degrees and 75% of Master’s degrees awarded in this field in 2019. Another recent study by Hill Strategies on the Demographic Diversity of Artists in Canada in 2016 found that Indigenous artists make a median income of 68 cents for every $1 for non-Indigenous artists, while racialized artists make a median income of 72 cents for every $1 for non-racialized artists. These numbers not only clearly demonstrate the lack of diversity in the professional ballet world, but also exemplify concerning trends in the dance world at large that are in urgent need of addressing. Interested applicants may also express interest in HDC’s Mentorship Program, which will pair the emerging artist with an established dance professional in a mentoring relationship for six hour-long meetings over a designated six-month period (six sessions total). The Mentorship Program aspires to offer further professional advice, guidance, resources, and emotional/social support to BIPOC artists in the early stages of their dance career. Format:
Submit applications and nominations to [email protected]. Submission deadline: January 1, 2022. Successful applicants/nominees will receive a response not later than February 1st, 2022. |
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