#santee smith

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Beautiful, beautiful Native Americans, part umpteen

[allthecanadianpolitics]

McMaster names Indigenous artist Santee Smith its next chancellor

Smith takes over from Suzanne Labarge, who held the position at McMaster for the past six years

McMaster University has become the second Canadian institution in as many weeks to announce that its next chancellor will be an Indigenous person.

The school says Santee Smith, an artist, dancer and choreographer from the nearby Six Nations of the Grand River, will take over as the honorary head of the university in November.

Smith hold two degrees at McMaster, one in physical education and another in psychology in addition to a master's degree in dance from Toronto's York University.

"I am honoured to be selected as McMaster's next Chancellor," Smith says. "Mac played such an impactful role in my life and as one of the world's top universities, continues to contribute to the health and well-being of communities close to home, across the country and around the world. To be selected to help continue to advance the university is indeed an honour and a great privilege."

A press release posted to the university's website said "Recovering from two broken legs, she completed six years of training at Canada's National Ballet School, undertook theatre training and earned her McMaster degrees. She returned to dance in 1996 as a choreographer and dedicated six years to create and produce her first dance work, Kaha:wi, a family creation story. In 2005 she founded the Kaha:wi Dance Theatre with a vision is to explore the intersection of Indigenous and new performance."

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Santee Smith

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Tekaronhiáhkhwa Santée Smith, Kenien’kehá:ka (Mohawk) potter, artist, dancer, choreographer, and academic from The Six Nations of The Grand River. Smith is the founder of Kaha:wi Dance Theatre and proprietor of Talking Earth Pottery.

[culturite]

Re-Quickening, Kahawi Dance / Santee Smith

[culturite]

KAHA:WI: THE CYCLE OF LIFE

[makedathomasinstitute]

Following performances at COCO Dance Festival, Artist-in-Residence, Santee Smith has focused on creative development in the studio and on Site Visits. On Wednesday, 8 October 2014, with Monique Mojica (collaborator on a new Indigenous Women's Project) and Dr. Jorge Morejon (University of the West Indies dance and theatre lecturer), Santee visited Banwari Trace - the oldest archaeological site in the Caribbean. Two days later, they joined the Santa Rosa Carib Community for the Opening of the First Peoples Heritage Week. 

Read more on Banwari Trace from the Archaeology Centre of the History Department of the University of the West Indies: http://sta.uwi.edu/fhe/archaeology/.

Learn more about the First Peoples Heritage Week here: http://santarosafirstpeoples.org/. 

ABOUT THE ARTISTS IN RESIDENCE

Santee Smith is a mother, performer, an award-winning producer and choreographer. She is from the Kahnyen’kehàka (Mohawk) Nation, Turtle Clan from Six Nations, Ontario. Her dance journey began early and included attending Canada’s National Ballet School. She holds Kinesiology and Psychology degrees from McMaster University and a M.A. in Dance from York University. In 1996 the opportunity to choreography ignited her creative force and she produced her first major choreographic work, Kaha:wi in 2004. In 2005, Santee founded Kaha:wi Dance Theatre, a vehicle for her artistic work. Her artistic work speaks about identity and humanity. Her performances and collaborations have occurred in Canada, United States, Mexico, Australia, New Zealand, France, Japan and Indonesia. Discovering her dancing body is Santee’s life long inquiry. 

Monique Mojica (Guna and Rappahannock) is an actor/playwright and artist-scholar passionately dedicated to a theatrical practice as acts of healing, of reclaiming historical/cultural memory and of resistance. Spun directly from the family-web of Spiderwoman Theater, her first play “Princess Pocahontas and the Blue Spots” was produced in 1990. She is the co-editor, with Ric Knowles, ofStaging Coyote’s Dream An Anthology of First Nations Drama in English, vols. I & II. A co-founder of Turtle Gals Performance Ensemble, Monique has taught Indigenous Theatre in theory, process and practice at the University of Illinois, the Institute of American Indian Arts and at McMaster University. She founded Chocolate Woman Collective in 2007 to develop the play “Chocolate Woman Dreams the Milky Way” that premiered in June 2011 and was created by devising a dramaturgy specific to Guna cultural aesthetics, story narrative and literary structure. She was most recently seen on stage in the re-mount of “Chocolate Woman Dreams the Milky Way” presented by Native Earth Performing Arts and in the role of Goneril in the NAC’s production Of “King Lear”. Upcoming projects include “Side Show Freaks” and “Circus Injuns” co-written with LeAnne Howe and directed by Michael Greyeyes. 

[makedathomasinstitute]

Santee Smith, Artist-in-Residence with Monique Mojica

The Dance & Performance Institute is pleased to host Artist-in Residence, Santee Smith along with collaborator Monique Mojica from 28 September to 18 October 2014. Santee Smith will present her work, "NeoIndigenA", each evening of COCO Dance Festival, to be held Friday. 3 October to Sunday, 5 October at Queens Hall in Port of Spain. 

Photography by David Hou. Artistic Direction by Santee Smith.

Santee Smith is a mother, performer, an award-winning producer and choreographer. She is from the Kahnyen’kehàka (Mohawk) Nation, Turtle Clan from Six Nations, Ontario. Her dance journey began early and included attending Canada’s National Ballet School. She holds Kinesiology and Psychology degrees from McMaster University and a M.A. in Dance from York University. In 1996 the opportunity to choreography ignited her creative force and she produced her first major choreographic work, Kaha:wi in 2004. In 2005, Santee founded Kaha:wi Dance Theatre, a vehicle for her artistic work. Her artistic work speaks about identity and humanity. Her performances and collaborations have occurred in Canada, United States, Mexico, Australia, New Zealand, France, Japan and Indonesia. Discovering her dancing body is Santee’s life long inquiry. 

"As an artist, I hold performance in a sacred space, as it permeates socio-cultural interactions in my Kahnyen’kehàka heritage. Artistically, I explore the intersection of Indigenous dance forms and content with newly created movement language and performance. My work maintains fundamental Onkwehonwe understanding of music/dance, body and role of artist. Music and dance are celebrations of Life, the body is a vessel for the spirit and the artist is a cultural bearer. From this perspective, my work speaks about identity, contributing to contemporary Indigenous voice. I view my work as cultural activism, an affirmation of Indigenous contemporary existence, culture and worldviews."

Santee's three-week residency will focus on the creative development of an International Indigenous Women's Performance Project with collaborator, Monique Mojica. "Together, we will mine cultural material and through this archeological digging process, aim to uncover old ways of "knowing", negotiate the lines between tradition and contemporary, feed the spirits of Indigenous women who have suffered over the generations of colonization and acknowledge Mother Earth. Through our research, we will push the boundaries of contemporary Indigenous performance content and form". Smith's residency will include the following public events:

Performance. "NeoIndigenA". Friday, 3 October. 6:30pm. COCO Dance Festival. Queens Hall in St. Anns, Port of Spain

Master Class for COCO Dance Festival.  Saturday, 4 October.1:30pm to 3pm.  Onstage at Queens Hall

Performance. "NeoIndigenA". Saturday, 4 October. 7:30pm. COCO Dance Festival. Queens Hall in St. Anns, Port of Spain

Performance. "NeoIndigenA". Sunday, 5 October.  6:30pm COCO Dance Festival. Queens Hall in St. Anns, Port of Spain

OPEN STUDIO I. Monday, 6 October. 10am -2pm. Creative Development of "International Indigenous Women's Performance Project". Cascade Studios. Cascade, Port of Spain.

OPEN STUDIO II. Thursday, 9 October. 10am - 1pm. Creative Development of "International Indigenous Women's Performance Project". Caribbean School of Dancing, Port of Spain.

Master Class with Santee Smith of Kaha:wi Dance Theatre - Santee’s approach to teaching reflects fundamental Onkwehon:we understanding of ‪#performance‬, the body and role of ‪artists‬. Music and ‪#‎dance‬ are celebrations of life; the body is a vessel to house our spirit during this earthly existence and the artist’s role is storyteller and interpreter of symbol. The class aims to stimulate creativity and activate connections between body and spirit. The high energy and rigorous class focuses on body and spatial awareness with integration of Indigenous dance styles and performance training. The class weaves numerous training techniques Santee has learned over the years to foster fully embodied movement. The class structure is fluid based on the needs of the group and the moment however generally includes: organic/somatic awakening of the body, Indigenous dance styles, Muscle and Bone training system, physical conditioning, intuitive exploration and improvisation. Onkwehon:we social dances and Powwow styles are integrated throughout the class as well as the sharing of cultural knowledge that reflects concepts of Thanksgiving, sacredness and connection to living and spiritual universe. Muscle and Bone focuses on spatial awareness of the body moving through space and in relation to each other and offers a positive training effect, targeting core and cardiovascular strength and muscularity of the legs.

Monique Mojica (Guna and Rappahannock) is an actor/playwright and artist-scholar passionately dedicated to a theatrical practice as acts of healing, of reclaiming historical/cultural memory and of resistance. Spun directly from the family-web of Spiderwoman Theater, her first play "Princess Pocahontas and the Blue Spots" was produced in 1990. She is the co-editor, with Ric Knowles, of Staging Coyote’s Dream An Anthology of First Nations Drama in English, vols. I & II. A co-founder of Turtle Gals Performance Ensemble, Monique has taught Indigenous Theatre in theory, process and practice at the University of Illinois, the Institute of American Indian Arts and at McMaster University. She founded Chocolate Woman Collective in 2007 to develop the play "Chocolate Woman Dreams the Milky Way" that premiered in June 2011 and was created by devising a dramaturgy specific to Guna cultural aesthetics, story narrative and literary structure. She was most recently seen on stage in the re-mount of "Chocolate Woman Dreams the Milky Way" presented by Native Earth Performing Arts and in the role of Goneril in the NAC’s production Of "King Lear". Upcoming projects include "Side Show Freaks" and "Circus Injuns" co-written with LeAnne Howe and directed by Michael Greyeyes. 

While in residency with Santee Smith, Mojica will lead the following public event:

Artist Talk. Wednesday, 1 October. 6:30pm. The Philosophical Society at Studio 66 in Barataria. 

Additional public offerings will be posted. To contact Santee during her residency in Trinidad, call the Institute at 321-1430. Visit Santee’s website here: http://w.kahawidance.org. 

Let's Dance!