Our Team

Sofi Gudiño is a dance artist, drag king and community organizer based in Toronto. Raised in flamenco and established in contemporary dance, Sofi’s work is marked by emotional intensity and choreographic risk. Gudiño began flamenco studies as a child at the Academy of Spanish Dance with Esmeralda Enrique, and has since continued in Spain with Úrsula López, Alicia Márquez, Pastora Galván, Lorena Franco and many others. In 2014, Sofi founded the Inamorata Dance Collective as a site to explore flamenco outside of its traditional presentations. As a choreographer, Gudiño has enjoyed residencies at The Toronto Dance Theatre, Dancemakers, and the National Ballet of Canada’s Open Space, with choreographic premieres including Nuit Blanche, Pride, and with their award nominated piece, Picaza, in Toronto Fringe. Sofi was nominated in the 2023 Johanna Performing Arts Prizes for their recognized impact on the field, and assumed the role of Festival Director at Dusk Dances in 2024.

Shivani Joshi’s artistic practice stems from years of embodying Bharatnatyam training and Indian Folk dance styles. She continues to nurture her artistic practice with pieces that combine props and narrative to explore modern stories, and she plays with visual metaphor in physical form. Shivani graduated with an MA in Performance Studies from NYU Tisch in 2021, where her dissertation focused on communities of women creating cultural spaces, colonialism in India, and how it affected Bharatnatyam as a whole. Shivani is a Professor at Centennial College, teaching Contemporary Performance Analysis, and is the Writer-In-Residence at Nova Dance. Shivani’s producing background spans through years of highlighting multicultural and folk festivals in the South Asian Dance diaspora. As the incoming General Manager of Dusk Dances, Shivani continues to serve communities of global majority in her work.

Uche Ama is a Black queer theatre arts and vocal performer born on the stolen Indigenous land Tkaronto. Deeply passionate about cathartic art that intrigues, creates discomfort and makes you ask questions, they are an anti-oppression facilitator , a 3 time Dora nominated graduate of the Music Theatre Performance program at St Clair College and an alumni of the prestigious 'Broadway Theatre Project'.

Direction credits include Apology, My By Kieth Barker, A Deja Vu Revue: Triangle d’Or Cabaret and an assistant director credit for Women Of The Fur Trade @ The Globe Theatre. Movement facilitation credits include work with Toronto Fringe, Adornment Stories and Jaberi Dance Theatre.

Jade Silman (she/her) is a director, dramaturg, and administrator who works in Toronto’s theatre and dance sectors. In her artistic practice, she strives to create opportunities for professional development and community gathering, centring collaboration, equity, and passion in all of her work. Since graduating from York University’s Theatre BFA, she has continued to learn through the Nightwood Innovators Program, Theatre Gargantua’s Emerging Artists Roundtable, and Toronto Fringe Festival’s TENT producers training program. Currently, she is the Artistic Associate & Head of Communications for Nightwood Theatre and Associate Producer at Next Generation Showcase. Additionally, she has worked as a freelance dramaturg and arts administrator for companies including Canadian Stage, Crow’s Theatre, BoucharDanse, Arts Commons and CBC/Zone 3.

Sylvie Bouchard is originally from Tiohtià:ke (Montréal), where she began her dance training. She joined Toronto Dance Theatre in 1985 and performed nationally and internationally with the company for five years. Sylvie has worked with many choreographers including Denise Fujiwara, the late Tedd Robinson, Lina Cruz, Yvonne Coutts, Marie-Josée Chartier, Sashar Zarif and Roger Sinha. In 1993, Sylvie incepted Dusk Dances and continued to lead and grow the organization for 30 years, until 2023. In 1997 she formed CORPUS with artistic partner David Danzon and with him, co-created eight works that toured nationally and internationally. In 2008, Sylvie formed BoucharDanse Productions, an umbrella organization for her artistic practice, research, projects and activities (bouchardanse.com).