JAELYN JONES
with Ella Booth-Dorris, Clara Chemtov, Christiano DiDomenico, Danika Geen, Isabelle Lee & Staphanie Voinou (Travis Keith will be taking Stephanie’s role during the event).Jaelyn Jones is a Biracial Black Canadian/American, Toronto-based emerging dance artist. With movement research at the core of her passion, Jaelyn is interested in navigating the intersection between individual and collective experience. Jaelyn often creates interdisciplinary dance projects, incorporating fibre art installations, props, and interactive set pieces. Her passion as a fibre artist includes knitting, crocheting, and spinning wool.
Ella Booth-Doris is a pre-professional dance artist currently enrolled in her fourth-year of York University's dance program. Whilst at York, Booth-Doris has been a member of a competitive hip hop team called IE Crew, which has inspired her to integrate fusion-based qualities into her work and to advance her versatility as a dancer.
Clara Chemtov is a Montreal- and now Toronto-based contemporary dance artist. Now pursuing a bachelor's degree in Dance at York University, they are passionate about spunky and theatrical creation. Clara has been fortunate to work with notable choreographers including Alyssa Martin and Alireza Keymanesh, and looks forward to further developing their creative identity.
Christiano DiDomenico is a Toronto-based LGBTQ+ emerging artist originating from Niagara Falls, Ontario. He is in his fourth year as a dance major, visual art minor, and concurrent education student at York University. Post graduation DiDomenico will dance professionally, choreograph, and continue to develop his artistic voice.
Danika Geen is a queer interdisciplinary artist, specializing in choreography and performance. They are passionate about creating work surrounding human rights and equity, in the hopes that it provokes thought and leaves space for discussion. Danika plans to continue choreographing and performing in both contemporary and commercial dance styles in the future.
Isabelle Lee is a dance artist from Charlottetown, PEI. Lee is interested in exploring authenticity and collaborative creation through contemporary dance and improvisation. She values creating safe and expressive spaces where all voices are heard and valued. After graduation, she plans to pursue a multifaceted career as a dance teacher, choreographer, and performer.
Stephanie Voinou is an emerging dance artist, specializing in choreography and performance. She has studied under influential professors such as Tracey Norma, Susan Lee, and Syreeta Hector. She plans of creating dance works which focus on social justice issues to highlight struggles embedded within society.
Travis Keith is an emerging contemporary-modern dance artist focusing on choreography and performance. Keith is currently in his fourth year at York University, where he strives to weave his experiences as a queer person into his art. In the future, Keith plans to keep exploring his identity through art both in and out of Toronto.
@jaelyndjones
As tiny humans in a vast and expanding universe, how do our lives hold significance? From our perspective in an individual body, how can we maintain a connection to others, the world, the solar system, the galaxy, and the universe outside ourselves? “Isn’t Everything” attempts to answer these questions by drawing a linear timeline from the formation of the universe to the complexities of human experience. This dance piece is the continuation of a work I created in high school, “Cosmic Background” (2018), and reimagined last year for the student-run production Bloom, “Isn’t Anything(?)” (2023). “Isn’t Anything(?)” included a visual arts installation funded by the Norma Sue Fisher-Stitt Grant that I made by stringing up a web of intersecting knit and crocheted yarn pieces in a metal frame on wheels. “Isn’t Everything” expands on the use of the installation by incorporating new crocheted pieces made by the dancers who construct the web live during the piece. The frame begins as a portal into the world of the dance and becomes a visual representation of the interconnectedness of everything in the universe. All of the movement vocabulary comes from the performers through collaborative research, game scores, and task-based explorations. Throughout the rehearsal process, the performers and I wrote and shared poetry about significance, deepening our appreciation of how our tiny human experiences intertwine.
It’s so nice to exist within such a variety of textures, I want to experience everything - Clara
Interconnectedness: invisible strings connected from thing to thing a constant cycle connecting almost everything - Ella
Particles coming apart and together, a mess of matter all woven together - Isabelle
Out of everything in this universe, big and small, I am a human… viewed by the human eye I am existing - Christiano
I realize the many things I stress about now will become insignificant in the future, nothing but distant memories - Danika
I am really just a tiny speck on a tiny speck that happens to be rotating around the sun - Stephanie