Jeanette Kotowich & Kathleen Nisbet

Jeanette Kotowich is a multi-disciplinary iskwêw, independent dance artist, choreographer, producer, facilitator, and Auntie of Nêhiyaw Métis and mixed settler ancestry. Originally from Treaty 4 territory Saskatchewan, Jeanette creates work that reflects Nêhiyaw/Métis cosmology within the context of Indigenous performance, Indigenous futurism and contemporary dance. Her creations have been presented at theatres and festivals across so-called Canada, including Kwê at Matriarchs Uprising and The Dance Centre’s Dance In Vancouver. During the pandemic, Jeanette’s been creating a series of short experimental dance films and has been artist-in-residence at Raven Spirit Dance, NAC Indigenous Theatre, Shadbolt Centre and The Dance Centre. In the summer of 2020, she conducted land-based research in her home province of Saskatchewan, fusing interdisciplinary collaboration, de-colonial practices and embodied research towards the creation of Kisiskâciwan: Jeanette’s work references protocol, ritual, relationship to the natural/spirit world and Ancestral knowledge. Her practice is intergenerational and vocational; it’s a living and lived experience. Jeanette resides as a guest on the Ancestral and unceded Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish) Səl̓ilw̓ətaʔɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) and Xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam) territories, colonially known as Vancouver. movementhealing.ca

Kathleen Nisbet is a fiddle player, singer, songwriter and composer. Classically trained early on, she has since returned to her Métis roots, pursuing more traditional fiddle music and working in a variety of genres. She is an active member of Vancouver’s thriving bluegrass and folk scene, performing and touring across Canada and Internationally with her band Viper Central. Also a regular collaborator with V’ni Dansi Métis traditional dance, and Acuhko Simowuk Collective, she has composed for dance and theatre and is known locally for her live music productions including the annual East Van Opry in Vancouver.