Returning to the Aki Studio stage for Weesageechak Begins to Dance 27 is performance artist Nicole Joy-Fraser. Toronto-based artist of Woodland Cree, Métis and European descent.
Nicole Joy-Fraser is thrilled to be returning to the Weesageechak Begins to Dance festival immediately after performing in Keith Barkerʼs The Hours That Remain at Magnus Theatre in Thunder Bay.
“The opportunity to create, discuss, explore the Indigenous experience through storytelling is a lifetime passion of mine and doing this with other like-minded artists and then sharing that expression with an audience is my idea of happiness,” says Joy-Fraser.
“I am always open to lending my voice, body and spirit to helping tell a fellow Indigenous artists’ story. Becoming a vessel to relay a message and make an impact is part of what moves me as an artist and to have have that exchange with an audience is totally rewarding.”
“Becoming a vessel to relay a message and make an impact”
With the recent rise of Indigenous rights making headlines, and the environmental crisis becoming more and more apparent, Joy-Fraser believes audiences owe it to themselves to come to see the work at Weesageechak Begins to Dance. It’s a chance “to understand how we as a people have come to be in this world, to understand our perspective, because that will bridge our relationship to the land and ultimately to each other and all of creation.”
Some of Joy-Fraser’s recent credits include: Stag and Doe, Kitchen Radio, World Premieres (Blyth Festival); A Man A Fish, World Premiere (Persephone Theatre); Anne of Green Gables, Evangeline World Premiere (The Charlottetown Festival). Selected Credits: The Penelopiad (Nightwood Theatre); Raven Stole the Sun (Red Sky/Vancouver 2010 Cultural Olympiad); Tombs of the Vanishing Indian (Native Earth/Red Diva) Giiwedin-A First Nations Opera (Native Earth/AIRR)
Some bits and bobs about Nicole Joy-Fraser
What was your first job in theatre?
I was exempted from my final term of training at the Randolph Academy to join the original North American cast of Mamma Mia! at the Royal Alex Theatre which was totally a dream come true.
What’s next for you?
A workshop of “Evangeline” with Citadel Theatre and Charlottetown Festival and then Spy Denomné-Welch’s workshop of his next opera which will be sung in Anishnaabe-mowin, French and English.
Thanks Nicole!
You can catch Nicole Joy-Fraser on various nights throughout the festival with a Weesageechak Begins to Dance 27 Festival Pass. More About Tickets