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Biographies
HNM Dance Company, founded in 1995, is a contemporary/modern dance company based in Windsor, Ontario, Canada. With over fifty original dances and hundreds of performances under its wings, HNM is recognized for its sensual musicality, starkly dramatic, and wildly humorous repertoire. The company values collaborations with artists and organizations in all disciplines, and is committed to making dance accessible and enriching for everyone through public performances, workshops and classes. HNM has a dance series called, "Avant"; these dances are especially suited for orchestra concerts. One of the larger dances in this series is called, "Nutcracker X", commissioned by the Windsor Symphony Orchestra. After its winning premiere in 2001 the company was deemed "Exceptional Creative Group" by the City of Windsor. "BEAUTIFUL" -Windsor Star; "MESMERIZING" -Room Magazine. HNM Dance Company is a recipient of the Mayor's Award for Excellence in the Arts.
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Anh Nguyen is a music and dance artist from Canada. Presently he is principal choreographer and composer of HNM Dance Company and collaborating with innovative artists and organizations on multi-disciplinary projects for the 09/10 arts season. Nguyen makes regular guest appearances with progressive dance companies, symphony orchestras, art galleries, festivals and universities; including Dancetheatre David Earle, Danny Grossman Dance Company, 509 Dance Collective, Dance Teq, CADA British Columbia, American Ballet Theatre, Dance Nonce, Detroit Dance Collective, Eisenhower Dance Ensemble, Toronto Symphony Orchestra, Windsor Symphony Orchestra, Kalamazoo Symphony Orchestra, South Dakota Symphony Orchestra and Michigan Opera Theatre. He serves as advisor for Canada Council for the Arts and Ontario Arts Council, and was given the Mayor's Award of Excellence for Outstanding Artist. He has received a desirable amount of commissions and his works have been presented internationally by various dance and music ensembles. The Globe and Mail writes, "Nguyen's complex, energetic crisscross diagonals and clean, economical, athletic movements are as elegant as they are refreshing. brilliant stage pictures that perfectly mirrored the counterpoint and fugue of Bach's music. the ability to build very interesting dances on a clear, single focus." The Courier-Journal describes Nguyen's choreography as, "PURE PLEASURE".
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A r t i s t i c A s s o c i a t e
Katie Mecher-Williams is a native of Windsor, Ontario, Canada. She is currently the artistic associate and dancer of HNM Dance Company. Katie is a graduate of the 'Theatre Dance' program at Ryerson University in Toronto (1989). She has trained at the Minsk Choreographic School in Russia, with Toronto Dance Theatre, and with Ottawa's Le Groupe de la Place Royale. Katie has worked with a number of dance companies and has enjoyed both performing and participating in educational programming. Katie shares her love of the artform with the students of the musical theatre program at St. Clair College. She also works with the "Learning Through the Arts" program where she facilitates public school students in establishing dance as their voice and as a means of interpretation.
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Judith Aikman began dancing in her native country of Jamaica at the age of 6. She was given a solid foundation in Classical Dance at the Fay Simpson Dance School. Her love of the art form blossomed when exposed to Modern Dance under the tutelage of Neville Black and Jackie Guy. At the age of 23, Judy took on the challenge of dancing professionally with L'ACADCO, a Caribbean Modern Dance company, performing in Jamaica, Mexico and Holland. She migrated to Canada and found comfort and familiarity dancing as a member of HNM Dance Company. Judy has expanded her dance vocabulary by experimenting with Tap and Jazz at Cathy's Dance Studio. Judy's newest role in dance is that of Instructor in beginner Ballet and Modern dance at that studio.
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Sigrid Chistiansen has been dancing with HNM since 2005. With a B.A. in Drama from Franklin and Marshall College and training in modern dance and ballet, Sigrid danced with Chrysalis Dance Company in Providence, Rhode Island from 1977 to 1980. From 1980 to 1982 she danced as a free-lance dancer in Massachusetts, Rhode Island and New York working with choreographers such as Kitty Daniels, Ruby Shang, and Gerry Houlihan until retiring to teach and pursue other interests. Returning to Detroit, she taught and choreographed throughout the city until a knee injury sidelined her dancing completely until knee surgery in 2001. From 2002-2003 she stepped in to run the Cranbrook/Kingswood dance department when Jessica Sinclair suddenly retired. From 2003 to 2005 Sigrid was a guest dancer with Detroit Dance Collective where she first met Anh and performed a duet with him. In the 2004 and 2005 she performed her own solo dances with More Dances Contemporary Dance Company. Sigrid is also a singer, guitarist and songwriter. Her CD, In The Cradle Of The Moon, was released in July of 2009.
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Diana Fleming – Dancing more years than she can remember, Diana began her terpsichorean journey as a ballet student of Jack Bickle. As an adult, she was introduced to modern, jazz and country western dance and took numerous classes and workshops in these genres in Canada and the United States. She has performed with the Windsor Light Opera, University Dancers and HNM Dance Company. She has also been involved with dance as a board member of Gina Lori Riley Dance Enterprises and the University Dance Series and has taught social dance at the University of Windsor. She is grateful for the support and encouragement of her fellow HNM dancers and her partner, Cecil.
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Shanti Guirao is originally from stockton, california where she started her early training and danced with sacramento ballet. She received her BFA in dance performance from SMU in Dallas, TX., and upon graduating moved to new york city where she spent the last eleven years. She danced for Radio City Productions, Nai Ni Chen, Taylor II, David Grenke, Dario Vaccarro dance theatre, and Battleworks dance company. She also spent time teaching for city centers outreach program for inner city schools. She has performed throughout north america as well as abroad. She moved to Windsor in june '09, and is thrilled to be a part of this wonderful company.
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Leslie McCurdy, recipient of the 2000 Mayor’s Award for “Outstanding Performing Artist” of Windsor Ontario, has been performing for many years in Southwestern Ontario and the Mid-Western United States as an Actor, Dancer/Choreographer, and Singer. Also a teacher, with an honours B.F.A. in dance with teaching certification from the University of Michigan, Leslie served as choreographic and teaching assistant to Judith Jamison of the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre during several of her Detroit Residencies, and was slated to go to New York to apprentice with the Ailey Company when she literally tripped, fractured her hip, and fell into acting. While she has many theatre credits, Leslie is also known as a playwright and has written two one-woman plays that she has performed for twelve years touring Canada and parts of the United States seven months of the year with over 200 performances annually. “The Spirit of Harriet Tubman” was a finalist for a Canadian Chalmers Award for Best New Play for Young Audiences in 1999 and her second play “Things My Fore-Sisters Saw”, was filmed for TV and premiered on the Bravo Network in Canada in February 2006. She tries to return to her dance roots, her true love, and performs with HNM Dance Company in Windsor every chance she gets.
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Jasmin McGraw has been a member of HNM Dance Co. since 2000. Introduced to ballet at a young age, dance has since been a great passion. She started her training at the Dance Studio of Academie Ste. Ceceile 1988 and Windsor City Ballet 1995. Jasmin was drawn to the modest power and simplicity of contemporary dance. This passion grew and was unavoidable. She moved to Toronto in 2002 to begin her studies at the School of Toronto Dance Theatre (STDT). During her studies at STDT she performed works by a number of influential choreographers including Peggy Baker, Marc Boivin, Peter Chin, Christopher House, Sasha Ivanochko, and Michael Trent. After graduation she danced for José Navas in Montréal’s Springboard Danse Professional Project. Next was a year at Codarts’ Rotterdam Dance Academy in the Netherlands 2005. She collaborated with choreographer Aida Reza, visual artist Frans Huisman and performed works by Jérôme Meyer. That experience sparked the need to travel and the following year she was in Panama teaching English as a Second Language for St. Clair College. There, she also taught Dance to the Contemporary Dance students at the University of Panama. Jasmin is currently in her final semester of Massage Therapy at Canadian College of Health Science and Technology. Drawn to a mosaic of ambitions, she immerses herself into all her endeavours.
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Patricia Morneau is what could be called a late bloomer when it comes to dance—she took her first modern class with HNM hesitantly at forty years of age, attending with one of her daughters hoping to spark an interest in dance. Almost eleven years later, she is still taking classes (daughter had moved on to other activities!) and loving every minute of it. In her “other life”, Patricia obtained her Master of Social Work and has been employed with the Greater Essex County District School Board since 1990 after working for a number of social service agencies. She is actively involved in social justice initiatives locally. Being able to perform with HNM is truly living a dream. She is grateful for the encouragement, laughter, patience and friendship offered by everyone in the company and all who attend classes.
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Louise Paquette, a native of Windsor, ON, received her BFA as a dance major from York University in Toronto in 1995. Paquette has been a principle dancer with HNM Dance Company since 1997. Over the years Paquette has enjoyed several trips to Toronto to perform as a company member in the fringe Festival of Independent Dance Artists. She also had several opportunities to perform locally with the Windsor Symphony Orchestra; one of the partnership performances between HNM and the W.S.O. was a modern interpretation of the Nutcracker, in Dec. 2001. In Dec 2002 she performed the Nutcracker with the South Dakota Symphony Orchestra. Paquette has also been a principle dancer with Gina Lori Riley Dance Enterprises since 1997. One highlight for Paquette as a member of G.L.R.D.E., was her involvement in a short performance for the Canadian Prime Minister, Jean Cretien, in Sept 2000. Ms Paquette had the pleasure of dancing and training with Denise Szykula, as a member of Dance Nonce for the 1998 and 1999 seasons. Paquette teaches dance at the University of Windsor as a sessional instructor, at Acedemie Ste. Cecile Private School and as an artist in the classroom with the Learning Through the Arts program. Through performance and instruction, Louise continues to share her love of dance with others.
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