La Caravan Dance Theatre is one of Calgary’s most unique dance companies. The company blends traditional with contemporary dance to create an innovative international dance language combined with theatrical presentation. Under the artistic direction of Maya Lewandowsky since 2003, La Caravan has thrilled audiences across western Canada with electric, startling, and inherently original dance works of immense theatrical presence.
At the heart of La Caravan’s uniqueness is the company’s vision to create a platform facilitating the exploration of virgin territories of the mind and to expand the perceptions of the spectators. La Caravan speaks with an ancient yet completely contemporary voice to people everywhere by touching human emotions – the last refuge of the human spirit.
Staff
Maya Lewandowsky – Artistic Director
Maya Lewandowsky began her craft at the early age of 3. She spent most of her youth at the Bat-Dor dance school in Tel-Aviv. She holds an advanced diploma from the Royal Academy of Dance in London and studied classical opera singing for 2 years and contemporary vocal techniques for 5 years with the Tel-Aviv University.
Maya studied for 16 years with international teachers including acclaimed choreographers and companies such as Lar Lubovitch, Gigi Caciuleanu, Luciano Cannito, Inbal Pinto and the Bat-Dor Dance Company, where she eventually became a soloist.
Trained in classical ballet, she expanded her skills to incorporate modern and jazz. She has been performing and touring professionally in Europe, North America and Asia for over two decades. She moved to Canada in 2002 where she thrilled audiences across western Canada with her high calibre performance and unique style.
Maya’s choreography and dance works include “Experiment on the Adagio”, “Comme Barbare”, “Potence”, “Slugs”, “The Corridor”, “Contrast”, “The Queen the Bear and the Bumble Bee” and her latest creation, “Dybbuk” a contemporary dance opera, will debut in 2012.
She teaches at the Wild Flower Arts Centre, The Epcor Centre, the University of Calgary Dance Program and the School of Alberta Ballet.
Jenna Shummoogum – Executive Director
Jenna Shummoogum graduated from the Haskayne School of Business with her bachelor of commerce in 2009. She started her arts career with Swallow A Bicycle Theatre and moved onto La Caravan Dance from there. She is a connector and has a passion for narrative within all creative forms. She is a writer, reviewing theatre and dance around the city. She works in the Alberta political sphere for a local MLA and also does marketing contracts to various arts organizations. Read her blog or follow her on Twitter.
Performers
Nicole Charlton
Born and raised in Maple Ridge, B.C. Nicole began her early dance training at Peggy Peats School of Dance. She later joined the professional training program at Tri City Dance Centre and during that time was also a member of the Royal City Youth Ballet Company. Nicole moved to Calgary in 2003 to join the B.A. Ballet program at the University of Calgary and School of Alberta Ballet. Nicole graduated in 2007 with a Bachelor of Arts degree, in a collaborative program of Dance (ballet) and Kinesiology. Since graduating Nicole has trained and performed throughout Canada and and has been seen dancing in many well known festivals such as the Guelph Contemporary Dance Festival, the Calgary High Performance Rodeo, and the Alberta Dance Festival.
Megan Gole
Megan Gole originally a Prairie girl has been teaching, dancing and performing within the Calgary dance community for the past 9 years. She has had the opportunity to travel, take class and perform in Poland, Finland, Toronto and Montreal. While in Montreal she took professional dance class with Dana Gingras, Angelique Wilkie, Sylvain Lafortune, Ginelle Gangon, Marc Boivin, Darryl Tracy, Benoit Lachambre, Anne Thierbult, and Norman Marcy and received her training in GYROKINESIS® and Gyrotonic® with Pascale Leonard. Megan received her Bachelor of Arts in Dance at the University of Calgary in 2005 and completed her second year of her Masters in Fine Arts. This past year Megan danced in Dance Explosions with LaCaravan dance projects and performed In the Children’s Opera The Queen the bear and the bumblebee.
Serenella Argueta
Serenella Argueta started dancing ballet at the age of three and completed her studies with Gisela Paz de la Rosa Ballet School located in Maracaibo, Venezuela. At the age of seventeen, she moved to Canada and took ballet and contemporary classes at Harbour Dance and Goh Ballet, in Vancouver, British Columbia. In the summer of 2010, Serenella decided to explore new classical ballet techniques and went to Spain to take a summer international program with the Cuban “Instituto Superior de Danza Alicia Alonso”. Later in the same year, she began studying Dance at the University of Calgary, and started pursuing a career as a choreographer at the Alberta Dance Festival 2011 where she choreographed and performed a piece entitled “Space Boundaries”. She has also performed in Dance Montage, Mainstage and Alberta Dance festival with La Caravan.
This past summer, Serenella attended the San Francisco Conservatory of Dance summer intensive, where she was part of a choreographic residency. After the SF Conservatory program, Serenella attended the Alonzo King Lines Ballet summer program where she took ballet, contemporary, hip hop, and jazz classes. She will be part of an artistic collaboration in SPARK for the Fluid Festival where she will perform and choreograph. Serenella is currently in her third year of the Dance and Political Science Program at the University of Calgary and is developing a career as a choreographer.
Derek Demassi
Derek’s is an interactive media artist with a background in information science and biology. Derek’s work experiments with generative visual programming, interaction design, and motion capture. Using various design methodologies, mediums or genres, he is continually researching and developing boundary pushing multimedia systems. Derek seeks opportunities to bridge the gap between Science and Art.
La Caravan's Board
Evangelos Diavolitsis – President
Evangelos is a performance artist, actor, social venturist, entrepreneur, organizational leader and a certified 5Rhythms movement facilitator. Evangelos studied method Acting at the Equity Showcase Theatre in Toronto. He was trained in Voice, Movement and On-Camera Scene Study. He began working in commercial film in the mid – nineties. He was employed as an actor, location scout and buyer. In 2001 he collaborated and consulted the Gemini Award winning Director and Writer, Andy King. He studied in New York under acclaimed theatre director and international recording artist Gabrielle Roth. This is where he learned the technique of a movement practice known as the 5Rhythms. He practices daily and teaches workshops in North America and Asia. Evangelos later moved to Calgary and became the Executive Director of the non-profit organization – La Caravan Dance Theatre. He eventually became La Caravan’s Board President raising their profile internationally.
He has a degree in Urban Studies and Policy from the University of Toronto with a minor in Italian Cinema. In 2007 he trained with American Business Consultant Dani Johnson. He has a passion for integrating the arts with business and wishes to empower artists everywhere to be employed in the field that allows their passion to be expressed and their curiosity to be fulfilled.
Gordon Laird
Gordon Laird’s writing and commentary have been featured on CNN, the BBC, National Public Radio, CBC Radio and Television, Mother Jones, Alberta Views, and The Walrus. His most recent book, The Price of a Bargain, was named a Globe and Mail Best Book for 2009, and is currently being published in several languages. He lives in Calgary.
Marla Orenstein
Marla Orenstein is an epidemiologist who consults on population health issues for business, government and academia. in 2006 she co-founded Habitat Health Impact Consulting, a Calgary-based company that helps decision-makers and stakeholders to understand how social, economic and physical environments affect human health. Ms. Orenstein’s recent project management experience includes conducting projects on behalf of the Public Health Agency of Canada, the National Collaborating Centre for Healthy Public Policy, the Alberta Cancer Bureau, Alaska’s North Slope Borough, Royal Dutch Shell, and the Departments of Health and Social Services of the Northwest Territories, Yukon and Nunavut.
Ms. Orenstein holds a B.A. from McGill University on the fascinating but relatively useless topic of linguistic change in English from the year 800 to 1300, and a much more practical M.Sc. in Epidemiology from the University of Edinburgh. Marla is also a long-time, heavy-duty, recreational dancer with a background in modern, ballet, jazz, tap, African, contemporary and other styles.
Georgia Hasapes
Georgia is a passionate event planner with a background in marketing and communications. She has been organizing corporate and not-for-profit events since 2000. She grew up in Calgary and completed her Bachelor of Arts from the University of Calgary in 1997. After graduating, she began specializing in marketing and quickly leveraged her experience in event management. Over her career, she has managed a portfolio of over 300 events including being involved with the organizing committee for the Greek Festival. She also helped expand the Mardi Gras in Marda Loop and created a frequent rewards card for the businesses in the area.
Having a passion for arts and culture, she later decided to study mosaic art in Chicago. She created her own studio and participates in art markets and teaches classes at various studios in her spare time.
Supporting Artists
Elan Pratt
Elan has been involved in theatre for over 20 years. Currently she is a company member with Theatre Encounter and has performed in their productions of The Glass Menagerie, Caligula, The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari and Death and Devil. She is also an ensemble member with Maple Salsa Theatre having performed in The Dali Hours, Macula, Neruda Nude and The Lorca Trilogy. She is a graduate of the University of Calgary’s Drama Program, has attended the Canadian National Voice Intensive and trained with Massachusetts’ Double Edge Theatre. Elan also turns her talents to directing, producing, publicity and administration.
Greg Debicki
Greg Debicki is a Calgary-based composer and new media artist. He studied at the Dartington College of Arts and Alberta College of Art and Design. Currently he’s working with La Caravan Dance Company, programming movement and sound responsive projections and generative music for their upcoming performance at Central United Church in Calgary.
Under the pseudonym Woulg, his music has been released on net labels based in Denmark and Germany with an upcoming release on Outlier Recordings from Brooklyn, NY. The music stems from errors and glitches (much like the name, which was originally a typo) and is based around the idea of “things falling apart in beautiful ways”.
Greg’s credits with La Caravan Dance Theatre include: First Thursday Taster – 2011 and La Soirée – 2011.
Matthew Unger
The opportunity to perform, choreograph, train, and teach internationally have been highlights of Matthew’s career. Having first performed with the Calgary Boys Choir with whom he toured across Europe, western Canada, and into the USA. Matthew has since, appeared with La Caravan Dance Theatre, The Alberta Dance Festival, and twice as a guest artist with YouMove Dance Company from Sydney Australia. Matthew has also had the opportunity to take part in both the Short-n-Sweet-n-Dance festival, and the Fast-n-Fresh dance Festival in Sydney Australia.
Matthew’s credits with La Caravan Dance Theatre include: First Thursday Taster – 2011 and Flash Dance on Stephen Avenue – 2011.
