Immigrant Lessons Artist Residency at Massey Theatre

We are thrilled to introduce a new dance company in residence with Immigrant Lessons led by Artistic Director Kevin Fraser. This residency is part of a larger, multidisciplinary program called We Are Multitudes which has been developed by the Massey through the work of Artistic Associates Justine Chambers and Khari Wendell McLelland.

Kevin Fraser is a prominent and revolutionary figure in the Vancouver dance, fashion, film, and theatre communities. He is a multi-faceted performer and creator whose work has been seen all around the world in festivals and showcases.  In addition to Immigrant Lessons, Kevin is a cofounder of the Vogue collective The Coven (with Ralph Escamillan and Ross Wirtanen). He is an established dancer in the styles of Vogue, Waacking, House dance, Contemporary, and Jazz, to name a few.

Immigrant Lessons has been working in the Massey Theatre since January developing new productions which will be performed later this year. The Massey provides fees, funding to artistic mentors and advisors, technical and equipment support, access to the stage and support for a series of community activities which will kick off this month. Three artists have been selected, including Fraser. The details of the other artists will be released in the weeks to come.

As part of their residency, Immigrant Lessons is sharing FREE workshop opportunities prioritizing BIPOC and marginalized youth under 21 beginning on March 15^th.

These workshops include:

Grooving Foundations with Sophia Gamboa (Hip Hop) starting March 15th

Salu/Salo with Sophia Gamboa (Gathering) starting March 24th

Breaking Lessons and Sessions with Josh Cameron starting April 6th

Philosophy and Dance with Sevrin Emnacen-Boyd starting April 15th

More information on the workshops can be found on our website.

REGISTER HERE

About Immigrant Lessons
Established in 2016, Immigrant Lessons is a Vancouver- based, international multidisciplinary art collective/platform utilizing: dance, theatre, music, fashion, visual media, and visual design. This collective creates, plays, and currently is based on the on the unceded territories of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish), and Sel̓íl̓witulh (Tsleil-Waututh) Nations. As underground artists and street dancers, they like to express deep love and gratitude for the innovations of black people and black culture. The collective is directed/founded by Queer Black multidisciplinary artist, Kevin Fraser. It’s current interpreters/company members are Sharon Lee, Sophia Gamboa, Josh Cameron, Sevrin Emnacen-Boyd, Tegvaran Singh, Simran Sachar, and Hayden Pereira. With a shared love of movement and art, Immigrant Lessons incorporates their extensive street dance background, experimental practice, contemporary ideology, multidisciplinary skill set, and the investigation of societal norms and intersections to give voice and visibility to marginalized and oppressed communities/individuals.