Dance at Guelph Gala 2026 Fashion & Art Event

This past Saturday marked my first performance of 2026, at the Guelph Gala, a fashion and art event hosted by Anna Morozova and We Are New Society, at the beautiful Guelph Youth Music Centre in Guelph, Ontario. I had previously performed a number of times at a number of Ontario fashion-based events, largely as entertainer between desginer exhibits and walks at events such as Rhythm of Asia (2024), Designer's Expo (2023, 2017, 2018 and 2019 and 2022, during which I, along with fellow Ensemble Topaz dancer Sara, also walked for two designers in addition to being the entertainer between exhibits), and I was excited to return to a fashion-based event.  

My performance opened the fashion segment for Esar Vogue Studios, the fashion design label of designer Showunmi Rofiyat Similoluwa. 

Movement influences of the dance included movements I had learned many years ago at a Modern/Contemporary dance class by Karen DeRose at Queen's University, along with turns influenced by my training in Central Asian dances, and also a few movements informed by Al Blackstone's theatrical jazz approach.

It was also greatly inspired by the vision of the designer Rofiyat herself. During a phonecall, she told me of her vision for her design line. I wanted to create a choreography that would also be rooted in her concept so that it could flow seamlessly from the dance segment into her design showcase. 

Here are a few photos by Jijo Francis Photography:

Photo Credit: Francis Jijo Photography

I loved being part of this event, and also saw a number of different creative friends at the event. It was a nice way to start the year of performing, especially since my first gig of the year got postponed to April due to the epic January snowstorm!