Black Excellence – Nickeshia Garrick
February is Black History Month. To honour Black excellence in the dance community, we’re spreading the word about some amazing Black artists and their upcoming events and creations. Today we’re shining the spotlight on Nickeshia Garrick.
Nickeshia, a longtime Kaeja collaborator, just completed a performance of a solo excerpt from Karen’s TouchX, which toured to Oregon in January as part of the Smith Fine Arts Series. She continues artistic explorations as a Kaeja Artist in Residence (KAIR) for 2023 thanks to the RBC Emerging Artists Program. (Stay tuned for an exciting update on where their work is headed!).
Nickeshia has a number of exciting projects in the works. In March 2023, Nickeshia will be touring with Jaberi Dance Theatre as a performer in No Woman’s Land. Currently in the creative process, they are rehearsing a duet with Tara Butler, which Tara commissioned Karen to create. This new work will be performed in June, 2023 at the Registry Theatre in Kitchener with Dust and Soul Dance Projects. Nickeshia will also be performing in an upcoming film adaptation of Allen’s I am the Child of… which will be filmed this spring.
AND…Look out for announcements of performances of Nickeshia’s solo “To My Past, Present, and Future…” this summer! “To My Past, Present, and Future... is about the deconstruction and reconstruction of self, where you will see the vulnerability and intimacy of my truths through the evolving relationship between a black body and nature.” – Nickeshia Garrick
Nickeshia’s Bio
Nickeshia Garrick is a settler on the stolen land of Tkaronto and has performed on this land for over 25 years. They are unapologetically a Black, Queer Artist, who believes in the healing power of breath through raw emotion and movement and teaches this breathwork at the Toronto Film School. Along with teaching at TFS, Nickeshia is a Certified Personal Trainer and Pilates Instructor and often offers free and discounted sessions to the IBPOC LGBTQ2S+ community in Toronto. Nickeshia holds their BFA in Dance from Simon Fraser University (Vancouver) and is a Dora Mavor Moore, winning and multi-nominated artist.
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A collage of photos of Nickeshia Garrick, a Queer, Afro-Caribbean Canadian artist with short kinky hair. Nickeshia is in motion and creating dynamic physical gestures in each image.