KUUMBA 365 Masterclass: Syreeta Hector
Sat Feb 15 2025
2:00 PM – 4:00 PM
Join Syreeta Hector for a movement session that invites participants of all levels to explore the intersection of identity, race, and classical ballet. Emphasizing comfort and openness, this workshop offers an opportunity to connect through dance, moving with intention and expression. Syreeta brings her expertise as a teacher and performer, offering a space to engage with movement in a supportive and creative environment.
As part of KUUMBA 365: Second Edition, Syreeta Hector has created a dance piece in response to Charles Campbell’s How many colours has the sea at The Power Plant. Inspired by Campbell’s profound exploration of the Middle Passage, colonial legacies, and collective healing, Syreeta’s movement language reflects the intricate layers of identity, memory, and resilience. Her work channels the emotional depth and spiritual weight of the exhibition, using dance to evoke a sense of connection, loss, and the ongoing journey towards reclamation. Syreeta's performance will be presented at the Harbourfront Centre Theatre on February 1, 2025.
Syreeta Hector is a dance artist and educator in Toronto, Ontario. As a highly accomplished performer, Syreeta has worked for internationally recognized companies like Adelheid Dance Projects, Danny Grossman Dance Company, Peggy Baker Dance Projects, Political Movement, and Toronto Dance Theatre. She is a proud graduate of The National Ballet School’s Teacher Training Program, The School of Toronto Dance Theatre. She has achieved her Master of Arts in Dance Studies from York University.
Her work, “Black Ballerina,” focuses on the dualities within one's identity, along with Syreeta’s blackness and indigeneity in relation to classical ballet. This short work-in-progress solo gained recognition at the Summer Works Festival in 2019 and won the Stratford Festival Lab Award for Research and Creation. In 2019, “Black Ballerina” was nominated for a Dora Mavor Moore Award and is currently being performed internationally.
She is an Assistant Professor in the Theatre, Dance, and Performance Department at York University.