Welcome to the Fifth’s 2026 Intensive

Over two weeks we’ll be hosting 10 pop-up workshops from acclaimed artists in the city and 2 creation processes led by Dora award-winning artists Jessie Garon and Alyssa Martin. At the end of each week, the processes will culminate in a show at the Citadel alongside guest performances curated by The Fifth.

(see call for artists at the bottom of the page).

What are my options?

This year we’ve given you lots of options to train the way that best serves you.

Looking for inspiration from a variety of artists? Join our morning guest workshops and explore diverse movement perspectives.
Want to be part of a creation process but can’t commit to a full day? Engage in a focused one-week creation process with either Alyssa Martin or Jessie Garon, and perform a brand-new piece at The Citadel at the end of the week.
Seeking a comprehensive, immersive experience? Opt for our traditional two-week full-day intensive—the best value option—designed to deepen your knowledge, and technique and expand your artistry.

Stream 4 is Open Now - Limited spots are available (8 per week)

REGISTER FOR STREAM 4 WEEK 1

REGISTER FOR STREAM 4 WEEK 2

Workshop Facilitators:

Bonnie Kim, Nickeshia Garrick, Colleen Snell, Peggy Baker, Kwasi Obeng-Adjei, Debbie Wilson, Martha Hart, Sid Ryan Eilers, Tina Fushell, Miyeko Ferguson and Jera Wolfe.

Bonnie Kim

Bonnie is a Toronto-born and raised contemporary dance artist. For more than 37 years,

she has built a, sometimes, thriving portfolio career that includes teaching, choreographing, performing, rehearsal directing, writing and outside-eyeing.

Her diverse range of experiences include an impressive roster of choreographers, dancers, training institutions, and decades of extraordinary, often intangible, moments that keep her going.

snapshot:

• Named one of Toronto’s top five dancers by Eye Weekly.

• Multiple Dora Award nominee for Outstanding Ensemble Performance and Choreography.

• Former Rehearsal/Associate Director of Dancemakers.

• Performed with Randy Glynn Dance Project, Winnipeg’s Contemporary Dancers,

Fondation Jean-Pierre Perreault, Claudia Moore, Hanna Kiel.

• Co-Choreographed Divine Interventions, Corpus Dance Projects.

• Rehearsal directed hundreds of amateur dancers in Sylvain Émard’s Le

Grand Continental.

• Trained at Claude Watson School for the Arts, School of Toronto Dance Theatre

(now Dance Arts Institute/DAI).

• On faculty at DAI, Toronto Metropolitan University.

• Published in Dance Current, Eye Weekly, Toronto Star, Toronto Life, Fall for

Dance North program magazines.

• Blogs at emmandbee.wordpress.com

Nickeshia Garrick

Nickeshia Garrick is a settler on the stolen land of Tsi Tkarón:to (Toronto) and has performed on this land for over 25 years. They are unapologetically a Black, Queer Performing Artist, who believes in the healing power of breath through raw emotion, movement and storytelling. Nickeshia received her dance training at the NYIDE (New York Institution of Dance and Education), National Ballet School of Canada (Tkarón:to), Toronto Dance Theatre (Tkarón:to), and Simon Fraser University (Vancouver). Her classical vocal and theatre training was achieved at Eastwood Collegiate Institute (Kitchener). Nickeshia has had the honour of training with Sean McLeod (New York) to achieve her certification in Sean McLeod’s Reinforced Motor Function Technique®, RMF®. Her extensive dance training includes Bakari E. Lindsay, Arsenio Andrade, Rob Kitsos, Peter Bingham, and Christopher House. Nickeshia has received the privilege of performing in pieces by TDT, Tara Butler, Kaeja d’ Dance, Serge Bennathan, James Kudelka, Ballet Jorgen, the Newton Moraes Dance Theatre and Kaha:wi Dance Theatre.

Nickeshia is an award-winning and multi-nominated artist who holds a BFA in Dance from Simon Fraser University (Vancouver), and is a Co-Founder of CinnaMoon Collective, a 2x Dora-nominated dance collective. Nickeshia is currently working on the next iteration of her solo work, the ties that Bind us, the ties that Bond us, which recently showed as part of Toronto Dance Theatre (TDT) Eyes on Beginnings Sharing Fall 2025 at the Winchester Street Theatre.

Lastly, community connection and knowledge sharing are imperative parts of Nickeshia’s practice. They are currently working with the Jamii on the Esplanade community, offering free movement/creation workshops to older adults.

Colleen Snell

Colleen is obsessed with storytelling; it shows in her multidisciplinary practice. She's an educator, dramaturge, world builder, placemaker, fight director, and sound designer - but she's most passionate about movement and dance as a vehicle for human expression. Colleen is the Artistic Director of Frog in Hand, a dance company she cofounded. For over 10 years she has devised and performed with Frog in Hand, generating cultural capital in her hometown of Mississauga and advocating for contemporary dance in a suburban setting. Colleen's choreography incorporates large, ensemble casts and themes inspired by science fiction. Her site-specific work has appeared in a brew pub, rowing club, arena, factory, sawmill, gym, and splash pad - as well as in educational institutions and on stages across Canada (Springboard Danse, Guelph Dance Festival and Metropolitan University).

Colleen completed her MA with Distinction at the London Contemporary Dance School in England, and as a newly certified Fight Instructor with Fight Directors Canada, she enjoys teaching stage combat to dancers and nondancers alike.

Peggy Baker

Peggy Baker has been a vivid presence in contemporary dance for five decades, performing internationally in the work of Lar Lubovitch, Mark Morris (with Mikhail Baryshnikov’s White Oak Dance Project), Doug Varone, Tere O’Connor, Molissa Fenley, and Charles Moulton (New York); Fortier Danse-Creation (Montreal); Toronto Dance Theatre, Dancemakers and James Kudelka (Toronto). She established Peggy Baker Dance Projects in 1990, and for the first 20 years she dedicated herself to solo performance, winning rapturous praise for the eloquence and depth of her dancing and accolades for her collaborative partnerships with extraordinary choreographers, directors, musicians, and designers. Beginning in 2010 her choreography shifted focused to works for small ensemble and co-creation with new generation dancers. Over its 33-year history, Peggy Baker Dance Projects was presented at major festivals, theatres and alternative spaces across Canada, and the U.S. (including Los Angeles, Jacob’s Pillow, and multiple venues in New York City), as well as Mexico, Argentina, Belgium, the Netherlands, Denmark, Korea, and Japan.

Ms. Baker’s many honours include The Order of Canada, the Walter Carsen Prize, the Premiere’s Award, the Governor General’s Award, Honorary Doctorates from York and the University of Calgary, TAPA’s Silver Ticket, and six Doras. She is a past fellow of the Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity and Italy’s Bogliasco Foundation. Her dedicated teaching practice has been shared at School of TDT / DAI, Simon Fraser, New York University, Julliard, The School at Jacob’s Pillow, American Dance Festival, and Canada’s National Ballet School, among a multitude of other programs.

Kwasi Obeng-Adjei

Kwasi Obeng-Adjei is a Brampton-based multidisciplinary artist, emerging choreographer, and dance educator whose practice is rooted in traditional African forms and African street dance. With over a decade of experience in the dance community, Kwasi has built an impressive performance and creative resume, including appearances with the Pan Am Games, Giants of Africa Gala, Raptors Halftime Show, Asake Canadian Tour, AfroFest, Luminato Festival, Kultureland Festival, and many more.

Kwasi has made a continued commitment to promoting and sharing dance within his community. He recognizes the importance of strengthening the dance ecosystem in Ontario and providing tangible opportunities for youth—beginning with workshops, programs, and cultural events that celebrate and educate.

Kwasi’s choreographic journey expanded in 2023 when he presented an original work at Night Shift, produced by Citadel + Compagnie and co-presented with Fall for Dance North. Drawing on a free-form, exploratory approach, his work is driven by connection, cultural lineage, and curiosity.

In 2025, Kwasi presented Echoes of the Same Tree in collaboration with Nigerian-based artist Ambrose Tjark as part of Homegrown Signature 2 programming for Fall for Dance North, marking a significant milestone in his artistic development.

Debbie Wilson

Debbie Wilson has created a repertoire of critically acclaimed productions,including Aphrodite Unveiled, Raphael is whispering and Homo Office Sapiensis that in 2002 received a Dora Mavor Moore nomination for "Outstanding New Choreography". Through her international collaborative works like Planetarium (with Macedonia) and Diary of an Exile (with Trinidad and Tobago) she has introduced outstanding foreign artists in dance, music and art to Toronto while representing Toronto and Canada on the world stage. In October 2005, Wilson was honored to be invited to present Planetarium at the United Nations' Assembly Hall in Geneva, Switzerland for one of the events celebrating the 60th Anniversary of the United Nations.

Wilson is a dance and social activist who believes in using her art to forge ties between people and cultures through projects that foster greater understanding between the participants. Her choreographic themes reflect our current social environment and provide insights to the many facets of the human condition. "Powerful", "Riveting", and a "Fierce creative vision" are words that critics have used to describe Debbie Wilson's creations.

Wilson began her professional career with the Cincinnati Ballet Company at the age of 12 where she was later promoted to soloist and rehearsal assistant. She has worked as dancer/rehearsal mistress for The American Dance Machine, Les Ballets Jazz de Montreal, Howard Richard & Dancers and Ballet Jorgen. She has also worked for the Judith Marcuse Repertory Dance Company, the Randy Glynn Dance Project as well as many independent choreographers across Canada and the U.S. Wilson's passion for learning has enabled her to become proficient in three techniques; ballet, the Horton technique in modern and the Jack Cole technique of jazz.

Wilson continues to teach and guide the next generation of dancers and creators. She is a company teacher for Ballet Jorgen, Randolph School for the Performing Arts, the School of Toronto Dance Theatre and the Ontario School of Ballet. She encourages students that she works with to push their physical limits, to embrace new experiences, to respect other people's views, to bring their own life experiences into their art and most of all to dare to fail in the pursuit of new ideas. For Wilson it is a mutual learning process.

If asked today what she is working on, Wilson would say that she is looking for the perfect melding of technical proficiency (which drove her passion for dance) and drama (which gave her the most emotional satisfaction as a performer) and social statement (which guides her life). Her passion for discovery has and continues to draw accomplished artists in dance, theatre, art, design and music into her world of self growth, social consciousness and the selfless sharing of knowledge.

Tina Fushell

Tina Fushell, a lover of art, dance, flowers, and laughter, was born and raised in St. John’s, Newfoundland, on the ancestral homelands of the Mi’kmaq and Beothuk peoples, and now lives and works in Tkaronto/Toronto. As a performer, she has collaborated with choreographers Valerie Calam, Ame Henderson, Christopher House, and Darryl Tracy, and presented work at festivals including Dusk Dances, Porch View Dances, Festival of New Dance, Dance: Made in Canada, LEGS, Short and Sweet, and SummerWorks. Tina has held roles as co-artistic director of the Toronto Dance Community Love-In, curatorial associate at SummerWorks, and most recently performed in the Moonhorse Dance Theatre's presentation of Phalanx: Revival as part of SummerWorks and presented a new solo “Unraveled Bloom” at the Citadel Dance Exchange 2026. Outside of her artistic practice, Tina works as a florist.

Schedules

*(Click on schedule images to enlarge)*

Who is this for?

This intensive is geared towards emerging artists & professional dancers, post-secondary students, and or pre-professional dancers in their final years of training (18+).

Do I need to apply? If so, how?

If you are enrolling in a stream that involves a creation process (Streams 1, 2, and 3), you must complete the application form below. Applications are accepted on a first-come, first-served basis, provided you meet the prerequisites outlined in the application.

Please send us your bio and a short video of you moving (either improvisation or set choreography).

SUBMIT YOUR APPLICATION

APPLY TODAY – SPACE IS LIMITED!
Click the button above to complete our short and simple application form. Successful applicants who register by Sunday, January 25th qualify for Early Bird Rates!

Community-funded Summer Intensive spots

Thanks to the incredible generosity and fundraising event hosted by faculty member Lauren Janeway and her team at Humber Polytechnic- Michaela Hoferica, Kemi Akinyode, Ivy Ha and Maariyah Mohuiddin, we can offer three subsidized spots to our Summer Intensive at a highly discounted rate.
(45% off our full two-week intensive)

Eligibility criteria:
→ Those who identify as IBPOC
→ Those who are interested in attending the full two-week Summer Intensive but are unable to do so due to a lack of financial security or familial support.
→ Dancers age 18+ (emerging artists, professional dancers, post-secondary students and pre-professional dancers in their final years of training)
→ Those who fit the prerequisites detailed in the application and are accepted into the intensive.

How to apply:
Apply through the regular Summer Intensive Google form and fill out the last question expressing your need for financial support.

These spots will be filled on a first come first serve basis, given you meet all the prerequisites for the intensive and the criteria for the subsidized spot.

SUBMIT YOUR APPLICATION