The Hyphenated Canadians

"...the first move you do is smiling"

Here's Gregory, who came to Canada from France, with family roots in Congo. He swears by Toronto's welcoming demeanour and boundless opportunities. Gregory's fluid personality is warm and thoughtful. His breezy urban sophistication affirms his upbringing in Paris,but as a dancer with his African roots and sensibilities he emanates a strong, grounded physical presence.

During the shoot he tells me about "La Sapologie", a social movement centered in Brazzaville, the capital of Congo, embodying the elegance in style and manners of colonial dandies as a means of resistance. It’s a subject which resonates with Gregory because it brings together his love for French culture and its local permutations in the African continent, but also a dark history of colonialism and oppression.

Hanna's journey from South Korea to Vancouver and later Toronto was to be her liberation from the bonds of tradition. She's the youngest child in her family, a curious and observant young person who longed to express herself in a society that did not expect it from a child. She holds dear her family and old country, but it is here that she found her calling in choreography. Moving away, she was free to finally explore her creativity.

The word that comes to mind when I'm thinking of his physicality and personality is: graceful. The most poignant moment in our session was when Percy pulled out a traditional robe he brought over from Ghana, which he then draped over his body, so naturally as if he was wearing it every day of his life. A beautiful soul.

Jasmyn exudes an energy you can feel when she talks about her art and life. Here's an artist who is laser-focused on continuing to build her career in dance. When it comes to the topic of gender, skin colour and race definitions, she's especially animated. She finds the idea of being boxed inside rigid categories to be especially repugnant. While she's mindful of her heritage (Barbados), and at times incorporates it into her work, she's adamant that preconceived ideas around what "black women" should do or be like, especially in the world of dance, is counterproductive or worse.

Diana Reyes, aka Fly Lady Di, introduced herself as a multi disciplinary artist when we recently met for our portrait session. A DJ, painter and dancer/performer, Reyes is a thoroughly modern artist. Active and energetic, she effortlessly transitions between all of her creative endeavours.

Born in Canada to Filipino parents, Reyes talks about racial as well as gender attitudes adding that she does not always feel perfectly at home. Moving to the established neighbourhoods of Toronto from her old neighbourhood in Markham, surrounded by the comfort of ethnic diversity, can be alienating, even a visit to a boutique coffee shop.

"If you don't believe in your dreams, how do you expect your fans to believe in you?"

Trinity arrived in Canada in 2012 from his native Botswana. Already a successful and accomplished Afro-jazz musician, he wanted to find a new bigger market and an audience for his music. Driven and hardworking, less than 3 years in Canada he's impatient, wanting to fulfill his goals and aspirations. A true music entrepreneur.

Right from our first contact, Mello had a proposed approach, mission and purpose. The session became a true collaboration, fitting with his own agenda as well as mine.

By day, Mello is helping spread the principles of diversity across Ontario's government bureaucracy. He has a love for poetry, spoken word performance and social activism. We talked about the symbolic impact of his last name (White). We discussed cooking, and our very different approach to it. His a creative free form experimentation, and mine, following recipes to the letter. Somehow, it all balanced out.

But the conversation, oh the conversation. We covered so much ground in our first hour. We talked about the symbolic impact of his last name (White), his "day job" of helping spread the principles of diversity across Ontario's government bureaucracy, his love for poetry and spoken word performance and social activism. We even touched on my other favourite topic: cooking - and our very different approach to it. His a creative free form experimentation, and mine, following recipes, almost to a T. But somehow, it all balanced out. A good session indeed. 

Haroon’s keen mind, humour and unflinching views on Canadian social and political issues seems to reflect his unique point of view, as an insider and an outsider all at once.  As an immigrant myself, I identified with his recounting of a journey back to Mumbai, visiting with his ailing mother in hospital. Many of us who came to Canada, leaving behind our loved ones, experienced similar scenes and feelings.

A passionate African-Canadian who takes this hyphenation seriously, Esie is a first-generation Canadian with roots in Ghana, purposefully weaving her family's history and roots into her art, dancing and choreography. After meeting Esie and a few other dancers recently, I am struck by their strong entrepreneurial drive. They are out there creating opportunities for themselves to showcase their art, and create a dialogue between their heritage, represented by traditional African dance, and current zeitgeist in the dance world.

Bahareh talks of a strong pull to her Iranian roots, present and past. Culture. Family. Politics. How it coincides with being Canadian. The freedom to practice diverse cultures. It's an enriching experience for a young girl who came to Canada at the age of 8. There is just enough tension between those intertwined entities to make reality a bit denser and more varied. Bahareh is also passionate about her chosen profession, theatre acting. It's not just her trade that keeps her enthralled – it's also the community she loves so much.

"I'm Canadian now. Yes. I am a Canadian."

Lua perfectly blends many influences, histories and ambitions. ike a careful blend resulting in a great wine, she is in many ways the archetypal Canadian. She's comfortable in her skin and her identity. She mixes ambition, generosity, edginess and a relaxed attitude. We both became a bit emotional when she told me of her parents and their sacrifice so she could make her way to Canada. Hers is a wonderful, quintessential story of an immigrant starting life in a new country.

Britta is mindful of her many identities. Her dad, an African American who moved to Canada. Her mom with ancestral ties to the aboriginals, and of course, herself being a Canadian women, a poet and a social activist. She wrote and recited a moving and powerful poem about her grandmother, an African American living in the south. It's the soul of an artist who can express, from very young age, her emotions. Words and writing is a talent discovered early enough as to shape her young adulthood, her present and possibly her future.  

A dancer, poet and an academic with a PHD? Conely is proving that juggling all those responsibilities, each of which is enough to keep most of us busy, is possible. Born here in Canada to immigrants from the Philippines, Conely became first familiar and then passionate about her heritage and culture. She studied Tagalog to more easily converse with the subjects of her PhD dissertation exploring the unique social network built by Filipinos who migrated to different countries in order to work and support their families back home. She's also passionate about teaching Filipino culture and heritage in schools here in Canada, and part of an organization that provides support to migrant workers. This first-generation Canadian is fully immersed in a reality that perfectly merges her past with the present.

Like many artists who prefer to self-finance their art form, the writer and author Kwame Stephens has a day job, but prefers full control over his time and art form. His roots are in Ghana, but he traveled across the continent in his youth, following his father's posts and assignments. Kwame is, by his own admission very curious, surely a necessary tool of the author's craft. As a writer, he is focused on two communities, African and gay. The first distinctive thing I noticed is how perceptive he is. It was not hard to capture his penetrating gaze, as evident from the portraits presented here.

Imagine a 90 decibel, crystal clear, strong and moving sound coming your way from a human musical instrument just a few feet away. This was a powerful demonstration of Mila Ionkova's chosen field: the Opera. After immigrating from Bulgaria in '95, already an accomplished musician, she decided that moving a county is not hard enough, and so decided to switch to an entirely new musical instrument, her voice. Or as she explains it, the body. Because everything is involved when you sing, move and act. Which is the essence of being an Operah singer. And yes, just in case you doubted it, they do have bigger than life personalities and presence.  

Working on portrait photographs is collaborative. This is especially true with performers. If I were to say to anyone other than dancers or actors "the light is your best friend, like a warm sun on a beautiful spring day", I'll get little more than a blank stare and a chuckle. But for someone like Kassi who works regularly with choreographers and directors, it's a simple enough prompt that results in a series of poses and movements in response. It's a treat. With Kassi I also had a chance to explore the nude form - in motion and at rest. Imagery of nudity In our public sphere is now so common, it's a re-discovery to explore this visual territory afresh.   

Ben Kim's South Korea is first and foremost his parents'. He left them behind so he can be free of an army service that could have been less than kind to him. A musician, composer and teacher, he likes the kids he teaches, but prefers real musical gigs.

Ben likes Toronto but will be happy to find his next turn of the spiral south of the border. Could it be that Ben represents a new global type that moves around not wanting to connect to any given place?

So We Canadians should ask ourselves: how do we keep'm here with us?  

Gaston Soucy admits that his curiosity is at the bottom of his passion for architecture and design. He co-owns a multidisciplinary design studio called SUMO Project that does architecture, art, industrial and urban design. “I could not do one thing” he says.  

Together with his family, the teenager Gaston moved from Venezuela to the US and then back again. Upon returning, he felt ill at ease in Venezuela. Corruption, violence and social inequality were rife and the values instilled by his family were at odds with his surroundings. 

He found his way to Toronto, studied Architecture and urban planning and says that he “loves Toronto’s multiculturalism, but more importantly how everyone gets along.” He is concerned though, that people can sometimes be complacent, maybe too comfortable, and this leads to mediocracy. His advice to newcomers: follow your goals and dreams, but be patient. It takes time.