Community Dance Stage
The Nuit Blanche Community Dance Stage is a celebration of local dance groups right in the heart of the NBYXE festival footprint. With performances scheduled throughout the night, you are encouraged to visit the Community Dance Stage and foster a social connection through collaboration and cultural expression. Learn more about groups that will be featured on the Community Dance Stage below.
This year’s Community Dance Stage is brought to us through a partnership with our Friends at Dance Saskatchewan.
Community Dance Schedule Coming Soon!
Rawda Mabrouk
Rawda Mabrouk is a dancer, choreographer, designer and multidisciplinary artist based in Saskatoon. Originally from Cairo, Egypt, she has trained in diverse forms of dance since childhood. Holding a bachelor’s degree in Product Design and certification in movement training, she integrates dance, design, and visual art into an interdisciplinary practice that explores body, material, and space. Her work is guided by curiosity, storytelling, and a belief in movement as a transformative force.
About The Performance:
In between two worlds, this piece explores the tension of diaspora, the pull of homeland and the reality of elsewhere. It carries the ache of homesickness and the quiet resilience of belonging nowhere and everywhere at once. Through contemporary dance infused with gestures of Egyptian belly dance, the work embodies solitude, longing, and resilience. Honoring the roots of belly dance as a ritual of support for women in labour, it reflects on transition and the constant act of becoming. What emerges is not one world or the other, but the tension and beauty of existing in both.
Luxmi Yoageeswaran
Bharatanatyam, one of the oldest classical dance forms of India, is rooted in tradition, rhythm, and storytelling. Yet, for many of us who live between cultures and across generations, dance becomes more than just inheritance—it becomes a language of duality. This piece explores the space “in-between”: the push and pull of holding onto ancient tradition while navigating modern identity.
Through precise geometry, flowing movement, and rhythmic expression, the dance journeys into questions of belonging while existing as children of immigrants. The choreography moves between the structure of Bharatanatyam and the fluidity of contemporary experience, revealing not a clash of worlds, but a dialogue.
This is a story of balance, of tension, and of possibility—where tradition does not limit, but evolves.
SICA (Saskatoon Igbo Cultural Association)
The SICA Children Dance Group, part of the Saskatoon Igbo Cultural Association (SICA), is a vibrant and talented ensemble of young dancers dedicated to celebrating and promoting the Igbo culture. Comprising children aged 7 to 16, most of whom are students of the SICA Igbo School, this group has been captivating audiences with their performances for many years. Their love for Igbo traditions shines through every dance, as they skillfully blend movement, music, and language to tell the stories of their heritage.
With a deep-rooted passion for their cultural identity, the SICA Children Dance Group is committed to preserving and sharing the rich traditions of the Igbo people.
Sky Boys
The Sky Boys Drum Group has been in existence for many years at Stobart community School. Started in the early 2000’s, the group grew in numbers and popularity and has travelled throughout the Prairie Spirit School Division, even performing upon request at conferences in Calgary Alberta.
After all founding members graduated the group was on hiatus. It was resurrected in 2015 by Sky Boys original Brett Seesequasis, who approached school administration regarding teaching drumming to the Elementary students. Since that time, various Sky Boys alumni have taught drumming as well.
The present Sky Boys have picked up right where the Originals left off, doing presentations throughout our school division and into neighboring school divisions to promote Truth, Reconciliation and Living Together in Harmony.
Currently there are approximately 15 active drummers in the groups and 20 dancers in Stobart.
This passed June, the Sky Boys had the privilege of having their first “Host Drum” experience at the Prairie Spirit School Division 1st annual Pow Wow.
Chinese Dance School of Saskatchewan
The Chinese Dance School of Saskatchewan (CDSS) is a non-profit organization with a history of over 30 years. The school’s primary goal is to inherit and promote the art of Chinese dance, offering diverse dance courses for students of different age groups, including traditional Chinese dance, classical dance, ethnic dance, and modern dance.
CDSS emphasizes the teaching method of integrating dance skills with artistic expression. Through the perception of music, integration of dance elements, introduction of visual arts, incorporation of dance cultural backgrounds, and creative choreography for each movement, students can learn the inherent techniques, skills, movements, combinations, and expressions in Chinese dance. This teaching approach helps cultivate students’ comprehensive understanding of art and their ability to express themselves.
Furthermore, the dance school actively participates in social activities including today’s “Nuit Blanche”, providing a platform for students to showcase their dance achievements. Through these events, students have the chance to display the charm of Chinese dance in the context of Canada’s multiculture background. Today, we bring 5 pieces of Chinese traditional dances, please enjoy!
LOcation: Near the INtersection of 2nd Avenue South and 21st Street East
See the full map for more details.
