My work as a dance artist anchors on nurturing human connection and building communities through dance. Originally from the Russian Far East, I moved to Anchorage, Alaska in my teens just after the fall of the Soviet Union and enjoyed a fruitful decade of performing, choreographing and teaching with the University of Alaska Anchorage Department of Theatre and Dance. In 2009, I came to Toronto for my MFA in Dance Dramaturgy and Choreography, and Canada has since become home. Through the Dance Together Project, I create dance with “non-dancers” in a way that embraces vulnerability, builds confidence and opens access to the joy of human connection. I develop and facilitate dance programs for adult learners, including mixed abilities dance programs for Wheel Dance, Canadian National Institute for the Blind, Sarah Elizabeth Centre, Sunnybrook Veterans Centre and various retirement communities in the GTA. Since 2019, together with several Toronto dance and visual artists, I have been co-producing the Dance Together Festival, which transforms city neighbourhoods through large scale dance floor murals and community dance workshops that celebrate positive and accessible dance experiences.