Candace Thompson-Zachery, a Brooklyn resident, born and raised in Trinidad and Tobago, is a dancer, choreographer, certified fitness professional and cultural producer. Candace is a graduate of Adelphi University’s BFA in Dance with the Ruth St. Denis Award for excellence from the dance department and is currently a 1st year candidate in the Performance Curation program at the Institute for Curatorial Practice in Performance at Wesleyan University. She is the beauty and brains behind CanDanceFit, a fitness and movement company, Artistic Director of ContempoCaribe dance project, and the Founding Executive Director of Dance Caribbean COLLECTIVE (DCC).
Dance Caribbean COLLECTIVE is a collaborative and organising body, creating platforms for artists developing work from a Caribbean perspective, to show their work within the local diaspora community in NYC. Candace has been instrumental in creating several programs bringing visibility and greater insight for Caribbean Dance, including designing the annual New Traditions (dance) Festival. ContempoCaribe, her choreography and performance project, embodies the plurality of experiences within the Caribbean Diaspora through various research-based dance works.
In this episode Candace shares with Jo-Ann how to chart one’s course as a culture maker. There are many topics explored and discussed, so listen in! Are you a culture maker?