Trinidad Dance Master Brings Caribbean Traditions to Toronto

Toronto’s Caribbean arts community will have a rare opportunity this summer to learn from one of the region’s most accomplished dance educators and choreographers when Trinidad and Tobago-born Stephen D. Hankey joins Danse Macabre as Movement Director and leads a special workshop celebrating traditional Caribbean dance forms.

Presented in partnership with KasheDance, danceImmersion and the Caribbean Canadian Arts Network (CCAN), the workshop will take place on July 15, from 6 to 9 p.m. at Minogitoon Workspace, 585 Dundas St East, Toronto. Participants will explore the Sailor Dance and the sacred Orisha dances of Ogun and Shango, traditions that remain central to Trinidad and Tobago’s cultural heritage.

Hankey’s dance career began unexpectedly while attending Aranguez Junior Secondary School in Trinidad. An avid basketball player, he often watched a nearby Best Village dance group rehearse. After correcting dancers who had forgotten part of their choreography, he was invited to join the group, a moment that changed the direction of his life.

His talent was soon recognized by respected dance educator Cyril Francis St. Louis, who introduced him to formal training with the Hummingbird Dance Theatre Company. Hankey went on to tour internationally and work with numerous cultural organizations before becoming a founding member, choreographer and performer with the National Dance Theatre Company of Trinidad and Tobago.

His career later expanded into theatre and film, including choreographing the voodoo sequence for the Sci-Fi Channel movie Creature.

In 1999, an exchange program brought Hankey to Connecticut, opening the door to teaching opportunities and a full scholarship to the Hartt School at the University of Hartford, where he graduated with honours and earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Dance Teaching.

Today, he teaches at Cooperative Arts and Humanities High School in New Haven, serves as an Adjunct Professor at Central Connecticut State University, and is President and Artistic Director of Island Reflections Dance Theatre in Hartford.

More than a dance class, the Toronto workshop offers Caribbean Canadians an opportunity to connect with their history, culture and identity through the guidance of a master teacher dedicated to preserving the region’s rich artistic traditions.

Registration is available by emailing info@kashedance.com.

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