Tia Ashley Kushniruk
Dancer
Tia Ashley Kushniruk is a Queer Woman of Chinese-Eastern European settler heritage from the Treaty 6 Territory of Edmonton AB CAN. Since 2013 she has been affiliated with the Cirque Du Soleil and is a frequent collaborator of Jake W. Hastey. She graduated from The School of Toronto Dance Theatre in 2017, receiving the Kathryn Ash Scholarship in 2016.
She has had the pleasure of performing works of Antony Hamilton (Dancemakers, Chunky Move), Paul Andre-Fortier, Peggy Baker, Aria Evans, Christopher House (TDT), Shay Kuebler (SK/RSA), Christianne Ullmark, Susie Burpee and Jasmyn Fyffe - touring nationally across Canada and internationally to Israel, The U.S.A, China, Colombia and France. She is an illustrator, a curator, a moderator, an animator, an improv comedian, and a writer; and spends a good amount of her day-to-day meddlings thinking about live performance and audience interaction. Tia’s work has been presented since 2014, most recently by Mile Zero in Edmonton (monolith). Her illustration and animation work has been commissioned by Plastic Orchid Factory, Two Big Steps, adelheid, SK/RSA, Here for Now, and nostos. Her research has been supported by the Alberta Foundation for the Arts, and the Canada Council for the Arts since 2014. Tia is the inaugural recipient of the CONFLUENCE Fellowship from Catalyst Theatre in Edmonton where she is currently writing her first play. For more information please visit tiaakushnir.uk