A a | a B : B E N D program by TO.Live

A a | a B : B E N D

Ambrose Akinmusire & Aszure Barton

December 4-6, 2025

Photo credit: Fabian Hammerl

About TO Live

TO Live is one of Canada’s largest multi-arts organizations, operating three iconic venues: Meridian Hall, St. Lawrence Centre for the Arts, and Meridian Arts Centre. In addition, TO Live presents a full range of performing arts, theatrical, and concert events at these venues in both downtown and uptown Toronto. With these two hubs of creativity and content creation, TO Live has a unique place and perspective to activate creative spaces by inspiring local and international artists, connecting audiences, stimulating new ideas, and elevating artistic potential, becoming a catalyst for creative expression that is reflective of Toronto’s diversity.

In 2025, TO Live proudly celebrates the 65th anniversary of Meridian Hall, a landmark in Toronto’s cultural life, and in 2026 we will mark 10 years as an organization—a decade of building a better city through the arts.

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We live and work on the traditional territory of Haudenosaunee (HODE-en-ohshow-nee)-speaking nations, including the Wendat, Seneca, and Mohawk. Haudenosaunee-speaking nations have been here since time immemorial, and were more recently joined by the Mississaugas of the Credit.

This place has many Indigenous ports, including where the Humber and Rouge rivers meet other waterways such as Lake Ontario. Ancient longhouses, typical Haudenosaunee housing structures, have been found along both rivers and in the north of Toronto as well (near modern-day York University). This territory is covered by the Dish with One Spoon Wampum Belt Covenant, an agreement between the Haudenosaunee (Six Nations) Confederacy and the Anishinaabe (Ojibwe) and allied nations to peaceably share and care for the lands and the relationships around the Great Lakes.

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Today, Toronto is home to Indigenous peoples and settlers from around the world. Let us all come together in an atmosphere of respect and peace to do Good Work together with Good Minds. Let’s start building stronger and healthier relationships with each other, and the spaces which we inhabit in Tkaronto, Ontari:io (on-dahr-EE-yo), Kanata (Gan-AH-dah).

Let’s hold our minds together in kindness.

Nia:wen. Thank you.

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Welcome letter from TO Live

Welcome to tonight’s performance of A a | a B : B E N D. We are thrilled to share this evening with you and to celebrate the imagination, creativity, and daring these artists bring to the stage.

A a | a B : B E N D was made possible with support from the National Creation Fund, whose funding is essential for fostering artistic development and bringing ambitious new works to life.

Tonight’s performance is both a live concert from one of the world’s leading visionary musicians as well as a genre-bending dance masterwork from one of Canada’s most exciting choreographers.

At TO Live, we believe it is essential to bring works like B E N D to Toronto audiences. Our city thrives on diversity, innovation, and connection, values that are at the heart of live performing arts.

This season, get ready for TO Live’s 2025-2026 dance series—a lineup where dance, circus, music, and martial arts collide. From the explosive energy of tonight’s A a | a B : B E N D by Ambrose Akinmusire and Aszure Barton, to the disciplined artistry of Wing Chun Dance Drama (Shenzhen, China), the spectacle of Paradisum by Recirquel Cirque Danse (Budapest, Hungary), the soul-stirring Dance Me – Music by Leonard Cohen by Ballets Jazz Montréal, and the fearless Play Dead by People Watching Collective (Montréal, Québec), this season promises unforgettable performances that redefine the limits of contemporary dance.

Thank you for joining us and for supporting live performance. Your presence ensures that artists can continue to take risks, tell their stories, and enrich the cultural fabric of our city.

Enjoy the performance.

Clyde Wagner President & CEO TO Live

About A a | a B : B E N D

A a | a B : B E N D is a glitch in the matrix. The brainchild of acclaimed choreographer Aszure Barton and eminent composer Ambrose Akinmusire, this large-scale work sparks classical with vogue, improvisation with electronica, analog with digital. Responding to a live score composed and performed by Akinmusire, hooded figures fire in and out of unison like nodes in a network, bending away from their separateness to embrace human friction, tension, and explosive beauty.

In A a | a B : B E N D, dance and music join in an in-depth dialogue, rubbing up against each other in ways that challenge and transform both art forms. In this multidisciplinary, multidimensional world, the dancers and Akinmusire himself share the stage, making this exchange between forms visible and tangible as they transform the theater into an alternate universe where dance and music coexist–what Barton calls “a celebration where dance and music hold equal weight.” Premiering in August 2023 at Kampnagel’s International Summer Festival, Falk Schraiber of Tanz Magazine described B E N D as a “refusal of categorization” with “Barton’s choreography building ordered systems [only to] allow this order to dissolve.”

Photo credit: Fabian Hammerl

Photo credit: STUDIO AURA

The evening-length piece draws from the principle of unlearning–unlearning views and dominant patterns to turn toward a more intimate practice of trust, awareness, and expansion. Akinmusire and Barton align in their interest as visual composers, existing outside the pigeonholes of public perception. Akinmusire, a composer and trumpeter celebrated for wide-ranging inspirations and influences, weaves a sonic landscape that is as poetic and graceful as it is bold and unflinching.

For Barton, a choreographer whose work is shaped by rhythm and physical emotionality, Akinmusire’s compositions and improvisational practice offer the perfect counterpart to her dance-making process. As she describes it: “At the core of my work is care and intuition, it’s less about a fixed story and more about openness, music, and magic.” This convergence amplifies her exploration of a choreographic language that simultaneously respects and dismantles classical and contemporary forms, reconstructing traditional patterns and infusing a sense of humanity to the work.

Both artists are drawn to this central question, as Akinmusire explains, “When I think about B E N D I think about that word–what it means to endure physically, mentally, spiritually, and how that relates to bending–how much you can you endure before you break?” The result of this coming together is a refuge for the senses that bends between intimate and vast, full of puzzling beauty and raw, physical emotion.

Credits and creative team

Composer and live music

Ambrose Akinmusire

Choreographer

Aszure Barton

Lighting designer

Bonnie Beecher

Video designer

Tobin Del Cuore

Costume designer

Rémi van Bochove

Original lighting and scenery

Nicole Pearce

General manager

Rachel Katwan

Production manager

Tony Crawford

Company manager

Amit Hevrony

Creative and executive producer

Linda Brumbach, Alisa E. Regas

Produced by Pomegranate Arts & TO Live

Performed by and created with

Aszure Barton & Artists

Jonathan E. Alsberry, Nora Brown, Tobin

Del Cuore, Jeff Docimo, Jennifer

Florentino, Zack Gonder, James Gregg, Taylor LaBruzzo, Marcel Mejia, Angelina Ramirez, Sydney Revennaugh

The 2025 production of A a | a B : B E N D is produced by Pomegranate Arts and TO Live.

A a | a B : B E N D is developed with the support of the National Arts Centre’s National Creation Fund which invests in compelling new creations in the performing arts and supports Canadian artists in achieving their boldest ambitions. The production was mounted with the generous support of Banff

Centre for Arts and Creativity through a theatre production residency in August and September 2025. With additional support from The Charles and Joan Gross Family Foundation and the Canada Council for the Arts.

A a | a B : B E N D was originally commissioned and produced by Kampnagel International Summer Festival, Aszure Barton & Artists; co-commissioned by UCLA’s Center for the Art of Performance, The Los Angeles County Department of Arts and Culture and the Ford Theatre Foundation, and Northrop at the University of Minnesota.

Support: The Dianne and Daniel Vapnek Family Fund, The Charles and Joan Gross Family Foundation, Mid Atlantic Arts through USArtist International, a program in partnership with the National Endowment for the Arts, the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, and the Trust for Mutual Understanding.

Creative residency and development support by Orsolina Art Foundation, Babs Case and Dancers’ Workshop, and Baryshnikov Arts Center.

World premiere: Kampnagel International Summer Festival, Hamburg, Germany August 2023.

Production credits

Choreographer’s associate

Jonathan E. Alsberry

Choreographer’s assistant

Taylor LaBruzzo

Sound engineer

Jeff Rowell

Associate lighting designer

Christopher Gilmore

Lighting programmer

Mikael Kangas

Management for Ambrose Akinmusire

Mariah Wilkins Artist Management

Special thanks

A a | a B : B E N D would not exist without the extraordinary generosity of our community. We extend our deepest gratitude to Dianne and Danny Vapnek, whose early championing and financial support of this work provided the catalyst for what followed. We thank Joan and Charlie Gross for their support of the music commission.

We also celebrate the other originating artists and thank them for contributing to this growing work: Dunia Acosta, Daileidys Carrazana, Nolan Fahey, Abdiel Figueroa Reyes, Zubin Hensler, Nouhoum Koita, and Daniela Miralles. We are profoundly grateful to all the host organizations, presenters, supporters, and friends who have helped bring this production to life, including Corinna Humuza and Andras Siebold at Kampnagel; Sarah Conn at the National Creation Fund; and Clyde Wagner, Madeleine Skoggard, and Ariana Shaw at TO Live.

Thank you to HenX Logistics, Chicago Scenic Studios, Harrison Burke, Garvin Jellison, and Jeremy Lydic. We hold dear the memory of Fred Frumberg for his unwavering belief in our work. To everyone who has been part of this journey of unlearning and discovery: thank you.

Photo credit: STUDIO AURA

Biographies

Ambrose Akinmusire is a composer and trumpeter whose work transcends genre, moving between contemporary chamber music, orchestral commissions, dance, film, and improvisation. His music has been commissioned by the Berlin Jazz Festival, the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra’s Liquid Music series, the Kennedy Center, the Hyde Park Jazz Festival, and the Monterey Jazz Festival. His works have been performed internationally at Carnegie Hall, the Barbican in London, the Berlin Philharmonie, North Sea Jazz Festival, La Philharmonie de Paris, and the Montreux Jazz Festival. Recent projects include an ongoing collaboration with choreographer Aszure Barton. As a recording artist and bandleader, Akinmusire has released nine albums of original music, two of which were nominated for Grammy Awards in the best jazz instrumental album category: Owl Song (Nonesuch) and on the tender spot of every calloused moment (Blue Note). Additionally he has contributed to landmark recordings by artists as varied as Joni Mitchell, Kendrick Lamar, and Roscoe Mitchell, underscoring the breadth of his creative reach. Akinmusire’s honours include three Grammy nominations, the Paul Acket Award (North Sea Jazz Festival), Germany’s ECHO Award for best international instrumentalist, and France’s Grand Prix de l’Académie du Jazz. He was named best trumpet in the DownBeat Critics Poll for eight consecutive years, recognition that accompanies his growing reputation as one of the most vital composers of his generation.

Canadian Aszure Barton is a choreographer and director who began dancing at age three. With training spanning from synchronized swimming to flamenco, she’s been producing dances since her days as a student at Canada’s National Ballet School where she helped seed the ongoing Stephen Godfrey Choreographic Showcase. After dancing with the National Ballet of Canada and Ballets Jazz Montréal, she freelanced in New York City where she founded Aszure Barton & Artists (AB&A) in the early 2000’s–the core of her choreographic process and an interdisciplinary creative hub. While AB&A remains her artistic home, Barton’s reach extends globally across theater, film, opera and Broadway. She has collaborated with artists and companies such as

Ambrose Akinmusire Composer & Live Music

Aszure Barton Choreographer

Mikhail Baryshnikov, María Pagés, Cyndi Lauper, Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, American Ballet Theatre, Ballet British Columbia, Grand Théâtre de Genève, Hamburg Ballet, Limón Dance Company, National Ballet of Canada, Nederlands Dans Theater, Sydney Dance Company, Teatro alla Scala, and others. Among her celebrated works, Mere Mortals premiered at San Francisco Ballet in collaboration with DJ Floating Points, marking the first full-length ballet by a female choreographer in the company’s 90-year history. Barton is currently Artist in Residence at Hubbard Street Dance Chicago and Gauthier Dance at Theaterhaus Stuttgart, and she’s been a longtime resident artist at the Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity. Her latest venture is an ongoing collaboration with Ambrose Akinmusire. Barton’s accolades include a Bessie Award, the Koerner Foundation Award, recognition as the inaugural Martha Duffy Resident Artist at Baryshnikov Arts, as well as the Arts & Letters Award of Canada, joining the likes of Margaret Atwood and Karen Kain. A laureate of the Ken McCarter Award, she was named Official Ambassador of Contemporary Choreography in Canada.

For the complete list of cast and creative biographies and additional content—including interviews with Ambrose Akinmusire and Aszure Barton—please scan the QR code.

DECEMBER 16–JANUARY 4

PARADISUM

By Recirquel

FEBRUARY 13–14

APRIL 10–11 Meridian

JUNE 25–28

St. Lawrence Centre for the Arts Bluma Appel Theatre

Ballets Jazz Montréal

Music by Leonard Cohen

Hall

by People Watching Collective

Shenzhen Opera and Dance Theatre

JOHN SCOFIELD TRIO

Meridian Arts Centre

George Weston Recital Hall

MARCH 19

“Sco eld is one of the most proli c and admired jazz musicians of his generation.”

—NPR

THE BAD PLUS, CHRIS POTTER, AND CRAIG TABORN

Meridian Arts Centre

George Weston Recital Hall

MARCH 5

“...The Bad Plus have been one of the premier acts in modern jazz...”

—Medium

“[BEATrio]... may be one of the most unlikely trio con gurations ever witnessed...”

—Glide Magazine

BEATrio

George Weston Recital Hall

APRIL 25

Béla Fleck, Edmar Castañeda & Antonio Sánchez

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Save 20% on the dance series

Wing Chun Dance Drama - Dec. 16, 2025 - Jan. 4, 2026

Paradisum - Feb. 13-14, 2026

Dance Me - Music by Leonard Cohen, April 10-11, 2026

Play Dead - June 25-28, 2026

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The Bad Plus, Chris Potter, and Craig Taborn - March 5, 2026

John Scoﬁeld Trio - March 19, 2026

Béla Fleck, Edmar Castañeda & Antonio Sánchez

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Backstage with...Bryce Taylor

Bryce Taylor is a Tkaronto-based breaker who began their dance journey at 13 in Colebrook, Ontario, later joining Canada’s Royal Winnipeg Ballet and Ballet Edmonton.

Taylor is a TO Live explorations artist, and was awarded $7,000 through the initiative to research something new. Alongside their crew TUFF, Taylor has been researching what is possible at the intersection of breaking and partnered dance. Taylor is also part of TO Live’s Making Space program, which provides subsidized access to spaces for artists. We chatted with them during a recent rehearsal at Meridian Hall to learn more about breaking and their work.

What do you love about dancing?

I’ve always been the kind of person who gets very intense about things very quickly. So if you talk to my mom, she’ll tell you about all the phases I went through; it was acting, then it was sports, then card magic.

But dance was the first thing that really stuck. It’s the only thing that I’ve stuck to for over a decade. And I think it’s because no matter how much you learn about it, you only learn there’s so much more to get into. It’s like as you dig your hole or you go on your journey, all you discover is that there’s more to be discovered. And that cyclical nature just keeps pulling me back in.

What motivated you to focus on breaking?

With breaking, I think it’s the fun, the style itself, the community and the culture, which is about liberation in many ways.

A lot of the styles that I practiced in other phases of my career are about getting it right. So I appreciate the freedom and individuality in breaking, and the assumption that everyone will have their own unique style, whereas in other genres that only happens if you start choreographing.

To get a little technical, breaking is made up of four main groups: uprock, downrock, freezes, and power moves. Each one is almost a dance style unto itself, so it’s almost like four different dance styles in a trench coat pretending to be one. What’s so engaging is that no matter where you want to go, you can class into one of these styles. And all that freedom is very alluring.

What are you working on these days?

Because I was privileged enough to see institutional dance, I thought I might be able to help push the envelope forward in breaking and in street dance. So that’s where most of my energy goes now.

I represent a group called The Unknown Floor Force, or TUFF. We’re working to become Toronto’s first breaking crew that is also a dance company. Lots of work that needs to be done still because we started in 2023, but we’ve got the ball rolling in some fairly interesting ways.

How important is it for artists to have access to subsidized rehearsal space?

I think it’s extremely precious that TO Live is able to give artists space, and to give it for longer periods where we don’t need to come in all rushed. I think it’s important to understand that breakers generally don’t practice in studios. We never have access to a studio space. They ’re too expensive.

Some of the cheapest studio spaces in Toronto are $75 an hour. So we practice in public buildings. We bring a little boombox, it sounds very beat street with the cardboard and the boombox, but that’s what we do. We go to a public space that has a nice buffed concrete floor where we can spin on it and we get down, and we practice for four hours a night just throwing our bodies onto a concrete floor. So to be able to come into a space that is heated, clean, has a sprung floor, all of these things that help prevent injury, help take care of your body…it’s extremely precious and very appreciated.

What does it mean to you to have your worked supported through TO Live’s explorationsand MakingSpaceprograms?

It’s really incredible. And I don’t mean that just for myself as an artist; for our group it’s a huge deal. TUFF is trying to format itself as a crew, but also as a professional entity. And in Toronto, there’s not a lot of things we can point to in order to be legitimized. And these opportunities lets us know that this work is important and that there is a space for groups like us in this arts ecosystem.

TO Live’s explorations initiative is made possible by supporters of the TO Live Foundation. explorations is generously supported by Power Corporation of Canada.

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Head Technician, George Weston

Recital Hall

Finn Browne

Head Technician, Greenwin Theatre

Duncan Morgan

Head Technician, Studio Theatre

Ian Parker

Head Technician Lyric Theatre

TO Live staff and board list as of September 2025. For the updated version, please visit tolive.com.

The TO Live Foundation is committed to creating a future where art engages and inspires all Torontonians. A future where all the creative voices of our diverse communities are heard and celebrated. A future where artists have the support they need to experiment and grow.

Visit tolivefoundation.com to learn more about how our Foundation is committed to building a better city through the arts.