Native Earth Performing Arts Will Present WHAT WE CARRY

Native Earth Performing Arts will present the Ontario Premiere of What We Carry, an A’nó:wara Dance Theatre solo dance piece choreographed and performed by Barbara Kaneratonni Diabo, at Aki Studio in Toronto from February 6-9, 2025. What We Carry is an expression of Diabo’s life’s journey as she shares many experiences that she carries in the bundle of her body, mind, and spirit. 

Told through five scenes and video interstitials, What We Carry is a deeply personal expression of the things that are bigger than words, the things that are sometimes painful and sometimes joyous. Diabo gives these things to dance and music as she explores motherhood, Indigenous language and cultural responsibility, the feminine body, ancestors, and the universal journey. 

Barbara Kaneratonni Diabo is Kanien’keha:ka (Mohawk) originally from Kahnawake. She now lives in Montreal, where she is the artistic director and choreographer for A’nó:wara Dance Theatre. Diabo takes pride in sharing her culture and performs across Canada and internationally. She performs and creates for generations to come, to honour, for her ancestors, for a sense of community, for those who cannot dance, to inspire, to communicate, to encourage cultural pride, and to uplift spirits.

An award-winning choreographer and performer for over 30 years, Barbara Kaneratonni Diabo creates shows to bring Indigenous themes, stories, and perspectives to light. She does this by combining powwow, Haudenosaunee and contemporary dance styles to invoke an artistic fusion that reaches different audiences.
Her dance show Sky Dancers won Outstanding Touring Production in the Dora Mavor Moore Awards 2022, and she was also the winner of the prestigious Prix de la danse de Montréal for most notable dancer of the year in 2021. She has danced on television in PULSE (APTN), Le Grand Solstice (Radio-Canada), Revolution (TVA), Telling Our Stories (Radio-Canada), and Indigenous Day Live (APTN), to name a few. Barbara also collaborates with several organizations with whom she helps educate populations, create “safe spaces” and support Indigenous artists around the world. 

What We Carry is Part 1 of Native Earth’s Niimi’iwe Dance Series Package, followed by Part 2 Black Ballerina by Syreeta Hector from May 22-25, 2025 at Aki Studio.

“In past seasons, we presented Niimi’iwe as a double-bill evening of dance. This season, we chose to expand the offerings to each hold their own space in our season, and so that we can honour the individual stories that both contain. Each piece works on its own, but in connecting them in our Niimi’iwe Series, we are inviting audiences to explore the nuances of Indigenous identity stories and highlighting the importance of self-expression in dance,” said Joelle Peters, Artistic Director of Native Earth.

Native Earth Performing Arts is Canada’s oldest professional Indigenous theatre company. Currently in its 42nd year, Native Earth is dedicated to creating, developing and producing professional artistic expressions of the Indigenous experience in Canada. Through stage productions (theatre, dance and multi-disciplinary art), script development, apprenticeships and internships, Native Earth seeks to fulfill a community of artistic visions.

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