Elements

8:00 pm – Saturday 15 November 2025

LSPU Hall, 3 Victoria Street, St. John’s NL

A contemporary and fusion belly dance artist based in St. John’s Newfoundland, Vanessa is the owner of Magpie Movement and the artistic director of Seraka Dance Company. Dancing since 2007, she is identified by her elegant musicality, subtle nuances, and fluid arm and hand work, culminating in an engaging stage presence. By day, Vanessa works in the insurance industry, and she can usually be found reformatting and building wonky formulas in Excel, or befriending animals.

“ELEMENTS is a work I’m deeply proud of already, and as we work through the details and fine tune the pieces in rehearsals, I find the show is growing more and more meaningful to me each day. I’m excited about choreographing with a new-to-me prop in “Cubes” and seeing it unfold on the dancers, but I’m delighted to be challenging myself in “Possible”. Seraka co-choreographed that piece and the contrast of legato swells in the music punctuated with sharp, concise isolations is very satisfying to dance. I hope to see you at The Hall on Sat 15 Nov for our show, ELEMENTS.”

A dancer since childhood, Shawn has explored various performance arts, including singing and drag artistry. His drag persona, Scary Sherry, co-founded The Dauntless Dolls Drag Collective, a platinum winner of Community Votes St. John’s 2024 in both the Live Entertainment and Entertainment categories. Between 2000 and 2015, Shawn trained in tap, jazz, hiphop, and ballet. He was a member of Tuckamore Dance Company for the 2015-2016 season. He performs dance shows occasionally and this is his first major project in a while. Shawn has participated in all three iterations of ”OPEN,” a show focusing on mental health produced by Stephanie Moyst. He danced in Chloe Harris’ ”Sound of Silence” (2019), performed a lipsync of ”Fly, Phoenix, Fly” (2023), and sang ”Waving Through a Window” from ”Dear Evan Hansen” (2024).

He is excited to be in ”ELEMENTS” presented by Seraka Dance Company, whose work he has admired for a long time. He was particularly captivated by “OCEANIC” (2023), so much so he had to be in the next shared production. This is his first time exploring belly dance. His favourite piece so far is ”Cubes,” which has a powerful commentary while also being very intentionally strange. He can’t wait for you to see ELEMENTS on November 15 at the LSPU Hall.

Sam started belly dancing in 2010 and has shimmied here and there every since. While her heart is with the St. John’s belly dance scene, she’s studied dance with inspiring creators from across North America, including Kami Liddle, April Rose, and Heather Labonté. In December 2014, she completed her level 1 belly dance certification from the Dark Side Studio in Toronto. From Dec 2013 – Nov 2014, Sam had the privilege of being a company dancer with the Seraka Dance Company, and has performed in a number of their productions, including Caravanserai, Unknown, and Synthesis.

“I joined the Elements cast after a hiatus of a few years because I felt called back to the unspeakable magic of working with a creative group of people for a common goal. My favourite piece in the production is ‘Feathers’, which combines soft lyricism with a satisfying balance of dance technique. It’s going to be a wonderful show.“

Karen McBride is one of the founding members and technical dierctor of Seraka Dance Company. She has been dancing since she was wee, with foundations in ballet, jazz, and ballroom dancing which provide a unique flair to her dancing. As a member of Seraka she has created choreographies for Seraka’s many performances including their three previous full length productions: Aqueous, Unknown, and Oceanic. Karen is passionate about details and their impact on the big picture.

“I’m so thrilled to be working with our cast on our latest full length production: Elements. It’s thrilling to have so many dancers join us in this project and fully commit to the process and our strange directions! My favourite piece is “Possible” danced by Seraka, where we embody a thunder storm rumbling along the horizon. It’s full of challenging isolations contrasted by lyrical elegant lines and is such fun to dance.”

Sara started taking dance lessons as an adult. She has danced in bellydance, bollywood and ballroom and has taken many classes in those styles over the years.She previously danced with Bollywood Jig and was a teaching assistant with MUN Ballroom and Latin Dance Club. Currently she is on a 30+ competition team at Moving Pictures Dance Co and takes Ballroom and Latin class with Jill Dreaddy Dance Co. When not dancing, Sara works for a non-profit and volunteers as a medical first responder.

“I’m proud to be a part of the cast of Elements, presented by Seraka Dance Company, as I have always been a fan of their work. The lines and body shapes that are used in Elements to tell the story are pure artistry in motion. My fav piece is “Crown” – the contemporary fusion and line work are absolutely stunning in this piece.“

Aurora is a a Mexican burlesque performer and emerging belly dancer. With each performance, she blends sensuality, strength, and grace, drawing on her cultural roots to bring her art to life.

“I decided to join the cast because I’ve always been amazed by belly dance and the way it beautifully expresses emotion through movement. I’m excited to explore how my own artistic journey can honour and embody the power of elements. My favourite piece so far is “Crown.” I love how the movements are both fast and slow in their own unique way, it’s a thrilling piece that keeps you on your toes.”

Rebecca has studied and performed belly dance here and there since 2012, taking many of the courses and performance opportunities Seraka has hosted. Dance took a back burner for a few years with the busyness of motherhood but she keeps being drawn back to it as a means of making time for herself, moving her body and connecting with friends.

“After missing out on Oceanic, I’m so excited to be dancing with Seraka again and making new friends! Elements is coming together beautifully, I love the recurring movements and flow of the show!“

Susan Crocker is a contemporary and fusion belly dance artist who lives in St. John’s, NL. She has been studying belly dance for over 15 years and has been a principal dancer of Seraka Dance Company since 2012.

Mary Farrell has been belly dancing for 19 years, various types, and hopes to dance for 19 more. She enjoys dancing solos and duets, but loves the discipline of dancing in a show like this.

“I admire the work and dedication it takes to put off a show like this. Choreographing pieces to the theme of the four elements is difficult, but Seraka makes it look easy. My favourite piece so far is Big Ways.“

Mallory Weber is a dancer from Newfoundland and Labrador, a member of Seraka Dance Company, and a choreographer and director for their latest production, ELEMENTS! Mallory especially loves working on community casted shows, as they bring together a diverse group of dancers with different backgrounds and skill sets, who then embody the vision of the choreographer to create unique works of art through dance.

“My favourite piece that we are working on for ELEMENTS is Thing! I love that this piece “deeply” explores improv techniques and is meant to convey the feeling of being submerged and the struggle against the weight of the world above.“

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