SOLIDITY
Aisha Fukushima and Charles Brecard
SOLIDITY explores the power of solidarity building through music, poetry, and movement. We invite you to build solidarity with us by choosing your own adventure on this interactive page.
Below you will be invited to select which dancers you'd like to journey with in movement, and how you'd like to experience the audio elements of this interactive space. We invite you to try out multiple 'paths' to add to your solidarity building experience. Let's go!
Please select one of the following:
| Vocals | Instrumental | A Cappella |
Please select one of the following:
| Vocals | Instrumental | A Cappella |
Please select one of the following:
| Vocals | Instrumental | A Cappella |
Project Information
Solidity is presented by the Consulate General for Canada in Seattle. These projects were created by Aisha and Charles, along with the generous artistry of dancers Jontae McCrory and Kyana Lyne, and filmmaker Do Phan Hoi.
You can find the music on Spotify: A Cappella | Vocals and Instrumental | Instrumental
Aisha and Charles discuss their process
Aisha Fukushima is a Performance Lecturer, Justice Strategist, Singer/Songwriter, and RAPtivist (rap activist). Fukushima founded RAPtivism (Rap Activism), a hip hop project spanning 20 countries and four continents, amplifying universal efforts for freedom and justice. She is a multilingual, multiracial African American Japanese woman who has done lectures and performances everywhere from the United States to France, Morocco, Japan, Germany, England, South Africa, Senegal, India, Denmark and beyond. Fukushima’s ‘RAPtivism’ work has been featured on Oprah Magazine, TEDx, KQED Public Television, The Seattle Times, TV 2M Morocco, The Bangalore Mirror, HYPE, South Africa’s #1 Hip Hop Magazine, and Tour highlights include performing for audiences of over 20,000 people in Nepal, speaking with the President of Estonia about the power of music to create change, and sharing stages with the likes of Bernie Sanders, Angela Davis, Emory Douglas (Black Panthers), KRS-One, Herbie Hancock, Christian McBride, The Isley Brothers, and M1 (Dead Prez). As a public speaker, Aisha combines the art of performance and lecture. In my keynotes she links themes such as hip hop, global citizenship, empowerment, feminism and cultural activism through storytelling as well as live musical performance.
Check out more from Aisha on her website, Instagram, Twitter, and Bandcamp.
Born and raised in New Caledonia from the Vietnamese diaspora, Charles Brecard arrived in Tio’tia:ke / Montreal, Canada, in 2013 where he graduated in 2017 from Ecole de Danse Contemporaine de Montréal. He since collaborated with several local and international artists and festivals as a performer, choreographer, facilitator and pedagogue. His limitless curiosity drives him to develops his personal practice which he named FLUIDIFY, influenced by his background in street, folk and contemporary dances, and by his profession as a sports massage therapist. His works have been presented in New Brunswick, Quebec, France and Germany. The recent pandemic made him reflect for a more community-based and political approach of his art.
Check out more of Charles’ work on his website and Instagram.
KYANA LYNE - Performer / Collaborator
Kyana Lyne is a dance artist and choreographer whose creative practice is influenced by her Indigenous heritage, traversing mind-body philosophy and the conscious individual. Her works are raw somatic reflections surrounding notions of identity expressed within the fields of live performance, voice and film. She received her Bachelor of Fine Arts from Ryerson University in 2018 where she trained in classical ballet, contemporary dance and movement compilation. Upon graduating, she established herself in Montreal, Québec where she worked with Andrea Peña and extended her training with RUBBERBANDance company, Alan Lake, James O’Hara and Manuel Roque. Her artistic interest led her to furthering her studies at the Re:Research Program for Choreographic Research directed by Heidi Strauss in 2019 and the Creative Practice for Contemporary Dance directed by Christopher House through the Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity in 2020.
To date, her work has been presented in Halifax, NS, New York City, USA, Toronto, ON and Montreal, Qc. Most recently, Kyana’s choreography and co-direction won the Coup de Coeur award for her latest dance film, Jontae, presented and produced by Festival Quartiers Danses 2020. Its continued presentation has extended through its selection for the Screen.Dance Festival 2020 in Scotland and is selected to screen at the Hot Docs Film Festival in April 2021.
DO PHAN HOI - Filmmaker / Collaborator
Do Phan Hoi is a multidisciplinary artist born and raised in Montreal, Canada. His main interest in dance lies in Popping, an African American Funk dance. His autodidact formation and unorthodox interests in substyles of Popping like Struttin’ and Boppin’ has led him to learn from pioneers of the dance such as Boogie Frantick and Rashaad Pearson. In 2015, he joins Funny Bones Crew, an iconic collective of the
culture based in Los Angeles. Street dance has played a crucial role in his personal development, and in the past years, he has decided to share his passion for the culture by being involved in the community aspect of the dance by organizing events mainly in the St-Michel district in Montreal.
In 2015, he discovered photography and cinematography. His autodidact education has brought him to explore various styles from documentary to portraiture. In 2017, he was invited to New York to learn under multiple renowned artists in the field such as Karam Gill (director, G-Funk), David Hobby (photographer, The Strobist) and Kevin Mullins (Fujifilm X-Photographer). Through visual arts, he blended his multiple interests and made it a personal goal to document hip hop and dance culture.
JONTAE MCCRORY - Performer / Collaborator
Jontae McCrory, originally from Detroit, Michigan, started his training at Western Michigan University at the age of 19. In 2017, McCrory attended the year-long Dancers Course with BalletBoyz in London, England. Throughout his training, he has had the privilege of learning works by Kyle Abraham, James Gregg, Frank Chaves, and Azure Barton. As an artist, McCrory has had works featured in the 2017 American College Dance Association Gala Concert, Festival Chéries-Chéris-Paris Film Festival, and BBC Network London. McCrory joined RUBBERBAND dance company in 2019 and is a guest apprentice dancer at DJD this fall, courtesy of RUBBERBAND.