Irma Villafuerte

Irma Villafuerte is a Central American dance artist and emerging choreographer based in Tkaronto. She is a first-generation daughter of refugees from Nahuat Pipil and Lenca Territory Kuskatan, post-colonial El Salvador. She is a graduate of George Brown Dance from the Dance Performance Studies program with an extended background in Latin American dances and Cuban Contemporary.

She’s had the honour to perform, train and create in various arts festivals and workshops across the Americas and overseas, such as The Rhubarb Festival, DanceWeekend Ontario, Aluna Theatre’s Panamerican Routes Festival, RUTAS, Panamania 2015, La 12 Bienal de la Habana 2015 for (IN)DISCIPLINAS, Vanguardia Dance Projects Festival, Danza Corpus Annual Open Space Temporada in Matanzas, Cuba, International Dance Meeting by Danza Libre in Guantanamo, CounterPulse Performing Diaspora in San Francisco, Mayworks Festival for Working People, to name a few. She has been part of choreographic works by Santee Smith (Kahawi Dance Theatre), Alejandro Ronceria, Roshanak Jaberi (Jaberi Dance Theatre), Victoria Mata, Kaeja D’dance, Ryan Lee, Derek Sangster, Arsenio Andrade, Sharon B. Moore, Jose Angel Carret (Danza Corpus), Esteban Aguilar (Danza Fragmentada, Cuba).

Through diverse residencies like Peer Learning Network Program at Dancemakers, Emerging Voice with TDT, and George Brown Dance, she ignited her choreographic practice and development. Her artistic mission is embodying cultural, social-political and migrant narratives of oppressed communities. As a daughter of refugee parents, her passion for social justice, human rights, and political art making, is the driving force for creation in Irma’s choreographic and performance work.

In 2017, she premiered a new work in progress “Desconocida” at Aluna Theatre’s Caminos Festival – New Works in Progress by Latin American artists in dance and theatre, which was one of the groundbreaking creative moments that set her choreographic journey. She currently sits on the board of Adelheid Dance Projects and is on the faculty at Casa Maiz’ Semillas Latinas summer camp for Latin American children since 2013. As of late, she has joined the faculty of Randolph College for the Performing Arts and an artist in residency for TDSB Creates.

Watch this page for project updates.

Artist photos by Alejandra Higuera