Jessica McMann

BIO/DESCRIPTION

Jessica McMann is a Calgary-based Cree musician, contemporary dancer and choreographer. She holds a Bachelor of Music in Flute from the University of Calgary with a focus on contemporary music and improvisation. She is currently pursuing her MFA in unceded Coast Salish territory. Her recent compositions and soundscapes explore Indigenous identity and history. She has been dancing for 18 years, and has had the opportunity to present contemporary and traditional work at festivals across western Canada, and tour northern Europe. Currently her personal experience, Two-Spirit identity, Cree and Blackfoot language, and the strength of Indigenous women guide her current contemporary dance work. She works regularly with Elijah Wells, a Blackfoot animator to bring the stories of Transgender, Two-Spirit and Queer persons alive.

Her most recent large work was shown at the Urban Shaman Gallery in Winnipeg as part of “The 60’s Scoop; A place between”. She has also toured in Sweden, Netherlands, and Belgium. She has created soundtracks for the ITWE Collective, performed with the Ambrose University Chamber Orchestra and the Foothills Philharmonic Orchestra as well as Laura Vinson and the Free Spirit as both dancer and musician.