Gaétan Gingras began his training in various dance techniques during his College years in Drummondville, Québec - where he was born. He continued his studies at Concordia University and at the ballet school of Eddy Toussaint in Montreal and at the school of Toronto Dance Theatre in Toronto. Gaétan quickly became known for his strong interpretation skills and athletic presence and has been recognized and appreciated by such choreographers as Robert Desrosiers ( Desrosiers Dance Theatre), Ginette Laurin (O Vertigo Danse) and Gilles Maheu (Carbone 14) with whom Gaétan has worked with on many internationally acclaimed productions.

         In 1993 Gaétan was a soloist in the native dance production, In the Land of the Spirit, produced by John Kim Bell, which toured across Canada. This important project initiated Gaétan's search for his own native roots, which subsequently influenced considerably Gaétan's future artistic choices as a creator.

         As a parallel to his career as an interpreter and dance teacher, Gaétan has always nurtured his passion for creating dance. After choreographing numerous works for students' performances back in his native College of Drummondville, in 1993, he presented his work as in independent choreographer for the first time at the Toronto Fringe Dance Festival with three short works. Invited by Dena Davida of Tangente the following year, he choreographed Sentier Inconnu for the Ascendance series in Montreal. Since then, invited regularly by Tangente and participating at various festivals and venues, Gaétan has created a dozen choreographic works. In 1998, the Clifford E. Lee Foundation recognized Gaetan's outstanding creations and contributions to the culture of native people by being named the choreographer in residency at The Banff Center for the Arts.

        In 2005, he comes back to dance after dedicating his time in learning new skill and devoting itself to his children. He then creates "Manitowapan" witch tour all around Canada in 2005 and 2006. In March 2007, Gaétan gets the opportunity to present a full evening of his works at l'Agora de la danse. For the occasion a new piece is created called "My father told me". Finally, in March 2008, Gaétan go back on stage in solo after 10 years of absence with his newest piece called "Mémoire de sang".

         Robert Seven-Crows Bourdon is of mixed Native American blood. His mother is Mi'kmag from the Gaspé coast of Québec and his father is a descendant of the Metis/Illinois, Kaskaskia Nation along the Mississippi river.For Robert, the stories and the songs are a way to show the rich oral tradition of his Nation. «It is essential that we do not lose the sacred teachings because they are the only freedom we have left.» Robert Seven-Crows

         Sophie Lavigne studied dance at the Université du Québec р Montréal, completing her bachelor studies in dance education in 1995 and dance interpretation in 1998. At the end of her studies she was awarded the William Douglas Prize from the UQAM Foundation. As a dancer, she has worked with many choreographers including Ginette Prévost, Motaz Kabbani, Roger Sinha, Lynda Gaudreau, Mariko Tanabe and Deborah Dunn. Sophie has also worked with Gaétan Gingras on two of his previous creations Osheron (1996) and Burning Silence (1997). She is happy to be collaborating with him once again on his new creation Manitowapan, which has given her the opportunity to further explore her algonquin heritage.In addition to her career as a dancer, Sophie also works as a rehearsal director for choreographers such as Heloise Rémy, and teaches periodically at College Montmorency's dance department.

         Originally from Drummondville, Jean-François Allie discovers dance during his College studies in the science program. This discovery turns quickly into a passion that leads him to many renowned dance schools. First, Eddy Toussaint's school in Montreal, then l'école supérieure de Danse du Québec and finally the National Ballet School in Toronto. He then enjoys ten years as a professional dancer with such companies as Eddy Toussaint and Ottawa Ballet. At the age of 30, Jean-François decides to re-orient his choice of career and begins industrial design at the Université de Montréal, where he is currently finishing the Masters program. Having a great interest for conception and design, he considers in his new profession a happy marriage between art and technology.

         Co-founder of Pictures Audio Mtl and trained percussionist, François Beausoleil, with an interest in other performing arts, associated himself closely, right from the beginning of his career in the eighties, to dance (accompanist, composer, creator) and to theatre (production, musician, actor). Later, from 1982 to1992, through his various artistic activities, he makes the most of his talents as a vibraphonist, percussionist and composer with the jazz group Contrevent with whom he records two albums.In 1990, with two Argentinian folk dancers - Ann Bernard and Helen Lemay - he forms the trio Malamba.The group will present various shows independently up until 1992, where they then join Le Cirque du Soleil's(1992-1997) Saltimbanco tour. François has also composed music for several plays, documentaries, short and long - films.

         After finishing her studies in theatre production at the Theatre School of the Saint-Hyacinthe College in Quebec, Annie started her professional career as seamstress at Les Grands Ballets Canadiens in Montreal. Shortly after, she created her own costume studio. She is mostly involved with contemporary dance productions and has worked to date with such companies as Fondation Jean-Pierre Perreault, Montréal Danse, Cas Public, Danse Cité, Omnibus. She has now been initiated into children's theater with her work with Théatre du Grand Cornu. In her next project she will explore the designing and the making of marionettes, as part of the team of La Petite Marée. Manitowapan is Annie's first collaboration with choreographer Gaétan Gingras.

         Born in Sherbrooke, Marie-Eve started dancing at an early age. First came ballet, then gymnastic. Her passion for dance led her to start a professional training in modern dance at the tender age of 15 at l'école de Danse de Québec, where the training was mostly based on ballet and the Graham techniques. Upon finishing that program, Marie-Eve started working for such companies as Axile and Sursaut. She then left for Paris for a year to undergo a training in contemporary dance at the Centre National de la Danse de Paris. Back in Québec, she furthered her knowledge of dance with David Earle and Kenny Pearl, and also danced for choreographer Liliane St-Arnaud on a creation piece involving dancers and physically handicapped or mentally challenged people. Winner of a bursary from the Conseil des Arts et des Lettres du Québec, Marie-Eve went to work with choreographer Martha Carter (martamartahop) in Vancouver for the production of iDUB. The show has toured throughout Canada, stopping at the High Performance Rodeo Festival in Calgary and at Festival of New Dance in Newfoundland. Marie-Eve has been working with Gaétan Gingras since May 2006.

         Jessica took up ballet lessons at a very early age at the école Formation Danse, in Drummondville. In college, she enrolled in the Arts and Dance program and danced at the Ateliers. In 2001, she continued her dance education at the School of Toronto Dance Theatre (STDT), where she learned the Graham technique. She completed her training at Les Ateliers de Danse Moderne de Montréal (Ladmmi) in 2005, where she worked, among others, with Jordi Ventura Fabra, Hélène Blackburn, Margie Gillis et O'Vertigo. Fresh off the school benches and floors, she presented her first creation "-40 Degrés" at Danses Buissonnières (Tangente), a springboard to choreography, where she discovered her passions and motivations. She also works as a choreographer at the Ateliers de danse du Cégep de Drummondville. Besides pursuing her own creative work, she performs in various choreography projects from emerging artists and is presently working with Gaétan Gingras on her latest creation.

         Born and raised in Montreal with Bolivian and Spanish culture, Patricia Iraola graduated from UQAM with a bachelor diploma in contemporary dance, since April 2004. Her previous background is determined by her 13 years of experience in the repertoire of Bolivian folklore with Le Ballet Folklorique Kollasuyo and her 3 years in Latin and social dances with La Troupe de danse San Tropez. Another big influence in her artistic life is the Hip Hop culture. Contemporary dance has been her main focus for the past 5 years and she already danced for Melanie Levesque-Demers, Iris Van Peppen, Serge Takri and Karina Iraola. Manitowapan is Patricia's first collaboration with choreographer Gaétan Gingras.