Artist in Residence in ARTicipate

Re:Imagine Collective extends across artforms, space and time, comprising of dancer/choreographer Elizabeth Emond-Stevenson and violist/composer Kathryn Patricia Cobbler and in a dance-music collaboration. With the goal of reanimating still and silent public spaces, Emond-Stevenson and Kathryn Patricia Cobbler explore classical and improvised forms, sharing impulses, reacting and responding to their surroundings through multidisciplinary performance. Though their artistic practices of dance and music are the lenses in which they operate artistically in the world, the duo comes with a breadth of experience within arts management, arts-based research, pedagogical design, community engagement and workshop facilitation.  

The Re:Imagine Collective's collaborations have been showcased at the National Arts Centre, The Diefenbunker Museum, and supported by a residency at Ottawa Dance Directive. As a collective they were selected as a TACTICS project and interviewed for their Artist Highlights, and were featured artists for Ontario Culture Days. Additionally, they were selected and presented at Cultural Pluralism in the Arts Movement Ontario’s (CPAMO) Gathering Divergence Conference in Toronto. Most recently, The Re:Imagine Collective has worked with MASC as featured artists as a part of their dance festival, Festival de danse en milieu scolaire (FDMS). Whether it be on the concert stage, leading a community workshop or engaging students in an academic setting, The Re:Imagine Collective is a strong emerging voice within the multidisciplinary arts scene, creating meaningful projects that ignite spaces and community. 

Elizabeth Emond-Stevenson is a franco-ontarian dancer, choreographer, educator and mother based on stolen Algonquin territory (Orléans, Ontario). She is a graduate of the Quinte Ballet School of Canada, The School of Dance, Decidedly Jazz Danceworks’ Professional Training Program and attended the Banff Centre for the Arts, as well as training extensively in inclusive dance through Propeller Dance, Stopgap Dance Company (UK), Candoco (UK), AXIS Dance Company (USA), and Dandelion Dance. She makes space to access dance through collaboration, artmaking across disciplines and intergenerational sharing.  

As a creator her work has been commissioned/supported by the National Arts Centre (Sphere Festival, Capsule, Canada Performs), Ottawa Dance Directive, the City of Ottawa Public Art Program, Lisbon Dance Platform (Portugal), Theatre 4.669, TACTICS, Fresh Meat Festival, Free Flow Dance Theatre, the Annual Alberta Dance Festival, NextFest and others. 

Elizabeth is a company dancer with Propeller Dance, where she has performed the works of Stopgap Dance Company, Renata Soutter and Shara Weaver; a collaborator with Ottawa Dance Directive; has interpreted work by Speaking Vibrations, Liz Winkelaar, Allison EB, Tara Luz Danse and Par B.L.eux; and toured Canada with The Ghomeshi Effect. 

 As an educator/facilitator she has taught across ages and abilities through Propeller Dance, The School of Dance, the City of Ottawa’s I Love to Dance program, le Festival de danse au milieu scolaire, ODD, Amethyst Women’s Addiction Centre and as a guest in schools. She created INTERFACE, a paid research opportunity for Ottawa emerging dance artists. 

Elizabeth has served as arts administrator and sometimes producer for Propeller Dance, The School of Dance, Decidedly Jazz Danceworks, Arzoo Dance Theatre and Kalasadhana Dance Company, as well as self-producing multiple shows. She is both a member and administrative manager with Ghost Rooster Collective. She was a member of the Young Arts Leaders Collective and a board member with Arts Network Ottawa. 

Mentored by the late great Tedd Robinson, Elizabeth directed Théâtre Wakefield’s “Once Upon Our Time” seniors production, choreographed a music video for Ottawa band Moonfruits, was selected for the Ottawa Children’s Festival TYA Incubator and appeared in CBC Kids Live. 

Hailing from Canada’s Capital region, Kathryn Patricia Cobbler is a composer, loop pedal violist, and educator who has carved a singular niche within contemporary classical music, improvisation, and soundscape creation. She is celebrated for crafting uniquely arresting soundscapes, whether realized in solo performances or through her commissioned works for installations and chamber ensembles.

As a composer, Ms. Cobbler has had the pleasure to collaborate on many meaningful projects within the Canadian music scene, with her compositions celebrating women leadership within the arts and holding space for underrepresented voices.

Some of Kathryn Patricia’s works include a commission by the National Art Gallery of Canada to compose a piece for their exhibit, Uninvited: Canadian Women Artists in the Modern Moment. Further embracing site-specific work, she has composed for and presented works at the National Arts Centre of Canada (NAC) and The Diefenbunker, Canada’s Cold War Museum. 

Her work has been recognized internationally, including a feature in the Boston-based concert series, Castle of Our Skin’s Black Composers Miniature Challenge, resulting in the world premiere of her piece A Home Called ‘Wander’ for solo viola and spoken word. Additionally, her chamber  music has been featured at Array Music, and her compositional and performance practice featured in Musicworks Magazine.

A seasoned performer and improviser, Kathryn Patricia was named a CBC Trailblazer in 2021. She has been featured in Canada’s most notable concert series, including Chamberfest, Music and Beyond, and the NAC’s Sphere Festival. Named one of '3 Classical Musicians You Should Know' in 2022 by SHIFTER Magazine and the NAC, she is a sought-after composer, performer, and speaker.

Ms. Cobbler holds degrees in viola performance from Western University (B.M.) and the University of Ottawa (M.M.), and was a 2022 fellow of the Global Leaders Institute. She is currently a PhD student in Critical Studies in Improvisation at the University of Guelph, and serves as a performance instructor at Carleton University. Kathryn Patricia Cobbler performs on a viola by luthier Sibylle Ruppert and a Boss RC-600 loop pedal.