About OURO Collective

 

OURO Collective (OURO) creates and produces new dance works on the unceded territories of the xwməθkwəy̓əm (Musqueam), Skwxwú7mesh (Squamish) and Səl̓ílwətaʔ/Selilwitulh (Tsleil-Waututh) Nations and the City of Vancouver. We wish to express our gratitude to the Indigenous people who have ties to this territory and acknowledge that we are guests on this land we work, play and live in as artists and settlers.

OURO was founded by Cristina Bucci, Rina Pellerin, Maiko Miyauchi, Dean Placzek, and Mark Siller in 2014. Fusing hip-hop, waacking, breaking, popping, house, and contemporary dance as their foundation, each street dancer has trained with the original founders of their respective dance styles and brings specific knowledge to the group aesthetic.

Mandate: OURO was created to support and promote street dance artists/culture. As individual artists coming from diverse cultural and dance backgrounds, OURO sees collaboration as a catalyst for dialogue, creative innovation, and community building. United around the common goal of pushing the boundaries of how street dance-based works are created and presented, OURO is dedicated to creating performances that explore the full range of possibilities and identities the group represents. OURO Collective advances the public’s appreciation of street dance culture through dance classes, events/workshops, with a focus on youth engagement activities in smaller communities in BC and through creation of high-quality dance work for public presentation.

Mission: We create artistically innovative, socially accessible and community-minded performances through our unique amalgamation of street and contemporary dance techniques. We are committed to producing content that extends beyond our immediate social circles or individual dance communities. We envision breaking down the separation, not just between the disparate arts communities, but between the audience and the performers as well. We honour the true spirit of street dance as an art form that brings people together regardless of their background or dance experience.

OURO’s work has been presented at Vancouver’s Dancing on the Edge Festival, Vancouver Street Dance Festival, Vancouver International Dance Festival, Seattle International Dance Festival, Guelph Dance Festival, Dance In Vancouver, Dance Allsorts, CypherFest International Street Dance Festival, and profiled by CBC Arts documentary series Exhibitionists. The collective has collaborated with numerous local outreach programs, including Share Dance Outreach Program, Immigrant Services Society, and The Power of Dance. OURO’s outreach activities have engaged with communities in the city of Revelstoke, Nelson, Trail, Nanaimo, and Smithers, BC. In 2020, OURO received Dance Victoria’s Chrystal Dance Prize to collaborate with Rauf Yasit (aka RubberLegz), for the creation of a short film and full-length dance work entitled, 7y98D. The short film premiered on NOWNESS and has been screened at film festivals; Lago (Italy), Mignolo (USA), Cinedans (NL), and upcoming in Germany at TANZAHOi.

OURO has also successful toured to Japan in 2017 and 2018 and was commissioned by KMA Dance in 2019 to create CLAY, a new work, alongside KMA orchestra for a performance at Yachioza, Kumamoto, Japan.

Cristina Bucci - Founder/Managing Director

Cristina Bucci creates and produces new dance works on the unceded territories of the xwməθkwəy̓əm (Musqueam), Skwxwú7mesh (Squamish) and Səl̓ílwətaʔ/Selilwitulh (Tsleil-Waututh) Nations. As a dance artist she has been given many opportunities to be a part of numerous exciting projects with a career that has taken her around the globe. Some highlights include the International Dance Seminar in Brazil, choreography for Yarita Yu Ballet Company in Tokyo, Dancing on the Edge, touring Japan with OURO Collective, Vancouver International Dance Festival, CypheFest International Dance Festival, Avant Garde Dance (UK), working with artists such as Young MC, Indian opera singer Veera Devi Khare, Lil Buck and with spoken word artist Scruffmouth Scribe through Brief Encounters. Her past twenty years of experience in the arts as a dancer, choreographer, collective member, and dance educator has seen her bring artistic excellence to all of her projects, as she continues to bring street dance-based work to the forefront of the arts in BC, Canada and beyond. She acted as assistant director of training company The SOULdiers for seven years and part of various outreach dance programs, such as Kidsafe, Share Dance, and The Power of Dance (The Dance Centre). Cristina is also a registered holistic nutritionist and presents her “Nutrition for Dancers” seminars to dancers of all ages and works with clients one on one. Cristina is currently acting as the Managing/Co-Artistic Director of OURO Collective.

Rina Pellerin - Founder/Outreach Coordinator

Rina’s versatility and artistry has allowed her to learn, perform, and compete across North America and Asia. She began classical ballet at the age of 7, and immersed herself in street dance culture during her teen years. She has received several scholarships and awards throughout her training, granting her the opportunity to travel and study under pioneers of street dance and its founders. Given her choreographic and freestyle background, she has performed with various groups of different genres, and has worked on commercial projects with companies such as Lululemon, Telus, Goldwell, Vancouver Art Gallery, Fader Magazine, Disney, NBC, CW Network, and Samsung. Highlighted choreography credits include Dance Allsorts, New Works Season Launch, Dancing on the Edge, Cypher Fest, Bumbershoot, Shambhala Music Festival, Dance in Vancouver, Seattle International Dance Festival, and Block Party. On top of corporate and commercial work, Rina has been an active member of the Vancouver street dance scene, and has made it her priority to grow the Waacking community. She is the director of eccentric Waacking crew, Konichiwaack, and an original member of multi-style dance collective, OURO Collective.

Eric Cheung - Collective member

Born and raised in Calgary Alberta, Eric Cheung has been specializing in the style of popping for 6 years. Originally self-taught, he has now learned from the Electric Boogaloos and many of the current innovators of the dance. Eric has also travelled and competed in battles across Canada and overseas to countries like Japan for Old School Night Vol.19 and Amsterdam for Summer Dance Forever 2016. He recently, won at Vancouver Street Dance Festival 2017 in the popping category. As an artist, Eric strives to always show the most authentic version of himself whenever he performs. He has also become known for his ability to perform under pressure and his willingness to take risks in battle competitions. Eric is one of the founding members of Unknown Elements, the only popping crew in Calgary with the mission to promote individuality in dance and to cultivate the local popping scene.

Ash Cornette - Collective member

Born in Washington D.C, and raised in Mannheim, Germany, Complex has always been drawn to jazz music. At an early age, Complex picked up percussion, saxophone and piano. His dance reflects his musical background, and his movement challenges and highlights acoustic patterns and rhythm. Starting in 1998, Complex is a long time artist in the B-boy world,and has been placing the Pacific North West on the map ever since. His detailed footwork, flow, and strong foundation in breaking has allowed him to share his craft across North America, Asia, and Europe. He is a member of Dance Broomz and Hoodz, and is both a decorated battler, and a strong performer. He has won several titles such as Massive Monkees Footwork Champion, Vancouver Street Dance Festival Breaking Champion, and has performed for many events and companies such as Takashi Murakami Birthday Bash, Lululemon, L’Oréal, and Leica Geosystems.

Ganna Martynova - Collective member

Ganna’s dance journey began in the young age when she became a member of the Ukrainian folk dance ensemble in the city of Odessa, Ukraine. After many years of performing with the ensemble, Ganna encountered street dance, and began learning the forms of Hip Hop, House dance and Locking. Though she’s passionate about many different street dance styles, Ganna has found her calling as a house dancer and has become an active member of the house dance community. She has taught countless classes and workshops, performed at a variety of events, and competed and judged battles alongside some of the most prominent street dancers in Canada, US and Europe. She is a member of the OURO dance collective based in Vancouver, BC. As one of the organizers of the Vancouver Street Dance Festival (VSDF), Ganna gives back to the community by hosting battles, workshops, sessions and training programs which has helped to spread awareness about the street dance culture and history.

Kinui Oiwa - Apprentice

Kinui Oiwa is a Japanese contemporary dance artist currently based in Vancouver. She is an apprentice of OURO Collective. Kinui began her ballet training at the age of 11 at the YARITA YU BALLET STUDIO in Japan. She continued her training at PNSD Rosella Hightower in Cannes, France, under the direction of Paola Cantalupo. She completed her dance training with a dance diploma through the Cannes Junior Ballet Company. In 2018, Kinui joined Balletto di Roma in Rome, Italy, toured Europe, and performed numerous works by Davide Bombana, Itamar Serussi, Fabrizio Monteverde, and Andrea Costanzo Martini, gaining three years of experience as a professional dancer. In 2022, Kinui joined OURO Collective as an intern, where she embarked on learning a new dance form, street dance. Kinui has been involved in various projects such as motion capture projects, commercial projects, and dance music video projects. She has collaborated with OCIN and Lululemon. Currently based in Vancouver and Japan, she is expanding her range of activities as a contemporary dance artist, including dance, choreography, modeling, and more. She is interested in collaborating with artists from various fields and exploring the possibilities of self-discovery, her role as a dancer, and new ways of expression that arise from these experiences.

 

Past members/collaborators: Maiko Miyauchi, Dean Placzek, Mark Siller, Braden Penno, Antonio Somera Jr, Trevor Cheung, Thaiyo Seo, Shana Wolfe

Past apprentice: DG Hattingh