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 formed in 2014 and is currently entering their eight season together. Fusing hip-hop, waacking, breaking, popping, 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 Collective highlights:
Season One / 2014-2015
-Worked with mentor Amber Funk Barton to develop a twenty-minute piece entitled M. Sessions.
-Performed in Vancouver at Serpens Gallery, Kits House, Moberly Arts and Cultural Centre, BC Buds Spring Festival, Drink. Eat. Play., Dancing on the Edge, and the Season Launch for New Works Management and Presentation.
Season Two / 2015-2016
-Embarked on three new works: Kaleido, a commission by Tentacle Tribe (Montreal); Visceral Murmurs, a collaboration with Vancouver-based photographer/art director Jourdan Tymkow; and PACE, a new work by OURO Collective.
-Participated in a lululemon lab artist talk, which resulted in having a full display of Visceral Murmurs process in lululemon lab’s store window (Vancouver, BC).
-Presented at Dance Allsorts, self-presented at Studio 1398, VIVO Media Arts Centre, Dancing on the Edge, and CypherFest International Street Dance Festival (Yukon).
-Profiled by CBC Arts documentary series Exhibitionists.
Season Three / 2016-2017
-Performed PACE at ALT Fest, Body Talk Project/Crimson Coast, Guelph Dance Festival, Vancouver
International Dance Festival, and participated in the Share Dance Outreach Program.
-Created first full-length work entitled TANGENT.
-Presented at New Works at Night Series at The Orpheum Annex and Machida Shimin Hall, Tokyo, Japan.
-Commissioned to create a new work on the Yarita Yu Ballet Company (Tokyo, Japan) with other 50 youth.
Season Four / 2017-2018
-Toured TANGENT throughout British Columbia, Bass Coast Music Festival and Kaleidoscope Arts Festival.
-Performed PACE at Yachioza, the historic kabuki theatre in Kumamoto, Japan and at The Seattle International Dance Festival.
-Featured in the Spring/Summer 2017 Trendbook (Paris/Frankfurt), 24 Hours Newspaper and Dance International Magazine.
Season Five / 2018-2019
-Created HAKO, a second full-length work, in collaboration with public installation team Tangible, through a residency and performance series, with three sold out shows, at The Shadbolt Centre for the Arts, Burnaby, BC.
-Commissioned to create CLAY, a new work, alongside KMA orchestra for a performance at Yachioza, Kumamoto, Japan.
-Toured TANGENT to Revelstoke, BC.
Season Six / 2019-2020
-Remounted HAKO for Dance in Vancouver, Shambhala Music Festival, Blend Animation Conference, and Vancouver Street Dance Festival.
-Research for a new creation, SOTTO 51, which will be presenting in May 2021.
-HAKO was set to perform at the Guelph Dance Festival, and Sauga Street Dance Summit in 2020 (both in Ontario), deliver youth programs in Calgary, present work-in-progress showings of SOTTO 51 at the Vancouver Mural Festival and Vancouver Street Dance Festival. Due to COVID-19 these events have been cancelled/rescheduled. We will keep you posted!
Season seven / 2020-2021
-Received the Chrystal Dance Prize through Dance Victoria to collaborate with Rauf Yasit (RubberLegz) on a new short film and stage piece that will premiere in the fall of 2021.
-Continued creation for SOTTO 51, which has been postponed to September 2021. Check our SOTTO 51 page or news for updates.
-Created a digital presentation of HAKO! The show premiered for Art Revelstoke along with our youth residency program in March 2021. We will have another showing of HAKO from May 28-30, 2021.
-Virtual residency with the community of Smithers, along with a 15 minute excerpt showing of HAKO.-Research and creation for Fire06, which premiered at Dancing on the Edge in July of 2021.
Season eight / 2021-2022
-7y98D short film premiered on NOWNESS and was part of Cinedans Short Film festival in Amsterdam
-Presented 7y98D stage piece at Roundhouse Performance Centre in Vancouver, BC in June of 2022.
-Performed at Bass Coast Music and Art Festival in July of 2022.
-Performing SOTTO 51 live at Robson Square on September 17, 2022!
Link to NOWNESS:
https://www.nowness.com/series/just-dance/7y98d-ouro-rubberlegz
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.
Maiko Miyauchi - Founder/Marketing Director
Maiko began her dancing at the age of four, studying at the Ecole de Ballet Classic and Tokyo Junior Ballet. After graduating high school, Maiko chose to pursue her training at Goh Ballet Academy in Vancouver, British Columbia. In an effort to challenge herself even further, Maiko began exploring other dance forms, immersing herself in the local jazz and hip-hop communities while continuing to teach and study at Source Dance Co. and Harbour Dance Centre. Throughout her career, Maiko has worked and choreographed for artists like Young MC, Elise Estrada, Cory Lee, Econoline Crush, as well as organizations/festivals like the Canadian Football League, New Balance, New Works, Dancing on the Edge, Lululemon, and Native shoes. She’s also appeared in major motion picture and television projects like Sucker Punch, Once Upon A Time, Hellcats, John Tucker Must Die, The Sorority Wars, Caprica, Impulse, Grave Halloween, Black Sash, and Mirror’s Edge 2. While well-versed in many styles of dance, Maiko’s current focus is contemporary dance. Building upon her work with 605 Collective and the response. dance company, her role as Co-Director of OURO Collective allows her to follow her passion for experimentation and collaboration with other artists.
Dean Placzek - Founder
Dean has been studying the art of breaking/b-boying for the last 12 years and has become known for his creativity, originality, concepts and flow. Devoting his time to developing his skill and artistry as well as furthering his knowledge of the culture of hip-hop, Dean approaches dance with the mindset of a student, competing against (and learning from) the best in the breaking community. As a dancer, Dean has performed across British Columbia with dance crew Project Soul and competed in Ottawa, Seattle, San Francisco, Orlando, Los Angeles, and Holland. Dean also devotes his time to teaching and is committed to spreading his knowledge of hip-hop and b-boy culture through various outreach programs such as Blueprint For Life, which conducts social work through hip-hop. As an artist, Dean is committed to emphasizing the dance aspect of breaking as well as helping tear down the negative misconceptions about breaking culture in general. He has choreographed pieces for Project Soul, Pop up Dances, Dancing on the Edge, Dance Allsorts, New Works Season Launch, Dancers for a Small Stage (MovEnt) and has been collaborating and choreographing with OURO since its inauguration.
Mark Siller - Founder
Mark has been fascinated by creative movement for 20 years. Initially inspired by Jackie Chan and old martial arts films, he began practising acrobatics and delved into breaking in 2001. Honest expression, self- knowledge, education and its resultant creativity is of the utmost importance to him. He believes that it is through these means that you make your mark in the world. As a frequent competitor in high profile breaking competitions, Mark recently won “World Bboy Classics Vancouver” and went on to represent the North West at the world finals in Eindhoven, Holland. Mark has also been involved in creating, organizing and promoting a number of dance events in Vancouver such as: “The Floor Horsemen Present: Jam Masters Series,” “Fight Before Christmas,” “Kill Beats” and “The Unity Festival Vancouver 2013 and 2014.” Just as committed to youth work and education, Mark is a Senior Project Facilitator at Blueprint For Life, an organization dedicated to “Social Work Through Hip-Hop” (for which he received the 2013 TD/Michaëlle Jean Foundation Bursary). Highlighted choreography credits include Dance Allsorts, New Works Season Launch, Dancing on the Edge, and Project Soul. Mark is also a staff member of Unity Charity, DAREarts and the Royal Conservatory, teaching school curriculum through the arts. However, his proudest and most meaningful year has been spent as a member of OURO Collective where he’s able to combine his artistic interests with his community-minded focus.
Eric Cheung - Collective member/past apprentice
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.
Shana Wolfe - Collective member
Shana Wolfe is a dance artist currently based in Vancouver, Canada on the unceded territories of the xʷməθkwəy̓əm (Musqueam), Skwxwú7mesh (Squamish), and Səl̓ílwətaʔ/Selilwitulh (Tsleil-Waututh) Nations. She completed her dance studies through the Arts Umbrella Graduate Program under Artemis Gordon and received her dance diploma in 2017. She has toured internationally to the Netherlands, performing in the ITS Festival and Netherlands Dans Theater’s Shortcuts XL’17, as well as performed “BILL” by Sharon Eyal with Ballet BC throughout England and in Germany for the Movimentos - Autostadt festival in 2018. She has performed new creations by local artists such as Wen Wei Wang, Lesley Telford and Emily Molnar, and performed repertoire by Azure Barton, Crystal Pite, Medhi Walerski, and more. She attended Springboard Danse Montreal in 2018 where she performed works by Margie Gillis (The Legacy Project), and Michael Getman. Also in 2018, Shana worked with Cindy Mochizuki on an experimental dance film with 10 Japanese-Canadian women, and in 2019 with OURO collective and 01magazine for a dance on screen project. Shana created her first piece titled “轴/軸/Axis”, collaborating with friend and poet Rosemary Xinhe Hu. The piece is about “home”, explored in Japanese, Mandarin, and English, and is a brief telling of our bodies’ histories on this land and the lands we long for. The piece will be shown for Vines Art Festival 2020.
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.
Thaiyo Seo - Project based collaborator
Thaiyo is a world-famous b-boy originally from South Korea who is now a Vancouver-based artist. His crew, "Last For One", came from a small town outside of Seoul, and made a big splash in the mid 2000's. Most notably, winning the International Battle of the Year 2005 in Germany. Thaiyo's crew was highlighted in the feature film "Planet B-boy", that followed the story of each crew that went to Battle of the Year 2005. Thaiyo's style is based off of his belief that a well-rounded b-boy is a good b-boy. He combines style, power, and foundation to create his dance, and passes it on to his students with great enthusiasm. Some highlighted shows include: Fan Fest FIFA 2006 (Munich, Germany), Edinburgh Fringe Festival 2007 (Edjnburgh, Scotland), The 17th Presidential Inaugural Ceremony 2008 (Seoul, South Korea), Zimbabwe Harare Festival 2009 (Harare, Zimbabwe), Lincoln Center Festival 2009 ( New York City, New York, USA), Pure Style 2010 (Trento, Italy), Winter lude 2013 (Ottawa), Vancouver International Dance Festival 2014, and the 2018 Tangent tour with OURO Collective throughout BC.
Antonio Somera Jr - Project based collaborator
Antonio Somera Jr. is a quirky character, robust space-eater, and a nimble cat-lover. Based out of Vancouver, Canada, he is a member of emerging collectives: MAYCE, Konichiwaack, and OURO. After graduating with a BFA from the SFU Contemporary Dance Program, he had the privilege of interpreting works by: the response. dance company, Dancers Dancing, Katie DeVries, Noam Gagnon, Rob Kitsos and Julie Chapple. Antonio has performed on various stages around Vancouver such as 12 Minutes Max, Vancouver International Dance Festival, OnTheBoards, Shooting Gallery Performance, Dancing on the Edge, and Made in BC tours. In 2015, Antonio worked in Seattle, WA, alongside choreographer KT Niehoff, in her remount of A Glimmer of Hope or Skin or Light. He will be performing for Seattle International Dance Festival with OURO collective in 2018. Antonio has finished a 1-year contemporary dance program called SEAD, in Salzburg, Austria. He joined SEAD’s touring company group, The BODHI Project, where he toured around Europe, UK and Israel performing choreographic works of established artists like Sita Ostheimer, Igor Bacovich & Iratxe Ansa, and Mala Kline. During his travels and studies, Antonio has developed a passion for physical theatre, Gaga technique, contact improvisation, and the urban street-style of waacking. Antonio has grown to be an avid participant in Vancouver’s street-dance community, instructing waacking classes and attending battles locally and internationally. Antonio’s lifelong artistic process is to create a vocabulary merging waacking and contemporary techniques presented in both proscenium and urban settings.
Braden Penno - Project based collaborator
Braden is generally a decent guy! Before the discovery of urban dance, he was inspired by the characters in anime, comics, martial arts, and video games. He is now reputed in the Canadian B-boy community for a blend of stylish flow and abrupt awkwardness, both interpersonal and on the floor. Since joining Dangerous Goods crew, he has seen considerable competitive results and many opportunities to perform. His activity has earned invitations to judge and MC events, to teach, and to compete in jams like Red Bull BC One Canada Cypher. He is lucky enough to have danced across North America, Europe, and Asia. Braden is committed to the growth of the street dance community in the Canadian prairies, often returning to organize events, teach, and perform. He has found a new creative outlet in OURO and is excited to continue enjoying life as a movement nerd.
DG Hattingh - Past apprentice
DG was born in South Africa and moved to Nanaimo when he was five years old. DG started dancing at Vibe at the age of seven when he said, "Dance looks like fun!" He has trained mainly at Vibe in various styles including Hip-Hop, Breaking, Locking, Animation, Contemporary, Swing dance and Stepping. DG has been dancing in Performance levels at Vibe and has been involved in the battle scene in Nanaimo and Vancouver. In the spring of 2017, DG attended a "Body Talk" workshop where he was offered a scholarship to OURO COLLECTIVE. He will pursue this opportunity with OURO after graduation. DG is excited to start work with "Inception", a Nanaimo–based company where he will gain more contemporary and ballet training. His dance style is distinctive; being shaped and inspired by all the different styles he trains in. Most important for DG, is the potential for dance to communicate with others while also learning more about himself and his limits.