Eduardo Guerrero González (Cádiz, 1983) started dancing when he was only six years old at Carmen Guerrero’s school. There he built the foundations of his dance to later move on to its in-depth development, alongside teachers of the stature of Mario Maya, Antonio Canales, Manolo Marín, among others. He studied Spanish Dance at the Cádiz Dance Conservatory and later expanded his knowledge of contemporary and classical dance. 

Since 2012, Hatim Belyamani — also known as HAT — unites artists in an ever-evolving audio-visual dance between traditional music and digital remix art. In his one-of-a-kind live show, HAT is an orchestra conductor from the future, beaming traditional musicians from the four corners of the world onto a big screen, shaping them harmoniously into new electro beats.

âpihtawikosisâniskwêw (Métis / Norwegian / French / British) multidisciplinary artist Moe Clark is a 2Spirit singing thunderbird. She works across diverse disciplines of vocal improvisation, spoken word poetry, sound design, and performance creation to create meaning rooted in personal legacy, ancestral memory, and embodied knowledge. Originally from the prairies in Treaty 7, Clark resides in Tio’tiá:ke/ Mooniyang/ Montréal, on the unceded territory of the Kanien’keha:ka (Mohawk people).

Her last solo album, “Within,” toured across North America, and her collaborative video poem “nitahkôtân” won best Indigenous language music video at the ImagiNative film festival. In 2013, she directed the 10th Annual Canadian Festival of Spoken Word, highlighting Indigenous Languages, and she was named Poet of Honour at the same festival in 2014. “Fire & Sage/ Du sauge et du feu,” her bilingual book of poetry, was released through Maelström Editions in Belgium and has been showcased at international literature festivals. Moe has seven albums of music, both solo and collaborative and multiple performance videos. Co-founder of Weather Beings with Māori Takatāpui dancer/choreographer Victoria Hunt, their collaboration examines intersections of Métis & Māori cosmology and Indigenous futurism through performance experimentation.

Apart from performance, Clark’s work as a creative facilitator aims to remember and reconnect personal and collective belonging to territories of land, body and voice. Through creative continuums of Indigenous language immersion, song creation and ceremonial practice, her work in the community reinforces the roles of 2S people and intergenerational transmission. Moe’s work has appeared the world over, including at the Lincoln Centre (US), UBUD Writers & Readers Festival (ID) and Origins Festival in London (UK).

Presented in partnership with Raag Mala Music Society of Toronto, Rudra Veena virtuoso Ustad Bahauddin Dagar invites you to journey through the meditative depths of sound. Playing an instrument rarely heard in Canada, Dagar brings to life the timeless resonance of the Rudra Veena, an instrument central to Indian classical music for centuries. 

Marichka is a well-known Ukrainian-Canadian singer, folklorist, activist and musician (Balaklava Blues, Lemon Bucket Orkestra). She is the only Ukrainian singer in North America who truthfully and deeply represents the original authentic tradition of folk singing. Marichka’s creator’s work and performances has won numerous international awards. Marichka is also teaching Ukrainian traditional old songs to get a taste or learn deeply a special vocal technique of Ukrainian polyphony called “open voice.” Marichka performed in in the legendary Barbican Centre in London, UK (2022) and Carnegie Hall (2022). In 2023 Marichka joined the Ukrainian Army Forces as a volunteer combat medic and a journalist in a war zone in Eastern Ukraine. 

Accompanying Marichka will be Zoë Santo. Zoë wields the viola with finesse as an artist whose journey has been profoundly influenced by global folk music. With a distinguished background, she has trained under renowned classical pedagogues, as well as with members of acclaimed international ensembles such as Ensemble Made in Canada (recent Juno winners), Afiara Quartet, Linden Quartet, and Harlem Quartet. Zoë has skillfully channeled her talents to cross geographical and cultural boundaries. 

Her musical journey spans a wide range of genres, from the evocative melodies of the Balkans to the ethereal enchantment of Celtic harmonies and the soul-stirring resonance of Klezmer. Each note she plays reflects her deep appreciation for the diverse and vibrant traditions of folk music from around the world. 

 Brian Katz  (guitar) and Martin van de Ven (clarinets) draw their inspiration primarily from Klezmer, embracing tradition but emphasizing new approaches to this vibrant music! 

The internationally acclaimed duo brings together a variety of musical traditions and influences informed by the diversity within the Klezmer world and by their own rich musical backgrounds. Jazz, Classical, New Music, Bulgarian, Middle Eastern and African influences are integrated in ways that extend tradition and generate new musical understandings that speak to our time. “The audience was spellbound… They ‘play’ the ‘stars’ down from heaven” Dagblad van het Noorden, Holland. 

Ali Rajan is an instrumentalist who plays the Rubab (رباب), a Central Asian stringed instrument. Born and raised in Toronto, he became inspired to play the Rubab in the Northern Areas of Pakistan. He has composed and arranged a variety of pieces in collaboration with other artists and has performed for audiences consisting of government and community leadership.  

Ali was nominated to represent Canada in the Global Encounters Festival 2025 as the Champion in Instrumental Music for the Illume National Arts and Sports Festival. He continues to be featured in venues such as The Living Sea — Fragile Beauty exhibition’s Canadian debut. 

Kiyaan Lavji is a 16 year old student in an all French IB program. Kiyaan has been fortunate to have had the opportunity to be part of the Jubilee Arts and Illume initiative and participated in both the Regional and National Festival, and will be Representing Canada in Dubai 2025.  He performed for the Right Honorable Justin Trudeau, Prime Minister of Canada in 2018.  Kiyaan continues to collaborate with other artists locally and nationally while creating classical compositions to improve his craft.

He established “Kiyaan’s School of Tabla” which held its first tabla workshop in August 2019. In August 2020 Kiyaan ranked 3rd in a National India Classical Tabla Competition. Kiyaan has collaborated with renowned artists on the song Deedar E Khuda which was released by Merchant Records. Most recently Kiyaan performed for Prince Amyn at the ground breaking ceremonies for generations Canada and performed our rendition of the song child of the ocean in the presence of Prince Hussain as a gift to him. He aspires to inspire others to follow their passion. 

Gentle Weep was formed in Toronto by three Brazilian musicians who share a passion for “rodas de choro,” informal musical gatherings where musicians play a musical genre called “choro,” often around a table full of food and drinks. The name “choro”–which means weep in Portuguese–is attributed to the overly sentimental way popular musicians in 19th century Rio de Janeiro would interpret melodies brought from Europe, mixing them with indigenous and Afro-diasporic elements of their culture. In a “roda,” it’s expected that the musicians can accompany by ear whatever a singer or soloist throws at them, involving a lot of improvisation and leaving plenty of room for puns and jokes–musical and otherwise. 

The group was formed in mid-2023 and has played several venues in the city, such as the University of Toronto’s Hart House, Lula Lounge, Drom Taberna, and the Big Fam Sessions at Kensington Sound, always presenting music that, in its richness and rhythmic liveness, touches the heart, the body and the mind in equal proportions. Gentle Weep is thus a nod to the different cultures that gave birth to the joy of playing music and the varied music formed on the whole American continent. 

Anishinaabe Traditional Grandmother Kim Wheatley is Ojibway, Potawatomi and Caribbean in ancestry. She is a band member of Shawanaga First Nation located on the shores of Georgian Bay on Robinson Huron Treaty Territories and is Turtle Clan. She carries the Spirit name “Head or Leader of the Fireflower” and has worked for 3 decades with Indigenous and non-Indigenous communities across Canada.

As a multi award winning speaker for over 3 decades Kim has appeared locally, nationally and internationally in books, magazines, television, radio and numerous news articles and podcasts. Her work is viewed as dynamic, motivational and powerful while always inclusive. She is a published author, hand drummer, singer, water walker, artist, columnist, ceremonial practitioner and ancestral knowledge keeper. Kim is committed to forging good relationships aligned with reconciliation that honour the past, connect the present and contribute to the future.

Adebe DeRango-Adem is a writer and former attendee of the Jack Kerouac School of Disembodied Poetics (Naropa University), where she mentored with poets Anne Waldman and Amiri Baraka. She the author of four full-length poetry books to date. Her fourth and most recent collection, Vox Humana (Book*hug Press, 2022), won the 2023 Raymond Souster Award. Selections from Vox were developed into an original choral composition during her 2023 residency with the Choral Creation Lab, in collaboration with fellow resident composers and the Amadeus Choir of Toronto. “Aria Apocalypta,” a poem from her current and in-progress work, was longlisted for the 2023 CBC Poetry Prize.

Andrea Josic is a queer, Mad, Bosnian-Canadian poet, performer, journalist, and arts educator based in the GTA. She is a national award-winning poet and journalist with work published with Whippersnapper Gallery, Meridian Arts Centre, This Magazine, Xtra, Indie88, pulpMAG, and more. They were the champion of the 2020 Toronto Poetry Slam, co-champion of the 2019 Feminine Empowerment Movement Slam, and runner-up in the 2021 Canadian Individual Poetry Slam. In their roles as both an artist and educator in multiple arts community organizations, Andrea hopes to cultivate joy and healing in their work.

Martin Gomes (He/They) is an Afro/Latino, queer writer and composer based in Toronto. He currently works as an artist facilitator under the pseudonym ‘Smooth’ teaching poetry & beatboxing for several community arts organizations. He’s performed at several notable venues and events, including CBC, Harbourfront Centre, Nuit Blanche, and even at The Eagles’ Hotel California tour. With their art, he hopes to set an example of authenticity, empathy, and observation wherever possible, in an attempt to spread messages of loving each other’s neighbours even through all the noise.

Sombra Efímera is an installation project by dancer and artist Eduardo Guerrero in which the dimensional images gain plasticity and allow the viewer to imagine a multiplicity of worlds, to build private and intimate spaces in relation to public space.

Flamenco itself is a cross-disciplinary, inter-cultural practice.  It brings together diverse cultural traditions to erase the distance and differences between its various influences.  It is greater than the sum of its parts.  It has an aspect that is both sacred and which explores the human condition.

Performed within a transparent dome, this becomes a creation where the Plastic Arts and the Performing Arts join to contribute to each other, joining different artistic paths that dimension through beauty both disciplines.

During Nuit Blanche, the structure will remain open to the public as an installation that visitors can experience as an interactive sculpture.

This evening, RBC Apprentice dancers Maisee Anderson, Tom Cape, Seunghee Han, Yeju Jang and João Massei appear courtesy of The National Ballet of Canada in new work created for them by Eduardo.

About The National Ballet of Canada

One of the top international ballet companies, The National Ballet of Canada was founded in 1951 by Celia Franca. Today, the company is among the world’s finest, with 70 dancers and its own orchestra. Renowned for its diverse repertoire, the company performs traditional full-length classics, embraces contemporary work and encourages the creation of new ballets as well as the development of Canadian choreographers.

Presented in partnership with Raag Mala Music Society of Toronto, this event explores the deep connections between North Indian Hindustani music and South Indian Carnatic music with an exceptional performance featuring two masterful artists, Pankaj Mishra, and Radhika Baskar. 

Pankaj Mishra, a Sarangi maestro from the Banaras Gharana, was trained by the esteemed Pt. Mahesh Prasad Mishra. With performances at prestigious events in India and internationally, Mishra brings the soulful essence of North Indian Hindustani music to this collaboration. He is also the founder of a school for Indian Classical Music in Germany. 

Radhika Baskar, an accomplished Veena artist, represents the rich tradition of Carnatic music from southern India. Known for her expertise in Thanam improvisation, Radhika blends classical Carnatic music with diverse influences, including Western classical, fusion, and jazz. Now based in Canada, she continues to innovate through her solo performances and collaborations. 

Together, these two artists create a unique musical experience that bridges the rich traditions of North and South Indian classical music, offering audiences a glimpse into the shared heritage and distinct expressions of these ancient art forms. 

This session includes a diverse selection of devotional poetry commonly recited among Ismaili Muslim communities as forms of devotional expressions. Recitations include poems, Tajik Pamiri madoh, South Asian ginans, Persian and Arabic qasidas and nasheed. 

Culminating from a unique residency at the Aga Khan Museum, this interdisciplinary event features the powerful collaboration of Métis artist Moe Clark and Moroccan artist Hatim Belyamani (HAT), who bring together their unique heritages to explore the sacred in music and performance. 

Drawing from Indigenous traditions and Sufi practices from across the globe, Clark and Belyamani will guide us through a transformative experience that highlights the deep connections between these ancient spiritual practices. As they intertwine their artistic expressions, the audience will witness the fusion of distinct cultural threads—each with its own nuances and rhythms—into a harmonious whole. 

This event promises to be an immersive journey into the sacred, where the universal and the particular converge, offering new perspectives on ritual and the enduring power of music to connect us all. 

Committed to sharing the spiritual Sufi and Irfan traditions while exploring new movements, Rumi Canada facilitates the experience of unity and love through music, performance, and poetry. They will be accompanied by Persian Sufi music as they perform whirling dervishes, showcasing the ancient form of this sacred practice. 

Experience poetry come to life on the walls of the Aga Khan Museum through a live projection on the building’s façade. Read short poetic works, on various topics and themes, from poets across the Muslim world and from local poets who will compose bespoke works live within the Museum’s walls during the evening of Nuit Blanche. 

Visit the Museum’s Bellerive Room to have a short poem composed just for you based on your unique prompt, a takeaway memento to remember this year’s Nuit Blanche. Your bespoke poem may also appear in the Live Poetry Feed projected on the Museum’s exterior façade throughout the evening.

A tapestry of classical and contemporary interpretations of compositions, conveyed through the tabla and rubab by Kiyaan Lavji and Ali Rajan. 

The rubab resonates with the folk music of many Central Asian cultures. Paired with the tabla’s rich classical and contemporary rhythms, Lavji and Rajan bridge distances between traditions and musical eras through their exploration of Hindustani classical, vintage, and devotional genres of music. 

“The Tessellations of Bach” delves into the convergence of Glenn Gould’s masterful interpretation of the Goldberg Variations and Afraaz Adam Mulji’s profound comprehension of Johann Sebastian Bach, viewed through the dual prisms of a composer and a practitioner of both the tabla and the organ. The tabla, an instrument of rhythmic complexity, will be employed to unveil the melodic and harmonic concordances inherent in Bach’s compositions, simultaneously accentuating the cultural valorization of counterpoint shared by both traditions. While Indian music is distinguished by its intricate rhythmic and melodic counterpoint, Bach’s oeuvre epitomizes harmonic counterpoint. This confluence of disparate yet analogous musical contexts will orchestrate an immersive experience, characterized by cultural ekphrasis, synthesis, and symbiosis, transcending conventional auditory perceptions.