Centre

Erich Preach is an artist who wears 1001 different hats. For almost 5 years, he's been the friendly host of the prestigious Dynasty Gala, which closes Black History Month and celebrates artists from Quebec's Black community. He's also the star of the cooking show Mamma en cheffe on TV5. Preach is a regular on the 2022-23 seasons of La semaine des 4 Julie and Le fabuleux destin de Marie-Lyne Joncas. He is also a recognizable voice in the commercial world and has starred in a number of Quebec television and web series.

He can often be found touring abroad as part of Aba and Preach. The bold comedic duo formed its bilingual format in 2017 and has accumulated more than a million subscribers to date. Erich Preach is also an artist who loves to support causes that are dear to him, including his involvement over the last two years in the event Nœuvembre and his support for the Centre for International Studies and Cooperation (CECI - Haiti 2021).

Coming from a Senegalese bloodline and growing up on a French Caribbean island, Kwamé Bâ is deeply rooted in Black music. Dancing or playing, he navigates through many genres, including House, Hip Hop, Broken Beat, Jazz, and Caribbean Jazz.

Kwamé Bâ travels around the globe to teach and perform. He has won several international dance competitions: the Juste Debout House category in 2018 and more recently the House Dance Forever 2022.

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Photo: Gniewko Głogowski

Ja “Jigsaw” Britton Johnson is an artist with an extensive knowledge of various street styles, with a focus on Hip Hop and Krump. He began working in Hip Hop with 2marvelous, then ventured into Krumping in 2006. He has dedicated 15 years to his art, and through determination and dedication Jigsaw has become part of the new generation of leaders of Krump in Canada. He is also part of MKA (Montreal Krump Alliance), a not-for-profit dance organization, and now dances for Ebnflōh Dance Company.

Photo: Hoi Do

Noey Lopez has been a fixture in the Houston underground House & Techno scene for 18+ years as a House Dancer and DJ. Joining forces with the Crossroads collective, he, along with Henry Chow & Sasha Braverman, ran one of Texas's longest running monthly parties called Rekliner, which brought in some of the world's finest artists for 10 years strong. He is also co-founder of The Blueprint House Dance Festival which helped bring together the club and House Dance scene globally. His music and dance experience has landed him gigs in London, Toronto, Montreal, NYC, Chicago, Detroit, and many others.

Photo: Wewhum Fulwilder

For Tomahawk Bang, music is “Himdag” or the “way of life.” As a native of Arizona’s Onk Akimel O’odham tribe; the Salt River Pima Maricopa Indian Community, Tomahawk developed his relationship with music whilst participating in traditional ceremonies on his homeland. The deeply spiritual nature of his culture serves as one of the clearest influences and most pertinent characteristics of his music. In the world of Tomahawk Bang, the music was, is, and will always be an indigenous experience.

Photo: Anthony Thosh Collins

Theo, aka Rafiki (co-founder of Tap Water Jam and founder of Beat X Changers, an online community of music heads, dancers and labels), discovers rhythm through dance, getting his start in Hip-Hop in 1997 and House in 2005. These two forms of music and self-expression inspired him to get himself behind the turntables. He started spinning in 2006 and is greatly influenced by his "French brothers" (Motor Bass, Deep, St Germain ...). Rafiki can also get synthetic environments in Detroit techno beats or in the depth of Berlin techno, he also likes to take a roundabout way to New York "soulful" vibe. His trips abroad to Montreal, Berlin, New York, and Detroit have greatly shaped his musical identity.

Photo: Marguerite Sarzynska

Forêt Noire is a waacking collective whose mandate is to make the essence of waacking shine from a unique and very personal perspective. Since 2009, they have choreographed and directed several creations that have been performed in Canada, Haiti and Japan. As the head of HotMess, Canada's largest waacking battle, Ebony and Cherry have also judged and participated in many battles around the world.

Photo: Hoi Do