Barbara Diabo

Barbara Kaneratonni Diabo is Kanien’keha:ka (Mohawk) of mixed heritage, originally from Kahnawake. She now lives in Montreal, where she is the artistic director and choreographer for A’nó:wara Dance Theatre. Award-winning choreographer and performer for over 30 years, she creates shows to bring Indigenous themes, stories, and perspectives to light. She does this by combining powwow, Haudenosaunee, and contemporary dance styles to invoke an artistic fusion that reaches different audiences. Diabo takes pride in sharing her culture and performs across Canada and internationally. Her dance show, Sky Dancers, won Outstanding Touring Production in the Dora Mavor Awards 2022 and she was also the winner of the Prix de la danse de Montréal, DANCER category in 2021. Barbara also collaborates with several organizations – notably La Danse sur les routes du Québec and the Indigenous Performing Arts Alliance – with whom she helps educate populations, create “safe spaces” and to support Indigenous artists around the world. Her Indigenous culture teaches her that dance is more than a show. Diabo performs and creates for generations to come, to honor, for her ancestors, for a sense of community, for those who cannot dance, to inspire, to communicate, to encourage cultural pride, and to uplift spirits.