ASSEMBLY HALL, ETOBICOKE
2026-27 Season
Presented by City of Toronto in partnership with TOES FOR DANCE, with support from Lakeshore Arts and Department of Canadian Heritage
We’re excited to launch the Lakeshore Dance Series (LDS) in South Etobicoke!
Formerly known as Process+Practice, our 2026-27 Season offers more exciting and thought-provoking dance experiences at Assembly Hall.
Featuring talented local dance artists and choreographers from across Toronto who are part of our residency programs, the Series includes beginner dance classes, community gatherings, and three distinct performances that illustrate the life cycle of a choreographic process. Audience members can witness raw, unfinished ideas in the summer, followed by exquisitely-crafted new works in the autumn, and finally, revisited repertoire pieces in the winter.
Be moved and inspired through engaging with the life-affirming creative energy of our stellar featured artists.
All events are free or pay-what-you-can with $0 ticket options.
2026-27 EVENTS AT-A-GLANCE
AUGUST 2026
Saturday, August 22, 2026
(Rain Date: August 23)
OUTDOOR DANCE JAM + PICNIC
Celebrate the beginning of the Lakeshore Dance Series with TOES FOR DANCE this summer. Connect with our community through a day of free outdoor beginner dance classes, live music, and a BBQ lunch at Assembly Hall.
Wednesday, August 26, 2026
DANCE-In-Development Performance
Witness the early stages of development for two distinct pieces of dance choreography. This unique experience offers you the chance to engage with new ideas and speak with the artists through a facilitated Q&A. Join this free preview to gain insight into the creative process before the full pieces premiere in the fall of 2027.
Additional support for this event provided by Lindy Green Family Foundation.
November 2026
Saturday, November 7 - Sunday, November 8, 2026
premiere dance presentations
Encounter an elevated arts and culture experience this fall through a presentation of two compelling dance works in one shared programme. Complete with lighting design and costumes, this performance showcases exquisite artists and their thought-provoking choreographic explorations. Pay-what-you-can-afford style ticketing.
Additional support for this event provided by Toronto Arts Council, National Ballet of Canada, and Lindy Green Family Foundation.
January 2027
Saturday, January 30, 2027
Artist Mixer
Burrow into this cozy day of free reciprocal offerings for artists and creatives. Join in on artistic development opportunities including a workshop, facilitated networking circles, and more as a thank you to the arts community and Lakeshore Dance Series supporters.
Saturday, January 30, 2027
Repertoire Dance SHowing
Defrost this winter with TOES FOR DANCE through a showcase of revisited dance pieces by talented local artists. Experience how artists can breathe new life into existing works and witness the artistic depth of choreography that has matured through deeper exploration. Pay-what-you-can-afford style ticketing.
Additional support for this event provided by Dancemakers and Ontario Arts Council.
OUTDOOR DANCE JAM + PICNIC
Photo by Kendra Epik
Celebrate the beginning of the Lakeshore Dance Series with TOES FOR DANCE this summer. Connect with our community through a day of free outdoor beginner dance classes, live music, and a BBQ lunch at Assembly Hall. Free ice cream provided by local favourite Ed’s Real Scoop for the first 75 people!*
Saturday, August 22, 2026 (Rain Date: August 23)
11:00 AM - 3:00 PM
Assembly Hall, Etobicoke
DAY AT A GLANCE
11:00 AM - Live music and family-friendly activities
12:00 PM - Hip-Hop Party Grooves Dance Class with KINAJ
1:00 PM - BBQ Lunch with Vegan and Gluten Free options
2:00 PM - Bharatanatyam 101 Dance Class with Atri Nundy
RSVP today for free ice cream onsite* and to receive weather-related updates directly to your inbox! Join us for all or part of the day, and bring your family and friends to enjoy the final weeks of summer!
*Free ice cream provided by Ed’s Real Scoop will be given away to the first 75 registered attendees to show up. Ice cream will also be available for purchase.
Hip-Hop Party Grooves Dance Class
with Process+Practice Residency Artists, KINAJ
Join KINAJ for a Hip-Hop Party Grooves Dance Class open to all ages and skill levels. Rooted in joy, connection and self-expression, this class invites everyone to come move, learn and vibe together in a welcoming and supportive space. Through easy-to-follow grooves, rhythm exercises and feel-good music, participants will connect with others, and celebrate the spirit of dance — no experience needed.
Photo by Caitlin Chu
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Join KINAJ for a Hip-Hop Party Grooves Dance Class designed for all ages, backgrounds, and experience levels. Rooted in joy, community, and self-expression, this beginner-friendly workshop offers an introduction to the foundational grooves and rhythms that form the heart of hip-hop social dance culture. Participants will learn core hip-hop fundamentals such as the bounce and the rock—two essential movement concepts that influence many hip-hop dance styles and party grooves. Through these foundations, attendees will begin to understand how rhythm, timing, and musicality create the feeling of the dance.
The workshop will also introduce various classic party grooves and social dance movements. Participants will explore how these grooves connect to the music, the community, and the celebratory spirit that has always been central to hip-hop. Through guided exercises and easy-to-follow combinations, dancers will gain confidence while developing body awareness, coordination and a stronger connection to the beat.
By the end of the session, participants will leave with a foundational understanding of hip-hop grooves, including the bounce, rock, and several party grooves, as well as an appreciation for dance as a powerful tool for community, self-expression, and joy. All are welcome—come ready to move, learn, and have fun!
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KINAJ is a cross-genre dance company founded in 2020 by Kin Nguien and AJ Velasco. Known for blending the raw energy of street styles like hip-hop, popping, and house with the elements of contemporary dance, KINAJ incorporates improvisation, freestyle, and partnering techniques to craft dynamic and innovative works. At its core, KINAJ thrives on collaboration, drawing inspiration from diverse art forms such as film, poetry, and visual arts. Their storytelling-based choreography explores pressing social issues, including mental health, inequality, and climate change, inspiring audiences to reflect and act. KINAJ’s work has been featured internationally, with highlights including their critically acclaimed ALIENS, commissioned by Toronto Dance Theatre, which captivated sold-out audiences with its sci-fi aesthetic and cross-genre brilliance. Currently, the company is preparing for the year full of productions and community engagement initiatives.
Bharatanatyam 101 Dance Class
with Process+Practice Residency Artist, Atri Nundy
This beginner-friendly Bharatanatyam class introduces foundational elements of this dance form, including basic stances, body alignment and hand gestures (hasta mudras). Through guided practice, attendees will learn to communicate ideas and emotions using gesture, gaze and rhythm, gaining an accessible entry point into this classical South Indian dance tradition. No experience required!
Photo by Michael Mortley
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This beginner-friendly Bharatanatyam class offers an introduction to the foundational elements of this classical Indian dance form, with a focus on both movement and storytelling. Participants will be guided through essential body positions, including basic stances such as araimandi, and will begin to understand how alignment, balance, and rhythm shape the form’s distinctive physical vocabulary.
The workshop will also introduce hasta mudras (hand gestures), which form the basis of Bharatanatyam’s expressive language. Participants will explore how individual gestures carry meaning and how they can be combined with facial expressions and body movement to communicate ideas, emotions and narratives. Through simple, guided exercises, attendees will begin to experience how storytelling—abhinaya—emerges from the coordination of gesture, gaze and intention.
Drawing from traditional themes, the session will offer short storytelling sequences that allow participants to apply what they have learned in a creative and embodied way. Emphasis will be placed on clarity, musicality and expressive presence, rather than technical perfection, making the workshop accessible to those with no prior dance experience.
By the end of the session, participants will have a foundational understanding of key Bharatanatyam concepts and tools, as well as an appreciation for how movement and expression come together to create narrative. The workshop invites curiosity, playfulness and a deeper engagement with the art form as both a physical and expressive practice.
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Mid-career dance artist, educator, and choreographer Atri Nundy completed her arangetram in 2005 after years of training in Bharatanatyam at Sampradaya Dance Academy under the tutelage of Lata Pada (CM, Order of Canada). In recent years, Nundy has expanded her choreographic voice through works that explore Bharatanatyam within contemporary performance contexts. Her ensemble work Mindful Chatter (2022) was commissioned by Anandam Dancetheatre for Contemporaneity 4.0, while helix (2023) was commissioned by Toronto Dance Theatre for Convergent Divergency. Her interdisciplinary work The Tagore Project (2022) was presented by Sampradaya Dance Theatre and at Dusk Dances. In 2023, she was one of several choreographers contributing to Salaam Rahman, produced by Sampradaya Dance Creations. In 2025 she premiered the duet Ardhaneeshwara at the Battery Dance Festival in New York. Alongside her choreographic practice, Nundy continues to perform, teach, and develop new work while contributing to the evolving landscape of Bharatanatyam in Canada.
Access Info
Please note that the OUTDOOR DANCE JAM + PICNIC will take place outdoors in the park space northeast of Assembly Hall. The majority of the area is covered by grass with limited shade nearby. A few paved pathways offer routes towards and near the activities, although not all of the activities will take place in direct proximity to paved pathways. An accessible washroom and water bottle filling station are also available indoors at Assembly Hall.
Beginner dance classes will be taught with options for participation depending on your mobility. You are welcome to engage in the event while sitting (chairs provided), standing stationary, or simply by observing and/or feeling the music! Instruction will be amplified with a microphone.
If you have any specific access needs or questions, please reach out to our Access Coordinator, Cass (cass@toesfordance.ca) ahead of time - we’re here to help ensure a smooth and inclusive experience for you!
For more information, visit our Venue + Access Guide (COMING SOON!)
Dance-In-Development Performance
Wednesday, August 26, 2026
7:00 PM - 8:30 PM
Assembly Hall, Etobicoke
Photo by Shannon Widdis
Witness the early stages of development for two distinct pieces of dance choreography by Process+Practice Residency artists Pulga Muchochoma and Kass Prus. This unique experience offers you the chance to engage with new ideas and speak with the artists through a facilitated Q&A. Join this free preview to gain insight into the beginning of the creative process before the full pieces premiere in the fall of 2027 as part of the Lakeshore Dance Series.
RSVP today to let us know that you’re planning to attend and inform us about any access needs! Space is limited.
Featured WorkS
Papayaga by PulGa Muchochoma
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PapaYaga by Pulga Muchochoma, (“My Dad” in Pulga’s native tongue, Chuabo), is a new solo work combining traditional African dance from Mozambique with contemporary dance. It explores paternal relationships and lineage; his relationship to his father, his experience as a father himself, and the experience of being raised in a different continent.
Pulga was raised in a small village in Mozambique, by a father who struggled to raise him and his eight siblings. For much of Pulga’s childhood, his father had no job, no money, no education, and lived day by day, hoping that he would be able to source enough food for the family to eat.
Pulga’s children, however, have an entirely different relationship to their father and the lives of his children do not come close to the struggles that his dad experienced. The work explores the choices Pulga’s father made in his life, alongside those Pulga is currently making as a parent. This work will counter the enduring myth of the emotionally (and physically) absent Black father. -
Pulga Muchochoma was born in Quelimane, Mozambique. His dance career and training began in Quelimane with Montes Namuli Dance Company. In August of 2006 he came to Toronto with the company for the International AIDS Conference. With Montes Namuli/Shakespeare Link Canada, he performed in several shows in venues in Toronto and Mozambique. When Montes Namuli returned to Mozambique, Muchochoma stayed in Toronto to study at The School of Toronto Dance Theatre. In 2009, Pulga joined the company Toronto Dance Theatre where he spent 11 years as a company member under the Artistic Director of Christopher House. Pulga is now an independent artist and founder of Pulga Dance since 2015.
Photos by Omer Yukseker (L) & Christopher Cushman (R)
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Choreographer and Dancer, Pulga Muchochoma
Music Composer, Stephen Joffe
Artistic Advisor, Daniel Lieberman
заклик (the call) By Kass Prus
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заклик (the call) by Kass Prus, is a solo work building on the foundation of переродження (beginning again), presented at the 2025 Night Shift Festival. This next stage of development deepens a choreographic inquiry into what it means to be called toward oneself. As a trans, queer, and newly disabled artist, Kass explores how artistic practice can evolve alongside changing embodiments, challenging assumptions about who gets to dance and how dance is made.
Drawing from over twenty-five years of Ukrainian folk dance training and fifteen years of ballet and contemporary dance practice, choreographer and performer Kass investigates how inherited traditions can be reclaimed, queered, and transformed. The work asks: What does it mean to hold on and let go? To struggle, rest, breathe, and take up space? To follow a current of identity that is divergent, multitudinous, and no longer ashamed?
At the centre of the work is an ongoing choreographic relationship with a rollator mobility aid. Rather than positioning disability as limitation, заклик (the call) examines mobility aids as sites of freedom, play, power, and possibility. As this work will grow inside a venue, Assembly Hall, which is fully accessible to audiences, but not to performers, the project responds to the persistent stigma and very real barriers surrounding disability while celebrating the joy, curiosity, and unexpected forms of movement that emerge when bodies are met with support rather than restriction.
Expanding from a fifteen-minute festival presentation, заклик (the call) will further develop its movement vocabulary, unresolved explorations of gendered folk dance forms, and new interdisciplinary collaborations with a technical dramaturge and access dramaturge. Through this process, the work seeks to contribute to the growing visibility of disability-led dance while imagining new artistic mythologies rooted in wholeness, interdependence, and collective belonging.
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Kass Prus (Кассандра Прус) was born into a home immersed in ancestral Ukrainian traditions, music, art, and resistance to imperialism. Since learning to live more openly as a queer, non-binary, autistic, and physically disabled creator, Кассандра uses contemporary performance to queer & crip Slavic folk art practices as a way of reclaiming their heritage on their own terms. Recent supporters have included Citadel+Compagnie/Fall for Dance North, Pushmakers, and DanceWorks. As an administrator, strategist, and facilitator Kass works to close the gaps between intent and action—particularly around accessibility, equity, and inclusion—in arts, culture, and wellness spaces. They bring learnings and skills from experiences with Dead Name Theatre, Crossroads Theatre, DanceWorks, Dusk Dances, Dancemakers, Generator TO, Mass Culture, and a Metcalf Foundation Internship at SummerWorks Festival, focusing on accessibility for artsworkers. They are passionate about cultivating shared knowledge and cross-sector collaboration to nurture care and reduce burnout in the arts.
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Choreographer and Performer, Kass Prus
Dance Dramaturge, Lilia Leon
Technical Dramaturge, Micah Champagne
Sound Design, River Oliveira
Accessibility Dramaturge, Miggy Esteban
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заклик / zaklyk (the call) includes references to cultural and systemic transphobia, Ukrainian топірець (ritual axe), medical rollator use, grief about transition to physical disability
Access Info
Assembly Hall is fully accessible for audience members. An elevator is onsite for access to the second floor Performance Hall and accessible parking is available both at the front of Assembly Hall and in the Green P Parking lot (located on the south side of Assembly Hall). An accessible washroom is also available.
Since these works are currently in the process of being developed, we’ll add updates to accessibility information and content warnings as information becomes available. Please see “AUDIENCE WARNINGS” for заклик (the call) above.
If you have any specific access needs or questions, please reach out to our Access Coordinator, Cass (cass@toesfordance.ca) ahead of time - we’re here to help ensure a smooth and inclusive experience for you!
For more information, visit our Venue + Access Guide (COMING SOON!)
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Public Transit
Take the 44 or 944 Bus south from Kipling Subway Station to Lake Shore Blvd W, or take the 507 Streetcar from Long Branch GO Station to Kipling Avenue.
The best Wheel-Trans drop-off location is the venue address (1 Colonel Samuel Smith Dr, Etobicoke) which will drop you off right at the building’s front entrance.For specific TTC route and schedule information call 416-393-4636 or visit the TTC website .
Driving
If arriving from the 401: Merge onto Highway 427, then take the Gardiner eastbound to exit at Kipling Ave. and continue south onto Colonel Samuel Smith Dr.
If arriving from the Gardiner: Exit at Kipling Ave. and continue south onto Colonel Samuel Smith Dr.
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The parking directly in front of Assembly Hall is very limited and reserved for staff and folks with accessibility needs. Please see the map below for parking. Additional parking may be available at the Humber Polytechnic Welcome Centre at 2 Colonel Samuel Smith Park Dr.
View full-size Parking Map PDF here
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Wheelchair Accessible Venue: Assembly Hall features an elevator and a fully accessible Performance Hall for audience members.
Accessible Public Washroom: One fully accessible washroom facility is located on the ground floor only.
Onsite Support: If you should have any needs onsite please find an Assembly Hall staff member or a TOES FOR DANCE staff member (wearing a bright lanyard labeled STAFF).
Questions: If you have specific access needs or questions, please reach out to Cass (cass@toesfordance.ca) ahead of time—we’re here to help ensure a smooth and inclusive experience for you! -
Assembly Hall has been an important part of the Etobicoke Lakeshore community for over a century. It was built in 1898 as part of the Mimico Lunatic Asylum, designed to serve as a place of recreation and worship for the patients and hospital staff. Patient labour was used to construct Assembly Hall and various other hospital buildings. The hospital’s first superintendent, Dr. Nelson Henry Beemer, was a strong believer in meaningful work as a form of rehabilitative therapy.
The original purpose for Assembly Hall was to meet the social and spiritual needs of the hospital. However, because there was no comparable facility in the area, Assembly Hall soon became the principal gathering place for a multitude of community events, dances and concerts. The Asylum changed names repeatedly over the years, becoming the Mimico Hospital for the Insane in 1911, the Ontario Hospital, New Toronto in 1919 and finally renamed as the Lakeshore Psychiatric Hospital, but Assembly Hall maintained its name and central role throughout the entire history of the hospital.
After the closure of the Lakeshore Psychiatric Hospital in 1979, Assembly Hall fell into disuse for two decades. The combined efforts of local activists and politicians helped to support the City of Toronto’s restoration of this facility, which reopened on in June 2001. The renovated Assembly Hall has been designed to meet a variety of cultural and community needs. The beautiful 250+ seat Performance Hall is a venue for music, theatre, dance, receptions and special events. The community rooms are used for art classes, meetings, workshops and rehearsals. Gallery spaces for visual arts are located throughout the building. Assembly Hall is a rental facility for both public and private use.
Assembly Hall is fully accessible. An elevator is onsite for access to the second floor Performance Hall, and accessible parking is available both at the front of Assembly Hall and in the Green P Parking lot (located on the south side of Assembly Hall). An accessible washroom is also available.
Learn more at: assemblyhall.ca
Lakeshore Dance Series events take place at Assembly Hall, located at 1 Colonel Samuel Smith Dr, Etobicoke, ON M8V 4B6
Learnings + Community consultation
After three years of exploring the development of dance programming at Assembly Hall through the formerly named Process+Practice Dance Residency and Series, we’re excited to share some of our learnings! Thank you to the Canada Council for the Arts for funding our project/partnership development project and Community Consultation initiative with a Seed Grant.
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In 2022, TOES FOR DANCE Co-Director David Norsworthy-Shibatani participated in the City of Toronto's Community Cultural Development Review, a consultation to better understand how local artists and community organizations are impacted by municipal arts and culture initiatives and to identify gaps in City policies and programming. David articulated several sector issues that echoed sentiments expressed by other artists:
the precarious reality of living as a dance artist in Toronto
the disappearance of suitable dance venues since the onset of COVID-19
the cost barriers (including insurance) that limit most dancers’ access to municipally-owned/operated arts and culture spaces.
City of Toronto staff, including Vanessa Higgs and Suzy Broderick, followed up on David’s participation in the consultation, and through a series of conversations we arrived at the potential to work together on programming at Assembly Hall, a City-owned and operated venue in Etobicoke-Lakeshore. To initiate our partnership, we decided to pilot a residency program that we titled Process+Practice in the summer 2023; a significant and unprecedented accomplishment, being the City of Toronto’s first-ever dance residency program. The inaugural residency artists were Rakeem Hardy (Western Contemporary) and Tanveer Alam (Kathak).
The success of our pilot project led to further conversations about the development of additional dance programming at Assembly Hall as a collaboration between TOES FOR DANCE and the City of Toronto. In 2024, we received a Seed Grant from the Canada Council for the Arts to explore activating Assembly Hall as a "dance hub" for practice, rehearsal, and public engagement activities; with funds going towards partnership development, community engagement/consultation, and the evaluation of new initiatives.
Between mid-2024 and late-2025, we continued to develop the Process+Practice Dance Residency with artists selected through two Open Calls. These artists included Boys’ Club Tap Dance Collective (Tap), Kiera Breaugh (Hip Hop, Spoken Word, Western Contemporary), Atri Nundy (Bharatanatyam) and KINAJ (Hip-Hop, Popping, House). Additionally, we began to test public engagement programming such as beginner-level dance classes, works-in-process showings, artist talks, and double bill performance programs. These events became known as the Process+Practice Dance Series and have been supported by Lakeshore Arts, ANANDAM Dance Theatre, Department of Canadian Heritage, and Toronto Arts Council. Simultaneously, we launched a Community Consultation and Working Group initiative led by TFD team member Keira Marie Forde. Our goal was to deepen community relationships and gather feedback about local needs/realities to better inform the development of our programming. This consultation resulted in a greater focus on accessibility, new partnerships with organizations and businesses, different approaches to marketing/outreach, and our Creative CoWorking program.
This report outlines some of our key learnings from these activities.
TOES FOR DANCE and the Assembly Hall team extends our sincere appreciation to the following organizations, funders, and individuals who have contributed to the development and experimentation of dance programming at Assembly Hall:
Partners: Lakeshore Arts, and ĀNANDAṀ
Funders: Lindy Green & Sam Chaiton, Government of Canada, Canada Council for the Arts, Toronto Arts Council
Artist Consultants: Rakeem Hardy, Tanveer Alam, Boys’ Club Tap Dance Collective, Kiera Breaugh, Atri Nundy, KINAJ, Harikishan S. Nair, Brandy Leary, Clarke Blair, Miquelon Rodriguez, Nathan Sartore, Kate Nankervis
Community Consultants: Nadia Monroe, Kwameah Anoush Bennett, Haley Peterson, Priscila Paes, Collette Murray, Mary Grace Franchino, Bri Ford, Adriana Berrio, Kate Nankervis, Jenny Cork, Brittany Camilleri, Kerry Gage, Lisa Karen Cox, Stephon Smith, Aziza Mohammed
Partners/Supporters: Birds & Beans Café, Amber Morley’s Fall Fest, Lakeshore Village BIA, Mimico by the Lake BIA, Queens Pasta, Pivot Dancer Physiotherapy, Mimico Home Hardware, Hypitch Media, National Ballet of Canada
Presented by City of Toronto in partnership with TOES FOR DANCE, with support from Lakeshore Arts. Additional support and funding from the Department of Canadian Heritage, Ontario Arts Council, Toronto Arts Council, Lindy Green Family Foundation, National Ballet of Canada, and Dancemakers.
Photo credits on this page: Coming soon! Swirl graphic by Kendra Epik.
