Dawn Shepherd (she/her/they) is a contemporary circus artist, director, trainer and rigger who started out in musical theatre and vocal performance and embarked upon her circus journey more than 15 years ago. Dawn received her circus training primarily through private coaching and through the National Circus School of Montreal (NCS), where she completed her Circus Instructor and Trainer Diplomas and then worked as an elite trainer from 2009-2013. During her time at NCS, Dawn had an opportunity to work for three consecutive years with a summer circus tour (Le Fabuleux Cirque de JC), where she developed an interest in collective creation and circus directing. By 2014, she had moved home to Halifax, Nova Scotia to venture into the world of circus directing. Dawn returned to performing at that time, primarily as an aerialist and began seeking out and coaching local talent who wanted to perform professionally as contemporary circus artists. Fortunately, Dawn was not alone in this venture, as her long-time partner and musician⁄ composer, Ryan Gray, shared the same vision and they began to build shows together. Since 2014, they have produced six contemporary circus shows with members of Breaking Circus Collective (TU Processed, Nascent, Rogue, Breaking Valentines, Skywhispers of Terrestrial Dreams and Renaissance); a circus trilogy (That Which Lights Your Way); and the feature circus film (Cache of Hornets). Dawn has collaborated/performed on a number of independent circus, dance, music, television, film and visual arts projects, locally, nationally and internationally and she is actively working to increase inclusion and equity within the arts for underrepresented, equity-deserving groups (e.g. IBPOC) and communities.

Ryan Gray is an accomplished musician and circus artist, and is a co-founder of Breaking Circus and the Breaking Circus Collective. He fills many roles with Breaking Circus depending on the project, including producer, director, artist, technician and composer among others.

Jayden Gigliotti (he/him) is a contemporary circus artist with a specialty in ball juggling. His passion for the performing arts began at a young age and grew from the elation of juggling on stage. He completed his Bachelor of Arts with Honours in Theatre Studies from Dalhousie University in 2019. Following graduation, he joined Breaking Circus, a contemporary circus troupe based in Kjipuktuk/ Halifax, Nova Scotia. His recent work includes 'Sans Titres' (Riopelle Foundation, 2023), 'Skywhispers of Terrestrial Dreams' (Breaking Circus, 2023), 'De-Fraction' (Open Waters Festival, 2023), 'Coffee Project' (King’s Theatre, 2023), 'Up in the Air' (Prismatic Arts Festival, 2022), 'Skywhispers of Terrestrial Dreams' (Eastern Front Theatre, 2022), 'HACE' (Kinetic Open Studio Series), and 'Coffee Project' (Festival of Dance Annapolis Royal, 2021). Jayden is currently engaged with Breaking Circus as a mentor in their Mentorship Program. Additionally, he is studying at Ecole National de Cirque (Montreal, QC), completing the Trainer in Circus Arts program.

Adrian Bah is an emerging, professional contemporary circus artist who began his training in acrobatics, juggling and porting with Breaking Circus Collective. Prior to joining the circus, Adrian trained as a university footballer who dabbled in piano, juggling, tricking all things adventurous and also trains dogs. Adrian is the newest recruit of Breaking Circus and has been studying with coaches from the National Circus School of Montreal since joining the crew in 2021. Adrian is looking forward to expanding his acrobatic skillset to include hoop diving, balance ladder and Chinese pole and everything else. Adrian one of a handful of circus arts professionals of African descent to emerge from the province and will be performing his first run of shows with Breaking Circus at Eastern Front Theatre’s Stages Festival 2022. Adrian is excited to be embarking on this path of living this newfound passion and continuing to perform and explore his artistic possibilities.

Danielle Toner (she/her) is an actor and collaborator who received her B.A Honours in Acting from Dalhousie University’s Fountain School of Performing Arts in May 2020. Since then she has been studying the Michael Chekhov Technique and has been in creation for a new circus-theatre hybrid show. Danielle's recent credits include 'The S.S Ethie' and 'Ed & Ed's New B&B' (The Gros Morne Theatre Festival), 20/20 Vision (The Villains Theatre, Bus Stop Theatre), and 'Falling Awake' (Halifax Fringe Festival). Danielle is grateful for the opportunity to work with Breaking Circus, on and off stage, on the circus production 'Renaissance.'

Halifax born, Black Rook, is a true student of Hip-Hop and a Master of his Craft. Spending years honing his skills on the mic and learning to own the stage has culminated into an effortless prowess when riding the beat. Always blending music that either naturally contrasts or counterintuitively compliments the writing style has created his signature sound. Each song is meticulously crafted and delivered providing the distinctive brand of rap you cannot deny. And if you haven’t seen him live, you’re truly missing out. Black Rook is excited to be part of Renaissance!

Reequal Smith (she/her) is the Founder/Artistic Director of the notable Black Dance Company Oshun Dance Studios, in Prince Edward Island. A multidisciplinary artist originally from the Bahamas, now based in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island. She is an alumni of Holland College’s School of Performing Arts majored in Dance Performance and holds a BA in Marketing from her hometown. Thus, she has performed in multiple hotels for more than 8 years in The Bahamas and Bahamas Junkanoo Carnival with elite artists for three years. Reequal currently continues her dancing career as an independent artist, fire dancer, choreographer and educator in Charlottetown. Further taking part in Festivals, events, collaborations, and Recreational Arts in the Schools locally and regionally; collaborating with many talented artists in music videos, documentaries and television shows. In addition, Reequal has recently performed her first solo “Unfold” under partnerships with Mayworks, Live Art Dance and Prismatic Festival in Halifax 2023.

Ross Burns is a professional musician, capoeira player, circus performer and teacher based in Nova Scotia. Studying the guitar since a young age and training the Afro-Brazilian dance/martial art form capoeira seriously since 2003 Ross has become a familiar face on Canadian stages as a guitarist, percussionist, improvisor, acrobat and front man. (New Hermitage, Gypsophilia, Breaking Circus, Creative Music Workshop, Capoeira Group Dendê - Halifax)