Bio's

Kendra Tagoona

When Kendra was a young high school student in Ottawa, she began her training as a performing artist. Her first creative expression started with dance, as she participated in extensive training in ballet, modern and jazz. As her passion for the performing arts grew, so did her interest to learn more about her Inuit father's background, who is from Baker Lake, Nunavut. She had lived in Rankin Inlet as a child, and remembers it well.

Since her initial training, she became involved in performing for many years with various Inuit artists and shows, which led to her career as a professional performing artist. She continued to focus mainly on the Inuit art forms of traditional drumdancing, ayaya singing, and also incorporated contemporary dance with traditional movements and outfits.

In more recent years, she met her throatsinging partner, who taught her how to perform this unique type of singing and traditional form of Inuit entertainment. Kendra has built a strong voice as a throatsinger to add to her repertoire for performing, and has also had the opportunity to be employed in a “day job” as a solo throatsinger/drum dancer at an aboriginal educational site called “Aboriginal Experiences” in Ottawa.

Kendra has had great opportunities to perform locally and travel internationally demonstrating traditional Inuit culture and promoting the importance of preserving Inuit traditions, as an Inuk living in the south.

Kendra believes that all cultures should protect their traditions by learning and promoting the old way of life in any way possible, and she does this creatively with much enthusiasm as a cultural performer.

Performance Resume

  • CNE in Toronto, 1995 – Dance/modeling
  • Canadian Museum of Civilization and Museum of Nature. – Dance/modeling – many shows
  • Aboriginal Awareness Week 1998 – DIAND – Dance
  • Aboriginal Awareness Week 2000 – Tunney’s Pasture -- Perform
  • Aboriginal Achievement Awards in Calgary, Alberta - Dance
  • Nunavut celebration 1999 - Can. Museum of Civilization – Created a choreography for the performers
  • Mathieu da Costa Awards Ceremony - Parliament Hill – Singing/Drumming
  • Qaggiq - Inuit Art Foundation – Singing/ Drumming
  • Eiteljorg Museum in Indianapolis, U.S.A. – Dance/Singing/Drumming
  • Ottawa Exhibition, 2001 – Throatsinging/ Drumming
  • House of Commons - Nato Conference - Parliament Hill – Singing/Drumming
  • Aboriginal Awareness Week 2002 – Various locations, Ottawa – Throatsinging/ drumming/ ayaya
  • Riddu Riddu Festival – Norway – Throatsinging/ drumming/ayaya
  • International Conference of Women Engineers & Scientists – Ottawa – Throatsinging/ drumming/ ayaya singing
  • Aboriginal Experiences – 3 weeks of solo throat singing demonstrations
  • Ottawa Folk Festival – Throatsinging/ Dance/ drumming/ singing
  • International Labour Conference – Ottawa – Throatsinging/ drumming/ ayaya
  • Detroit Zoo, 2002- U.S.A. - Throatsinging/ drumming/ ayaya
  • Chateau Laurier- Aboriginal Legal Clinic Awards – Throatsinging/ drumming
  • Canadian Museum of Civilization, First Peoples Hall, Nov., 2002
  • Canadian Aboriginal Pow-wow, Skydome, Toronto, Nov., 2002
  • Parliament Hill, Christmas Lights Across Canada, Dec., 2002
  • Aboriginal Human Resources Conference, Dec., 2002
  • Prime Minister/ Diplomat Christmas Party, Dec., 2002
  • Canadian Museum of Civilization, First Peoples Hall, Jan. & Feb., 2003
  • Labrador – 1 week teaching throatsinging workshop, Feb., 2003
  • Newfoundland, 1 week Tour to several cities & native reserve, Feb., 2003
  • National Aboriginal Achievement Awards, Nat. Arts Centre, Ottawa, Mar.,2003
  • Arctic Exhibit & school performances, Perth, Ontario, May, 2003
  • Parliament Hill, Senate of Canada, Ottawa, May, 2003
  • National Aboriginal Day, CMC, June, 2003
  • Dept. of Indian & Northern Affairs Conference, Ottawa, June, 2003
  • Harbourfront, “World’s Fare 2003”, Toronto, July, 2003
  • First Indigenous Music Festival, Mexico City, 1 week – seminar and concert, August, 2003
  • Environmental Grantmakers, Chateau Laurier, Ottawa, Sept., 2003

 

Rebecca Mearns

is 24 years old, and was raised in both Aberdeen, Scotland and Panniqtuuq, Nunavut, Canada.  Rebecca began learning to throatsing and drum dance while attending the Nunavut Sivuniksavut Training Program (NSTP) in Ottawa in 2000/2001.

She has traveled to several different places to share her knowledge of the Inuit culture through performing throat singing and drum dancing.  Some of her performance gigs were Cincinnati Art Museum, Ohio; Cultural presentations for young students, Fort Worth, Texas; Presentations at various venues in Japan, as part of the NSTP; Nuuk, Greenland (Arctic Winter Games).  There have been Canadian and local performances for schools, community events and most recently Winterlude, one of Ottawa’s biggest outdoor tourist attractions.

Rebecca is now studying Anthropology at Carleton University in Ottawa.

Heidi Langille

is 28 years old and is originally from Nunatsiavut (Nain, Labrador), Canada. She has been a part of the Inuit community in Ottawa for several years, working at the Ottawa Inuit Children’s Centre with families.

She has performed in many corners of Canada for example, in the north, Aklavik, Northwest Territories, Vancouver, British Columbia, and in Ottawa. She recently had a gig at the Cincinnati Art Museum, Ohio with Rebecca. She has also done many cultural performances and workshops teaching people of all ages about the Inuit Culture, at schools, children’s hospitals, and federal government offices.  Heidi enjoys throatsinging, drum dancing and teaching traditional Inuit Games.