MASS (A spiritual journey to the Creator within): With Collette ‘Coco’ Murray, Ronald A. Taylor, and Derek Souvannavong

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Live on CIUT 89.5 FM

Airing Date: November 15, 2025
Host: Nicole Inica Hamilton

 

Featured Guest(s):  Collette ‘Coco’ Murray, Ronald A. Taylor, and Derek Souvannavong

This week on Turn Out Radio, featured guests Collette ‘Coco’ Murray, Ronald A. Taylor, and Derek Souvannavong discuss the premiere of MASS (A Spiritual Journey to the Creator Within), an evocative new full-length dance work by Ronald A. Taylor.  Tune in as the panel open up about ritual, healing and collective awakening.

About Ronald A. Taylor

Ronald A. Taylor, Artistic Director of Ronald Taylor Dance, founded the company in Toronto in 1993. Born in Trinidad and Tobago, he trained with Astor Johnson, earned a BFA from Juilliard, and danced with the Dance Theatre of Harlem, receiving both the DTH and Maxwell and Muriel Bluck scholarships.

His “Contemporary Caribbean” style blends Modern, Folk, and Ballet, with acclaimed works such as MASS, Maljo, He…Moves, Episode 2010, And Still We Risz, and PSYCHOSIS. A past faculty member at York University, Taylor now turns to new projects: remounting MASS, mentoring with Nia Centre, and upcoming creations in Toronto and Trinidad.

 

About Collette ‘Coco’ Murray

Collette “Coco” Murray is an award-winning dance artist-scholar, cultural arts programmer, educator, and arts consultant whose work bridges performance, education, and advocacy. With over 25 years in Canada’s arts sector, Coco specializes in Afro-diasporic dance forms, including West African, Caribbean folk, carnival arts, and stilt-dancing as Coco Moko Jumbie. Her multifaceted practice is rooted in reclaiming cultural narratives and amplifying African diasporic traditions through performance, community engagement, and scholarship. Miss Coco’s artistry spans teaching, guest lecturing, mentorship, and publishing, with a focus on equity and anti-racism in the arts. She is currently pursuing a doctorate in Dance Studies (York University), deepening her commitment to integrating African diasporic arts into Canadian public education and advancing culturally relevant dance pedagogy.

As the artistic director of Coco Collective, she curates culturally relevant and responsive programming that draws from African and Caribbean aesthetics, collaborating with intergenerational artists to foster inclusive and transformative cultural experiences. Coco’s work and leadership are recognized for their impact on arts organizations, community empowerment, cultural preservation, and education reform.

 

About Derek Souvannavong

Dora award-nominated artist, Derek Souvannavong is a dance artist based in Tkaronto (Toronto). Souvannavong is a 2022 graduate of the Bachelor of Fine Arts Honours Dance Program at York University, where his achievements in choreography and performance were recognized with the Spedding Memorial Scholarship and the Menaka Thakkar Award in World Dance. He has premiered solo work “this identity: woven” at Dance:Made in Canada/Fait au Canada, co-created in collaboration with Peggy Baker. He has also co-created solo work “Woven Presence” through mentorship and residency with Peter Chin. His work is heavily influenced by the immense care he has received from both these artists and holds much gratitude for their warmth and generosity.
Souvannavong has performed in various works by Ballet Creole, dreamwalkerdance, Rock Bottom Movement, Frog in Hand, Rumi Jeraj, Yui Ugai as well as worked with artists Tracey Norman, Angela Blumberg, Emily Cheung, Ronald Taylor, Denise Fujiwara and Laurence Lemieux. He is a former company member of Free Flow Dance Theatre where he has performed in productions by Danny Grossman, Eddie Kastrau, Terrill Maguire, and Newton Moraes. Being of Lao heritage, Souvannavong is also intrigued by traditional Lao dance forms and continues to explore relations between Lao dance forms and the western diaspora of contemporary dance, weaving together his Lao heritage into his work.