I Dream in Wampum

Join us for I Dream in Wampum, choreographed by the 2025 Clifford E. Lee Choreography Award winner Barbara Kaneratonni Diabo. The work is a dynamic, powerful science-fiction dance journey where Indigenous people show a future of strength and celebration.

Originally from Kahnawake, Diabo is a Kanien’keha:ka choreographer and dancer whose work draws from classical ballet alongside powwow, Haudenosaunee, and contemporary dance traditions. As Artistic Director of A’nó:wara Dance Theatre, she creates works that centre Indigenous worldviews while expanding the possibilities of contemporary dance through story, movement, and cultural continuity.

A post-show conversation with choreographer Barbara Kaneratonni Diabo will follow the performance.

I Dream in Wampum

Enter into a world of Indigenous Futurism. This is a story inspired by Kanien’keha:ka (Mohawk) teachings, allowing us to imagine worlds where colonialism never happened. We follow Kahente, an Indigenous youth, on his journey to the stars. After finding seven wampum belts from the constellation, we call the Seven Dancers (Tsata Teienonniakhwa), he starts his journey to each of these worlds to discover his ancestors and star-beings. If successful, this path can lead him to Sky World (Karonhiakehson Ohontsa), the place of his people’s origins, and bring him a greater understanding of his past, present, and future. I Dream in Wampum is a dynamic, powerful science-fiction dance journey where Indigenous people show a future of strength and celebration.

Let the journey begin…