Bakari Lindsay

BaKari Ifasegun Lindsay has been perfecting his crafts for the past 30 years. He is a dancer, choreographer, singer, musician, costume designer/ maker and researcher. Trained at the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, The School of Toronto Dance Theatre on scholarship and with various teachers from the Caribbean and the African Continent. Bakari holds a craftsman diploma in Style and Design and Masters Degree in Dance Ethnology and Bachelors in Education, from York University, Canada. In completion of his masters thesis BaKari researched and developed "A-Feeree - The Physical Language," an innovative training method for dance practitioners working in an Africanist movement aesthetic. He co-founded COBA Collective Of Black Artists in 1993, and danced for the Danny Grossman Dance Company (Canada), Jubilation Dance Co (USA), Toronto Dance Theatre (Canada), Artcho Danse Repertoire (Haiti) and several independent choreographers in Canada, the United States and the Caribbean. BaKari also appeared as an original cast member of Disney's The Lion King from 2000 to 2002. BaKari was nominated for Dora Mavor Award in Best Performance in 2017. As choreographer, BaKari as created and directed works d’bi Anitiafrika notable the Dora Award winning play “Eshu Crossing.” He also created works for Les Enfants Dance Company in Trinidad and Tobago, Entre Duex in Moncton New Brunswick, The National Dance Company of Trinidad and Tobago, and various schools in the Toronto District School Board while also creating over 30 works on COBA Collective Of Black Artists where he also designed and constructed most of costumes. BaKari has served on the faculty of Ryerson University, York University, Humber College, Lester B. Pearson School for the Performing Arts, and several dance schools, and institutions and community groups. Along with his many artistic endeavors BaKari teachers full time with the Toronto District School Board and continues to research pedagogical strategies supported by African history and legacy. Bakari's artistic vision is to create a harmonious balance between artistic practice and traditional cultural values