Staff Bios

Sandra Laronde – Artistic Director & CEO

Founder and Artistic Director of Red Sky, Sandra Laronde is also a producer, director, choreographer, actor and dancer. Sandra's vision for Red Sky is to create a leading international company that shapes contemporary world Indigenous performance, and to make a significant contribution to the artistic vibrancy of Canada and the world. Currently, she is also the Director of Aboriginal Arts at The Banff Centre. Sandra is from the Teme-Augama-Anishnaabe (People of the Deep Water) in Temagami, Ontario.

Click here for Sandra Laronde's full biography

Carlos Rivera – Associate Artist

Carlos Rivera has been an Associate Artist for the past ten years. Currently, he is a Rehearsal Director, dancer, and teacher with Red Sky Performance. Based in Toronto, he is of Mixteco Indigenous descent, and trained at the Government of Mexico City's Cultural Secretary Dance School and the Centre for Choreographic Research (CICO-INBA) at the Fine Arts Institute.

Carlos has been in numerous dance productions as well as a director and choreographer of the Yumare Arte Escenico, a traditional and contemporary dance company. Carlos draws from elements within traditional and popular culture in contemporary dance. His own choreographic works include Bosque Sagrado, Jardines y Santuarios, Memorias del Fandango, and From the Aztlan to the Zocalo.

His performance credits include: Caribou Song (Red Sky, presented with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra at Roy Thomson Hall), and the touring version of Caribou Song that was performed in Switzerland, Australia, Canada, China, Iceland and the United States. He was a central character in Raven Stole the Sun (Red Sky), which toured across Canada several times, with 11-sold out shows at the National Arts Centre and 16 sold-out shows at the Manitoba Theatre for Young People as well as the Krannert Center for the Performing Arts in Illinois. He also performed in the critically acclaimed dance productions: Tono (Red Sky) which was performed at the 2008 Summer Arts Festival at The Banff Centre, 2008 Beijing Olympics, 2008 Meet in Beijing Festival, International Arts & Culture Festival in Inner Mongolia, Toronto's Luminato Festival, 2010 Vancouver Cultural Olympiad, High Performance Rodeo, and The Arden Theatre; Shimmer (Red Sky) which was the highlight at The Banff Centre's 2006 Summer Arts Festival, and sold-out at the 2006 Canada Dance Festival at the National Arts Centre, Vancouver's EARTH Festival, and Toronto’s enWave Theatre Centre; Dancing Americas (Red Sky) which closed the 2004 Canada Dance Festival at the National Arts Centre; and Carlos' other credits include: Miinogooweziwin...the Gift, Bones, Throw Away Kids, Light and Shadows, all presented at The Banff Centre.

Yury Baik – Executive Assistant

A York University graduate, Yury Baik holds a Specialized Honours Bachelor of Science, majoring in Kinesiology and Health Sciences. She served on the executive committee as Events Coordinator (2004), Treasurer/Secretary (2005) and Vice-President (2006) at York University’s KCF student club. She was also the Undergraduate Representative for Veritas Forum and planned a world-class speaker’s series, which toured to universities throughout Canada and the USA. In August 2009, Yury attended The Leadership Summit, held in Chicago, Illinois, which focused on improving leadership and using their gifts to impact the world. Some keynote speakers who attended the 2009 conference were the former British Prime Minister, former presidential advisor David Gergen, and U2’s lead singer Bono.

With over 20 years of experience in the martial art of Taekwondo, Yury is a World Taekwondo Federation Kukkiwon certified 4th Degree Black Belt and also holds an Ontario P-Class Referee Certification. She has been a Master Instructor and Demonstration Team Coordinator for the past eight years, coordinating performances for various events, including the Thornhill Village Festival and Grandmaster Baik’s Annual Open International Taekwondo Championships. Yury’s previous work experience also includes working at the North York Physiotherapy Clinic as a physiotherapist assistant.

With a dynamic background, Yury hopes to contribute to the exciting growth and development of Aboriginal and culturally diverse cultures both nationally and internationally through her work at Red Sky.

Sandra Henderson – Production Tour Manager

Sandra Henderson is Red Sky's Production Tour Manager, splitting her time between the office and the road. Henderson holds a Bachelor of Arts (Honours) from the University of Toronto, where she majored in both theatre and political science.

Henderson has acted as Stage Manager on numerous projects including Red Sky's concurrent tours for Tono and Raven Stole the Sun in 195 communities across Canada and the United States in our 2009-10 season. She has acted as Stage Manager on other numerous projects including: The Apple Tree (Randolph Academy), Night of Dread and We Need Help! (Clay and Paper Theatre), Ava/Chroma (Blue Ceiling/Pocket Alchemy), Lullaby (Dark Horse Theatre), Have I None (April Productions), Order of Good Cheer and The Essence of Ambrose Ichor (Shadowland Theatre). She also toured as stage manager and performer with Le Grand Peep Show (CORPUS) throughout Europe and the UK. Henderson has experience as Assistant Lighting Designer for the Suburban Motel series at Factory Theatre, as Production Assistant for Tough! (Luminato / Factory Theatre), and as a technician for projects at the Fringe Festival, Buddies in Bad Times Theatre, Winchester Street Theatre, Factory Theatre, and Dancemakers, among others.

Henderson is perpetually planning the next exciting tour and is happiest when the lights fade and the show begins.

Sherrie Johnson – Director of International Relations

Sherrie Johnson brings 18 years of prolific experience producing award-winning theatre, dance and film. As the producer of da da kamera (1993 – 2007), her long-standing association with Daniel MacIvor has resulted in a string of acclaimed theatre productions that have toured Canada, Scotland, Ireland, United States, Australia, Norway, Israel, and Western and Eastern Europe, winning numerous awards, among them an Edinburgh Fringe First Award for Here Lies Henry; a Best Production Dora Award from the Toronto Theater Community for The Soldier Dreams; and, a GLAAD Award and a Village Voice OBIE Award for Outstanding New Theater in New York City for In On It.

Sherrie produced Daniel MacIvor’s films (Until I Hear From You, Sydney That Summer), as well as those of director Jeremy Podeswa (The Susan Smith Tapes and Touch), and Wiebke von Carolsfeld (Spiral Bound). Sherrie is the co-producer of Daniel MacIvor’s second feature, Wilby Wonderful, with Camelia Frieberg (Sweet Hereafter, Five Senses). She was co-founder and programmer (with Menno Plukker) of the internationally acclaimed theatre and dance festival Six Stages and successfully produced festivals in Toronto, Prague, Glasgow and Berlin from 1995 to 2003. She also represented and managed Canadian playwright/author John Mighton (Half Life,Possible Worlds) and was instrumental in the publication of his books.

Sherrie was the touring liaison for The Magnetic North Theatre Festival in 2006 and 2007. She is the producer of the PuSh Assembly, held annually during the PuSh International Performing Arts Festival in Vancouver and recently produced (with Bernard Lagace, Alain Pare and Esther Charron) I.E.T.M. Montreal 2007 in Montreal, Quebec. In 2008, she was awarded the John Hobday Award in Arts Management for outstanding achievements in arts management. Currently, Sherrie is also the Senior Curator for the PuSh International Performing Arts Festival.

Red Sky Board Members

Honourary Board of Directors

Tomson Highway
Zacharias Kunuk
Veronica Tennant, C.C.
Pier Giorgio di Cicco

Board of Directors

Carolyn Taylor (Chair)
Julia Valencia (Treasurer)
Ian S. Anderson
Don Boswell
Don Kavanaugh
Anya McKenzie
Gerald McMaster, Ph.D., OC
Meryl McMaster

Red Sky Partners

Alex McKay, Anishnaabe Elder
John McKellar, Q.C. WeirFoulds
John Wilkinson, WeirFoulds
Sam Marinucci, C.A., Marinucci & Company
Photography of Cylla von Tiedemann
David Hou Photography
Pietro Siciliano, TechnicAid
Yiling Shen & Chen Xiaojiu, Traditional Chinese Medicine Health Centre

Contributing Photographers

Cylla von Tiedemann
David Hou
Nadya Kwandibens
Paul Parkes