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đź—“ Dates: March 13- 15, 2026đź“Ť Venue: Meridian Arts Centre - 5040 Yonge St, North York, Toronto
ZAYO is an Afrofusion dance-theatre production created by Esie Mensah Creations rooted in ancestral wisdom and the courage to follow one’s calling. Created over eight years, the piece follows a heroine on a journey as she leaves the familiar, faces trials and sacrifice, and confronts fear to claim her power. Through this journey, ancestral memory is awakened and a chosen destiny is embraced. ZAYO reveals what it takes to step into one’s purpose and emerge transformed.
At the heart of ZAYO is Esie Mensah’s Afrofusion choreography, shaped by lived experience, ancestral knowledge, and contemporary expression. Drawing from traditional and contemporary West African movement, modern dance, and theatrical elements, the choreography functions as both memoir and ritual. Through ZAYO, Esie reimagines African storytelling aesthetics for the contemporary stage, expanding how African narratives, bodies, and spiritual traditions are experienced today.
ZAYO asks timeless and urgent questions:
What are you willing to sacrifice for your vision to come to life?
How do you learn to trust what you cannot yet see?
And what does it mean to accept the destiny you have chosen for yourself?
Created by Esie Mensah, ZAYO is both deeply personal and universally resonant. The work emerges from Mensah’s lived experience and ancestral lineage, offering dance as a vessel for remembrance, healing, and transformation. It is a story not of arrival, but of commitment - the commitment to walk into the unknown carrying only what is essential, and to return renewed.
ZAYO is directed and choreographed by Esie Mensah, with set and costume design by Rachel Forbes and Jawon Kang, lighting design by Simon Rossiter, and dramaturgy by Tawiah Ben M’Carthy. The work features a powerful ensemble of Toronto-based dance artists, including Esie Mensah, Rose-Mary Harbans, Kwasi Obeng-Adjei, Monique Pascall, Eilish ëŻ¸ě • Shin-Culhane, and JA.Marie, with composition and live music by Yohance Parsons and sound design by Daniel Tessy.
The world premiere of ZAYO is co-produced with dance Immersion, and presented by dance Immersion and TO Live.
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Event Venue
5040 Yonge St, Toronto, ON M2N 6R8, Canada, 5040 Yonge St, Toronto, ON M2N 6R8, Canada, North York
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