Black History Month
With special guests from Orillia & Area Black Community Association
Including a new performance by Mafa Makhubalo
Umsamo
Feb. 27, 2026 / 7pm / Orillia Opera House
– Studio Theatre –
A city of Orillia Partnership
Welcome!
Opening Remarks from Alasoba Kelsy Braide and the Orillia & Area Black Community Association​
​
Alasoba Kelsy Braide arrived in Canada from Nigeria in 2017. She did not just come to study—she came to make a difference. As an international student at Georgian College’s Orillia campus, studying Child and Youth Work, Alasoba quickly embraced leadership roles, sparking conversations and building spaces for Black representation. As vice president of community engagement for the Georgian College Students’ Association, she organized the first-ever Black History Awareness Week on campus, ensuring that the stories, struggles, and achievements of Black Canadians were recognized and celebrated.
In 2021, Alasoba saw a gap in representation and support for Black families in Orillia—so she acted. She founded the Orillia & Area Black Community Association (OABCA), creating a vibrant, supportive space where Black families could connect, share resources, and celebrate their cultural heritage. Her tireless dedication, passion, and leadership quickly made her a driving force in the community.
Her efforts didn’t go unnoticed. In October 2022, Alasoba received the Community Champion Award at the 10th Annual Newcomer Recognition Awards, hosted by the County of Simcoe, for her outstanding contributions to community building and advocacy.
But she did not stop there. Recognizing the need for systemic change, she was one of the three people who spearheaded a recommendation for an advisory committee to amplify diverse voices in city governance. This bold initiative led to the creation of Orillia’s Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) Development Group, now known as Inclusive Orillia, where she continues to serve as a leader.
Alasoba’s leadership reached new heights when she led the first-ever raising of the Pan-African flag in Orillia, a powerful and historic moment marking Black History Month in the city. Despite the cold and snow, residents and dignitaries gathered to witness this groundbreaking event, recognizing Orillia’s commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion.
As the founder and president of the Orillia & Area Black Community Association, Alasoba remains a tireless advocate for inclusivity and opportunity. She is a mentor, leader, and changemaker—constantly working to bridge gaps, create opportunities, and uplift those around her.
An immigrant herself, Alasoba understands the challenges of starting over in a new country. But she has turned those challenges into opportunities for others, using her voice and actions to create meaningful change. She does not just dream of a better world—she’s out there, building it, one connection at a time.Alasoba’s story is an inspirational testament to the power of resilience, leadership, and community. Her work continues to shape Orillia into a more inclusive, welcoming, and diverse city for all.
Artistic Director’s Note:
Every strong and healthy community operates with a value system that supports listening, care, inclusion and collaboration. Arts Orillia would like to thank Mafa Makhubalo for his generosity toward the young people of this community. This week over 400 students in the Simcoe County District School Board have learned about dance, drum and song from South Africa through Mafa’s artistic practice. Tonight, please gather and lean in as these exceptional artists take you on a journey through time. Umsamo was born from Mafa’s desire to connect and heal. As a child who grew up through the segregation of Apartheid, he makes his Art with wisdom and grace in pursuit of a kinder, more unified world.
~ Kate Hilliard
Umsamo
Program Note
Umsamo: Journey to the Heart of Inner Peace, is a deeply personal and philosophical choreographic offering that explores grief, memory, and transformation. Rooted in the Zulu concept of a sacred ancestral space, this inaugural performance invites audiences into a ritual of return—a process of reconnecting with the self, with community, and with the spirit world. Bridging African traditional dance with contemporary movement vocabularies, Umsamo reflects on how embodied ritual can support healing, self-emancipation, and inner peace.​
Choreographer and Performer
Mafa Makhubalo is no stranger to dance, the art form is deeply interwoven throughout his life as the founder and Artistic Director of Mafa Dance Village. Born in Sasolburg, South Africa, Mafa trained professionally in movement poetry, with practices in folk forms from his African traditions and training in Western-Contemporary Dance. He says, “I am influenced by my understanding of dance as an accumulation of memory and the history of my culture. Dance is an invisible evolution that becomes visible through movement, music and singing.”
His company, Mafa Dance Village operates within a diasporic framework, rooted in South African cultural heritage and grounded in the artistic ecology of Toronto. The work draws from African spiritual traditions and contemporary dance practices, resonating with African, Afro-Caribbean, and Indigenous communities through themes of healing, ancestry, and embodied knowledge.
Special thanks to Arts Orillia, Orillia Opera House, Toronto Arts Council, Ontario Arts Council, Canada Arts Council, DUO dance umbrella ontario.
Performer
Michael Mortley has been performing for over 15 years, with training based in folk, contemporary and ballet. His secondary education focused on Theatre Arts and dance. He has crafted his career with his certification over the past ten years, with La Danse Caraibe performing and choreographing in Trinidad and Tobago. He is a graduate of the University of Trinidad and Tobago, where he obtained a BFA in Performing Arts with a specialization in Dance. He has continued his explorations and training at Beijing Dance Academy, attaining a certificate in Chinese Contemporary dance. Michael has RAD certification in Ballet at the Intermediate and Advanced Foundation levels.
Performer
Aisha Nicholson is an Artist, Choreographer, Teacher and Reiki Practitioner that hails from Toronto; creator of the Movement CheckIn, a program that brings artists together on Instagram live. She has worked with various choreographers and companies such as Lua Shayenne Dance Company, Ronald Taylor Dance, Arsenio Andrade, C.O.B.A (Collective Of Black Artist), Garth Fagan, Aria Evans and KasheDance, to name a few. Aisha has performed in Obeah Opera for the Luminato festival and the Carifesta XIV festival in Trinidad and Tobago. In 2021, she choreographed her first inaugural solo called Abandonment and is currently working on remounting this work. Her artistic practice is rooted in Caribbean, West African, Contemporary and Afro-contemporary dance styles and her exploration of movement is multilayered, polyrhythmic and rooted in the Black experience. A goal that Aisha strives to stick by is to grow from strength to strength both as a dancer and person. @movementcheckin
Performer
Pulga Muchochoma was born in Quelimane, Mozambique. His dance career and training began in Quelimane with Montes Namuli Dance Company. In August of 2006, he came to Toronto with the company for the International AIDS Conference. With Montes Namuli/Shakespeare Link Canada, he performed in several shows at venues in Toronto and Mozambique. When Montes Namuli returned to Mozambique, Muchochoma stayed in Toronto to study at The School of Toronto Dance Theatre. In 2009, Pulga joined the company Toronto Dance Theatre, where he spent 11 years as a company member under the Artistic Director of Christopher House . Pulga is now an independent artist and founder of Pulga Dance since 2015.
​
Special Performances by Nubia and Azania Makhubalo
Lighting Designer
Stevie Baker is a director, producer, costume and lighting designer based in Seven, Ontario where she is raising her two children. Her work has taken her from Toronto, to Kansas City and to Daegu, South Korea.Stevie Baker is proud to be the President of the Mariposa Arts Theatre Foundation. She is the General Manager of Canada’s first official Forum Theatre and Theatre of the Oppressed centre - Mixed Company Theatre. She has been the Head of Production at Dauntless City Theatre since its inception. She is honoured to serve as a director on the board of Arts Orillia. Uplifting and empowering people and communities through theatre is truly the core of her artistic practice. She believes in the power of the arts to fuel collective liberation.
Projection Design
Grace Sun (she/her) (@whengracecreates) is an interdisciplinary artist based in Toronto, exploring the intersection of creative technology and dance. She aims to work in areas of uncertainty and intersectionality, inspired by her experiences navigating identity, culture and community as a queer first-generation Chinese Canadian woman. Her experimental work in interactive projections and video mixing has appeared in film, theatre and in the art world. In the past year, her work has been exhibited at local and international exhibitions including Seasonal Activities (Frog in Hand), Vector Festival 2025 (InterAccess), Illuminarium’s NYE Art and Dance Party, SeenTO Festival 2026, Phantasia 2025, Emergence, and NE2 Gallery Squared. In addition, Grace shares her process and shorter work online through Instagram and TikTok (@whengracecreates). On a larger scale, she co-directs the art collective Confluence with dancer Zoë Guthrie, producing community activations, theatrical productions and film productions at the intersection of creative technology and dance.
Dramaturgy and Concept Consultant: Vivine Scalette
Choreographic Mentor: Vincent Mantsoe
Up Next
Future Fest
'26
Our changing world through a creative lens
Six Turntables
Artists Christopher Willes and Akash Bansal gather groups of young people to listen to, learn about, and remix audio ecological archives.
Spring 2026 / Community Project
May 21-23, 2026
A three-day festival that features critically acclaimed Indigenous Authors, Storytellers, Dancers, Visual Artists and Musicians.
Various Locations | Rama First Nation