Macha Abdallah  

Macha is eighteen-year-old performing artist living in Edmonton, Alberta. Blessed with a combination of talents in the disciplines of singing, dancing, and modeling, she is a triple threat with many gifts to share. At age 10, she began taking dance lessons in everything from Hip Hop, Ballet, Cecchetti, Lyrical, Jazz, Song and Dance, and contemporary. This has proven a worthwhile investment as she has won many medals in dance competitions with various dance troupes. She performs various genres of music ranging from R&B, Reggae, to Jazz. Such diversity has awarded her the opportunity to share the stage with pioneering Alberta and International artists. 

In 2009, Macha was awarded with an Edmonton Black Achievement Fil Fraser Award for Excellence in the Arts. 

Korapin Chaotakoongite

Korapin Chaotakoongite was born in 1984 in Bangkok, Thailand. Since the age of three she has lived in four countries and travelled to 18 countries. She is currently a graphic arts student at NAIT with a background originally in engineering. She is a self-taught photographer and has been practicing photography for three years. As an extensive traveler her photographs are often in the documentarian style depicting the places, people and culture she encounters during her travels. Her upcoming project this fall, will showcase the numerous interrupted construction projects dotting Bangkok’s skyline, that have been abandoned since the 1997 Asian economic collapse. 

Da Wei Chen

Mr. Chen enrolled in the Zhanjiang Institute of Performing Arts in 1959 and graduated in 1963 with diploma for Cantonese opera performing arts. Subsequently he had served as the major performer in a number of opera companies and portrayed many famous characters in Chinese history all over China.  He had also received numerous awards as performer, director and script writer in China.  

His first performance in Canada was held in September, 2005 at Vancouver’s Michael J. Fox Theatre.  In 2006, he scripted the seven act opera “Mystery of the Imperial Decanter” which was performed at the Northern Alberta Jubilee Auditorium.

In 2008, Master Chen wrote, directed and trained 23 children aged seven to fifteen to perform “The Monkey King and the Magical Palm Fan” at the Edmonton International Fringe Festival. The opera was staged six times at the main venue of the Festival with tremendous success.  This first ever Cantonese opera performance at the Fringe Festival had extensive coverage by all media.

Master Chen is currently the art director for the Hua Yi Canada Ltd., the Institute of Cultural Performing Arts, the Sound of Opera Society and the Edmonton Chinese Opera Association.  

Jean-Claude Kamov

Jean-Claude Kamov is a Congolese musician (singer, composer and song writer), born in Kinshasa, the capital city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. At the age of 12 Jean-Claude made his first appearance on stage playing the lead guitar in a junior church band. He was soon being invited to perform with many elder musicians.

Jean-Claude has sung and performed in across Canada for many different events as a soloist and with the Congolese Choir of Edmonton, of which he is now director. In Edmonton he has performed at the French Festival, the electoral campaign in 2007, Cariwest festival, Big African Event, and many more. 

His album “One Way” (Libala) which was released in 2003 and he is planning to record and release another CD with its music video DVD.

In addition to his music life, Jean-Claude works as a settlement counsellor. 

Constantino Lucila

Constantino Lucila is a dancer with a background in classical ballet, modern ballet, Philippine folk and ethnic dance, and jazz.

Yukari F. Meldrum 

Yukari F. Meldrum is a Certified Translator (Canada) who also teaches and writes whatever and whenever she feels like it. She immigrated to Edmonton in 1999 and became a citizen in 2007.“As my home is here, I always say I am Canadian. Depending on the tone of voice of the person who asks me the question, ‘where are you really from?’, I feel uneasy because I take it that this person does not believe that I am from here. I understand that people can be curious as to what my ethnic background is, but I don’t care for the particular tone of voice that carries suspicion. I was told that I was overreacting, but I had to react by writing this poem especially since this happened at the festival where the variety of our heritage was supposed to be the whole point of celebration.”  

Valeriy Semenko

Valeriy Semenko was born in the picturesque part of Western Ukraine, Bukovyna in 1961. He began his art education from the School of Fine Art in his hometown City of Chernivtsi, Ukraine. Years later he became a student of Ivan Fedorov Publishing Academy, Faculty of Graphic Arts, Lviv Ukraine. 

As a graphic artist he introduced and successfully issued illustrated thematic books and art calendars. His artistic and editorial expertise also includes his personal touch of art catalogues, posters, invitations and much more for a numerous exhibits which took places in Germany, France, Lithuania, and Ukraine. He is a member of the Union of Advertisement Makers of Ukraine. Artworks by Valeriy are in the private collections worldwide.