Movement Beyond the Frame
A Dance Residency at the University of Alberta Hospital - Throughout November 2025
Final Performance: December 4th, 2025, 7 p.m.
Featuring dancers Kathleen Hughes and Janita Frantsi, this residency brings dance into the heart of McMullen Gallery at the University of Alberta Hospital. Through communal workshops and multidisciplinary, site-specific performances, Hughes and Frantsi invite patients, staff, and visitors to experience dance as a source of healing, joy, and connection.
As part of the gallery’s Arts in Health programming in November 2025, the project will include participatory workshops with patients, staff and practitioners; and interactive performances, transforming the hospital into a place for movement and creativity.
Banner Photo Credit: Mat Simpson
Meet the Artists
Janita Frantsi
Janita Frantsi is a contemporary dance artist originally from Finland and now based in Amiskwacîwâskahikan. During her time in Edmonton, Janita has worked as a dancer with several companies, such as KO Dance Projects, Mile Zero Dance, and Edmonton Opera. She has created works for the SkirtsAFire Festival, Good Women’s Creative Incubator, MZD’s Magpie Collection, Nextfest, Orchesis Dance, Madrigal Singers, and Choir Alberta and has also performed at the Edmonton Fringe, Play the Fool, and Walterdale From Cradle to Stage festivals. Some of Janita’s latest work has been with dance and film, with her most recent film, One With, receiving the Best Edmonton Film Award at the International Festival of Winter Cinema 2023. Janita has a Master of Arts in Dance from the University of Alberta that continues to inspire her to explore new spaces and ways for dance to exist in our world.
Kathleen Hughes
Kathleen Hughes, originally from Edmonton, Alberta, began her love of dance with ballet training at an early age. She was later introduced to Modern dance while attending a dance program at Grant McEwan College. Her love of creating dances has brought her to produce and co-produce, choreograph and perform in many dance productions for Niagara Dance Company, KHDA and several independent projects.
