Born from Chilean and Guatemalan parents Apolonia Velasquez and Salvadorian native, Ofilio Sinbadinho Portillo have been creative collaborators since 2000. Both francophones raised in Montreal, they established GADFLY in Toronto, the first urban dance-rooted dance company.
Gadfly is a Repertoire Dance Company that has been moving people, pulsing questions and cooking worlds since 2006. Their body of work includes full-evening works, performances at Ted Talks Toronto, Nuit Blanche, Luminato, Festival DansEncore, and for several charitable organizations. With “Klorofyl,” Gadfly was the recipient of the Dora Mavor Moore Award for Outstanding Performance.
Gadfly has been commissioned to create work across Canada for the likes of Decidedly Jazz Danceworks, Coleman Lemieux & Compagnie, Canadian Contemporary Dance Theatre, Ryerson University, the iconic School of Toronto Dance Theatre, TED Talks, Nike, and Make Up For Ever. Their works have been presented in Festivals such as Luminato, Nuit Blanche, Festival DansEncore, 100Lux, and Ontario Dance Weekend. Apolonia and Ofilio are also the founders of the Toronto Urban Festival and have set a mission to express their commitment for Artistry, Authenticity, and Athleticism.
“Top notch production values, atmospheric lighting, talented and extremely committed dancers and an impressive score and this is first class dance fare all the way.” – Bob Leahy, Positivelite.com
“Extraordinary choreography… It’s terrifically exciting to see street dance liberated from the robotics of music videos and imbued with emotional expression.” – Christopher Hoile, Eye Weekly
