If you don't know...Kate Kamo McHugh

…Let me introduce you!

Kate Kamo McHugh is a dancer, actor, arts educator and mom to Isabel. She studied Theatre Performance and Dance at Ryerson University in Toronto and is now based in Kitchener, Ontario.

“Motherhood has made me more focused on projects I want to do. Making your daughter proud is a great motivator.”

I asked Kate some questions!

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HALEY: How do you describe your work?

KATE: Choreographing independent pieces, working as an arts educator, and doing research for a book I’m working on. I also spend time finding and applying for grants and different art programs in my area.

Since having Isabel moments for creating art are sacred and sometimes hard to come by. My spouse, Colin, is a documentary photographer and also juggles multiple projects. Isabel’s naptime or after bedtime is key to our creative survival.

HALEY: What’s your work mission?

KATE: My work’s mission is to tell stories through art featuring concepts like belonging, migration, and motherhood - I feel intricately connected to each of these areas. I am a fourth-generation Japanese Canadian (Yonsei). I think a lot about the sacrifices my grandparents and great-grandparents made so that my generation could lead lives with an incredible amount of privilege and opportunity.

HALEY: What are 1-3 of your favourite projects that you’ve worked on?

KATE: Last November, I worked on a dance video about being a pandemic mom. The project was part of a two-week artist exchange program with Multicultural Theatre Space in Kitchener. The grant money allowed me to explore choreography with my daughter, and the full video will be on the National Arts Centre’s website as part of the Transformations Project.

Right before the pandemic started, I joined The Dear Mother Community Project with Green Light Arts. It was a writing group for mothers who identified as IBPOC, and the project renewed my creative writing interest.

HALEY: What are you working on now?

KATE: I’m teaching as part of the Newcomer Youth Project, a program facilitated by MT Space and the YMCA to bring art to newcomer youth in our region. My program is called Moving Through Stories, where the students learn about storytelling through movement.

I just received an Ontario Arts Council grant to create a piece combining Bulgarian folk dance* and contemporary choreography.

I got a grant thanks to Pat the Dog Theatre to research my Japanese Canadian heritage and potentially create some writing about Japanese internment for young kids. It’s a part of my daughter’s family history that I don’t want her to forget.

HALEY: What artist do you look up to?

KATE: Pam Patel is the artistic director of MT Space and Impact International Theatre Festival. She is so talented and focused. Her energy and positive vibes inspire me every time we meet over Zoom.

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Follow Kate on Instagram to keep an eye on upcoming projects.