Día de Muertos
2026
A one-of-a-kind dance festival, performed in unique spaces that bring the Mexican traditions to life in unexpected ways
Welcome to the beautiful world of Día de Muertos!
At the heart of everything we do is Día de Muertos (DDM) — a one-of-a-kind dance festival that celebrates Mexico's Day of the Dead, performed in unique spaces that bring the experience to life in unexpected ways.
Casa De Danza is led by Artistic Director Sarahí Cardenas. Over the years, the festival has grown into something truly special. We bring together Latin artists for residencies, commissions, and live performances — all built around two simple but powerful questions:
What does Día de Muertos mean to you?
How can dance connect memory, ancestry, and the world we live in today?
SCHEDULE
6:00pm: Doors Open
6:00 - 7:00pm: Marigold Flower Craft and Ofrenda Reflection
7:00 - 8:30pm: Immersive Performances featuring Casa De Danza's Resident Artists
8:30 - 10:00pm: Dance Party & Reception with live DJ
ACCESSIBILITY
Please note: this is an immersive production, and the audience will be asked to move around the building (inside and outside). We recommend wearing shoes that are comfortable for walking. Performers may come into close proximity to the audience at certain points.
Daniel Spectrum and Native Earth Performing Arts & Aki Studio are accessible venues, with ramp entrances located on Dundas St and on Regent Park Blvd. If you need additional accessibility support, please reach out to casadedanza.ca@gmail.com , and we will do our best to accommodate.
Funded by the Toronto Arts Council, Canadian Council for the Arts
FESTIVAL DETAILS
When: October 31st and November 1st 2026
Where: 585 Dundas st E, Toronto ON.
Time: 6PM-10PM
Ticket price: 10$
Three site-specific pieces will be presented by choreographers Heryka Miranda, Sofi Gudiño and Irma Villafuerte.
About Sofi
Sofi Gudiño is a dance artist and community organizer based in Toronto. Raised in flamenco and established in contemporary dance, Sofi’s work is marked by emotional intensity and choreographic risk. Gudiño began flamenco studies as a child at the Academy of Spanish Dance with Esmeralda Enrique, and has since continued in Spain with Úrsula López, Alicia Márquez, Pastora Galván, Lorena Franco and many others. In 2014, Sofi founded the Inamorata Dance Collective as a site to explore flamenco outside of its traditional presentations. As a choreographer, Gudiño has enjoyed residencies at The Toronto Dance Theatre and Dancemakers, with choreographic premieres including Nuit Blanche, Pride, and with their award nominated piece, Picaza, in Toronto Fringe. Sofi was nominated in the 2023 Johanna Performing Arts Prizes for their recognized impact on the field, and recently assumed the role of Festival Director at Dusk Dances.
About Heryka
Heryka Miranda (she/her), YAX TZ’UNUN (Blue Hummingbird), is a Guatemalan American dancer, choreographer, and educator who approaches dance as a sacred, embodied practice. Her movement journey includes training in Afro-Cuban, Afro-Brazilian, Indigenous dance and theatre, modern, flamenco, and sacred and creative movement practices, with pauses and returns along the way. Her work centres dance as remembrance, storytelling, and connection to spirit. Through somatic and expressive arts practices, she creates spaces where movement becomes an offering of healing, resilience, and becoming. After many years away from solo performance, her return reflects a deepened practice rooted in ceremony, lived experience, and embodied wisdom. Heryka is honoured to be collaborating with visual artist Clarissa Vásquez who is the visual projection creator for TOJ, The Becoming of YAX TZ'UNUN.
About Irma
Irma Villafuerte is a Tkaronto based dance artist, educator, choreographer and first-generation daughter of refugees from Nahuat Territory Kuskatan, post-colonial El Salvador. Irma a co-founder of CinnaMoon Collective, a Toronto Arts Foundation 2021 Emerging Artist Finalist and a Dora Nominated artist for her co-created work "Surrendered Spirits". She’s had the honor to be part of festivals and performances across Turtle Island, Latinoamérica and the Caribbean with works by established and renown creators. She has led a journey nurturing her choreographic development through residencies with Dance Makers, TDT’s Emerging Voices, Kaeja D’dance KAIR and Aluna Theatre; currently developing her important dance work Xilopango to premiere 2025z As a Latin American woman, her passion for social justice and human rights, is the driving force for creation in Irma’s choreographic and performance work.
A word from the Artistic Director
Hello hello my friends,
As I am typing this, I can’t believe that it is that time of the year when I am longing for sweater weather, champurrado y tamales. For me, the beginning of September has always signified a new beginning, a new chance to do all the things I promised myself at the beginning of the year that I wanted to try to achieve. As the equinox grows nearer, so does my excitement for this year’s festival of Día de Muertos. If you’ve been here since the beginning, you’d probably heard me talking about it a million times, from when I couldn’t get to explain the vision without crying halfway through it, to now, when I can formally invite you to this year's celebration. It is my great pleasure to officially invite you to our Día de Muertos Celebration this October 31th and November 1st. We couldn’t have done it without the funding from the Toronto Arts Council and the Canada Council for the Arts, as well as the admin support we were able to hire through the Canada Summer Jobs Program this summer. But we especially couldn’t have done it without you, our supporters from day one; our amazing producers Bri and Alli, who always push me to be the best leader I can be, my generous mentor Sid Ryan Eilers, friends and family (Audric, Daniel, Maddy, Kaela, the list goes on), the awesome board of Directors Josh, Brenda and Christine and of course, the artists Irma, Sofi and Heryka whom for 3 years have been ‘al pie del cañon’ waiting for my call that said… ‘we’ve got funding!!!!!!!’ So please, join us in celebrating the festivities by purchasing a ticket for you, for your friends and for your family and help us make this, our first fully fleshed vision of the festival (but our third year celebrating), the best one yet!
I can’t wait to see you all there, make marigold paper flowers with you, guide you from site to site while we share stories, mitos and leyendas, honour our loved ones who are not with us anymore AND welcome them back into this plane for 2 nights. And of course, watch the culmination of deep, meaningful and rigorous research that our awesome dance artists will be working on during their residence that is sure to allow our audiences to see aspects of themselves and hopefully, move us all emotionally and viscerally.
With much love and anticipation,
— Sarahí Cárdenas
What is Día de Muertos?
Día de Muertos is a Mexican holiday traditionally celebrated on November 1st and 2nd. It is like a family reunion—except dead ancestors are the guests of honour. Day of the Dead is a joyful time that helps people remember the deceased and celebrate their memory. Families create ofrendas (Offerings) to honour their departed family members that have passed. Cemetery visits are also common on the last day as families will go to decorate the grave sites with Marigold flowers, gifts, and sugar skulls with the departed’s name on them. Overall, Day of the Dead is a rare holiday for celebrating death and life. It is unlike any holiday where mourning is exchanged for celebration.
What is an Ofrenda?
While the most recognizable aspects of Day of the Dead are the representations of skulls and skeletons, the tradition that holds the most meaning is the Ofrenda (Spanish for offering). The Ofrenda is what the whole celebration is about; it’s a collection of offerings dedicated to the person being honoured. A typical ofrenda is a simple concept. It consists of a set of items that will identify the person to whom it is dedicated along with staples of the celebration such as a pan de muerto, and marigold petals. The items that identify the person will include photographs, and personal items that belonged to them, but can also include food other than the traditional ones which the person in question particularly enjoyed. They will most commonly be built on a table which will be adorned with a tablecloth and tissue paper cut into patterns. For our community ofrenda, we invite you to bring photos of your loved ones who have passed, their favourite foods or even small pieces of art. As we continue to display our Ofrenda during the month of November, we invite you to share your stories and those of your loved ones.
What is the Paper Marigold Making Workshop?
In this workshop, we will join forces to make as many marigold flowers as we possibly can to help adorn the ofrenda that will be mounted at The Fifth. Marigolds are believed to be the pathways that guide the spirits to their ofrendas. The flower’s vibrant colours and scent attract the departed souls, as they return to feast on their favourite foods. They are called “Flor de Muerto” (Spanish for Flower of Dead) and they symbolize the beauty and fragility of life.
What is Casa de Danza?
Casa de Danza is a Toronto-based arts organization that supports the behind-the-scenes work of professional dance artists. Is committed to celebrating the bodies that have been traditionally excluded and highlighting the different cultures that make Toronto the vibrant landscape it is, specifically, those of with Latino roots.