Photo: Marion Chuniaud & RubenNaranjo
Yolantha Magee
Biography
Yolantha Magee is a passionate dancer and choral singer from Ottawa, Canada. She has over 8 years of dance experience, training with Devotion Dance Company as a competitive dancer, and with Canterbury High School in a pre-professional classical dance program.
She has over 3 years of formal vocal training with the Ottawa Regional Youth Choir, and with a vocal coach through Devotion Dance Company. Yolantha believes that music is a very important part of her dance training.
Throughout her choir training, she learned different breathing techniques, time signatures, and sang many classical works, which allowed her to apply all of her musical skills into her dance training and improve majorly.
She believes that her strong connection to music allows her to dive into her storytelling capabilities and get the audience captivated from the moment she steps on stage.
Artistic intent
Dance has always been my biggest passion and my way of self expression. Competitive dance is where my journey began, and while it shaped me as a dancer, it also challenged my love for dance in ways I never would have expected.
When I first started dancing, I loved the movement, but it was performance, storytelling, and connection that made me truly fall in love with it. Music was always a huge part of that connection, allowing me to fully live in the moment while performing. When I'm on stage everything else disappears for a few minutes; the lights, the music, and the audience come together in a way that feels freeing and unforgettable.
However, competitive dance also brought constant pressure, anxiety, and the feeling of never being good enough. Over time, I began to lose the joy dance once gave me. Throughout this solo process, I've had to reflect on those experiences and work through the toxicity and self-doubt that came with them.
This journey has helped me rediscover myself as a dancer and reconnect with why I fell in love with dance in the first place. I’ve learned that dance is not about perfection, but about expression, storytelling, and finding freedom within yourself.