Now in its 14th year, Porch View Dances (PVD) – www.kaeja.org – returns to Toronto’s Seaton Village from July 16–20, 2025, inviting audiences to experience dance like never before, outside of theatres and into everyday spaces where we live, work, and play. A pay-what-you-want event, produced by acclaimed company Kaeja d’Dance under the direction of Co-Artistic Directors Karen and Allen Kaeja, PVD celebrates real people dancing in real spaces, turning front porches, alleyways, and Toronto streets into vibrant stages (watch the 2025 trailer at www.youtube.com).

This year’s theme, “The Surprise of the Unknown,” invites audiences on a journey of curiosity, discovery, and joyful unpredictability. This beloved one-of-a-kind site-specific outdoor festival blends professional choreographers with community participants, resulting in a magical, unrepeatable fusion of art, identity, and neighbourhood.

FEATURED ARTISTS 2025:

 • Karen Kaeja – PVD Founder and Artistic Director / Co-Artistic Director Kaeja d’Dance / Co-Curator of PVD / Flock Landing Choreographer

 • Mayumi Lashbrook – Co-Curator / Artistic Producer

 • KINAJ (Kin Nguyen & AJ Velasco) – Vignette Co-Choreographers

 • Pulga Muchochoma, Nicola Pantin, Diana Lopez Soto – Porch Choreographers

 • Kunji Ikeda & Allen Kaeja – CoTour Guides

 • Mio Sakamoto – Installation Choreographer / Flock Landing Lead

 • Katie Adams-Gossage, Sophie Dow, Yui Ugai – Flock Landing Dancers

 • Jim Adams – Land Gratitude Address

 • Edgardo Moreno – Composer, Flock Landing

PVD 2025 includes three distinct Porch Dances, three Vignettes (hidden performances the audience happens upon), one immersive Installation, and the participatory Flock Landing finale. For the first time ever, the event will be guided by a Tour Guide team, adding zany humour and lighthearted fun to every step of the journey. PVD once again promises to deliver a wonderful, outdoor, family-friendly artistic event.

From Toronto streets in Seaton Village (between Manning Ave and Palmerston Ave), audience members walk from house to house, guided by performers and welcomed into intimate worlds of movement, memory, and storytelling.

Each night reveals new stories through dance:

Diana Lopez Soto explores intergenerational wisdom, land kinship, and the expressive power of youth

Pulga Muchochoma brings ancestral learning and Black identity to the forefront

Nicola Pantin fuses theatrical storytelling with imaginative fantasy

KINAJ transforms local spaces into otherworldly cosmic voyages

Mio Sakamoto introduces a new immersive installation inviting all bodies to engage with the unknown

In an age marked by change and uncertainty, PVD is a gentle and joyful reminder that movement connects us all. Co-curators Karen Kaeja and Mayumi Lashbrook explain: “The more at ease we are with what we are unfamiliar with, the more we can enjoy the ongoing improvisation of life.”

DATES & TIMES:

Wednesday, July 16 – Saturday, July 19, 2025 at 7:00 PM

Sunday, July 20, 2025 at 2:00 PM (Accessible Show)

ACCESSIBILITY MATTERS:

Sunday, July 20, at 2 PM is the designated Accessible Day, featuring ASL interpretation and wheelchair assistance. Wheelchair-friendly routes and volunteers are available every day of the festival.