Bio

“I aspire to have the intellectual courage to walk in the direction of meaningful choice, vision, and purpose. Simply stated, I combine my know-how and infuse it with the wisdom and beauty of my culture, presenting a fresh approach to innovation. I wish to cast a line into a world that is still emerging and reel in projects that are timely, energizing, and aligned with the unfolding future. My hope is to make a difference and to have a profound imprint on Canada’s creative industry and the world. I wish to pursue a path that is remarkable.” – Sandra Laronde

Sandra Laronde hails from the Teme-Augama Anishinaabe, the People of the Deep Water, in Temagami, Northern Ontario. An accomplished arts innovator, multidisciplinary artist and visionary leader, Laronde stands at the forefront of the ongoing Indigenous cultural resurgence of Canada and beyond.

Sandra has an extensive body of work spanning nearly three decades, including dance, theatre, music, media, and literature. At the heart of her work lies a profound dedication to storytelling, and a commitment to ongoing exploration and experimentation. Her body of work has created powerful transformational experiences across Canada, USA, Europe, and Asia.

Her life’s passion is to shift the Indigenous narrative from the margins to the very core of Canada’s collective consciousness, forging a path to a future of real significance. With an aim to inspire Indigenous and non-Indigenous people for seven generations to come, Sandra illuminates Canada, urging a substantive shift which brings about positive change and greater social cohesion. Much of her work is about expanding the Indigenous canon and awakening a wider ecological relationship to nature.

As a trailblazer, Sandra has founded Red Sky Performance, Native Women in the Arts, Temagami Artistic Collective, a REDTalks Series and created an Associate Artist program for next-generation Indigenous leaders. For nearly a decade, Sandra held the position of Director of Indigenous Arts at the Banff Centre for Arts & Creativity, leaving an indelible mark of extraordinary growth. She provided visionary leadership and artistic and strategic direction for a compelling future of Indigenous Arts at the Banff Centre.

Sandra actively engages in cultural diplomacy through the arts, forging stronger ties by representing the nation at prominent international events and platforms, including the Venice Biennale, two Cultural Olympiads (Canada and Beijing), Canadian Heritage’s inaugural Creative Industries Trade Mission to China, a Trade Mission to Europe, Global Affairs Canada visit to northern Sweden, and as an Official Delegate and Speaker at an ASSITEJ World Congress in Soweto, South Africa, among other.

In 2000, Sandra founded Red Sky Performance, now recognized as Canada's leading company of contemporary Indigenous performance, both nationally and worldwide.

Her collaborations with institutions such as the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, Banff Centre, Jacob’s Pillow, Columbia University, University of Kansas, among others, have been instrumental in dismantling colonial models and constructing new strategies that foster stronger Indigenous and non-Indigenous relationships.

Most recently, Sandra has added ‘author’ to her list of accomplishments with her debut novel, ‘She Holds Up the Stars’, published by Annick Press in August 2022. Her novel received the coveted Kirkus Star which marks books of exceptional merit, named as one of the 2022 Best of Canadian Books for Young Adults by CBC Books, won the 2023 Horace Mann Upstander Award, and nominated for the 2024 Manitoba Young People’s Choice Award and nominated for the 2024 Manitoba Young People’s Choice Awards.

Sandra's accolades are numerous and include the 2023 Indspire Award for the Arts, the 2023 Indigenous Artist Award from the Toronto Arts Foundation, the 2023 Horace Mann Upstander Award, the 2021 Order of Ontario, the 2021 Johanna Metcalf Performing Arts Prize, the 2020 Celebration of Cultural Life Award from the Toronto Arts Foundation, the 2018 Governor General of Canada’s Meritorious Service Cross, the 2018 Lieutenant Governor's Ontario Heritage Award for Excellence in Conservation, the 2014 Vital Ideas from the Toronto Community Foundation, the 2013 Victor Martyn Staunch-Lynch Award for Outstanding Artist in Dance from Canada Council for the Arts, an Honorary Degree (Hons LL.D) from Trent University in 2011, the Expressive Arts Award from the Smithsonian Institute in 2011, the Ontario Good Citizenship Medal, the City of Toronto and Toronto Life's "Face the Arts" recipient celebrating Cultural Mavericks, the Paul D. Fleck Fellowship in the Arts from the Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity, Toronto City Council's Aboriginal Affairs Award, and participation in the Governor-General's Canadian Leadership program, honouring leaders who make a significant impact on Canada. Additionally, her company Red Sky has received 17 Dora Mavor Moore awards and nominations (2023, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2016, 2012, 2010, 2006, 2004) and two Indigenous Music Awards, among others notable recognitions.