Starr Muranko is a dancer, choreographer and Mother to the most amazing little boy. She is Co-Artistic Director with Raven Spirit Dance – a contemporary Indigenous dance company based in Vancouver, BC on the the unceded and Ancestral territories of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish), and Sel̓íl̓witulh (Tsleil-Waututh) Nations. As a choreographer she is most interested in the stories that we carry within our bodies and Ancestral connections to land that transcend time and space. Her choreographic work has been shared both locally and nationally across Canada including presentations at the Dance Centre, Talking Stick Festival, Coastal Dance Festival, Dancing on the Edge, Weesageechak Begins to Dance (Native Earth Performing Arts), Impact Festival and InFringing Dance Festival. Featured work includes ‘before7after’, Spine of the Mother and Chapter 21.
Starr has been a proud company dancer with the Dancers of Damelahamid since 2005, touring across Canada and internationally with the company and trained under the guidance and mentorship of the late Elder Margaret Harris. She has facilitated several dance workshops through ArtsStarts in Schools, Vancouver Aboriginal Friendship Centre, the NEC – Native Education College, Vines Art Festival and recently was invited as a guest choreographer to co-lead an exciting creation lab with Ballet BC and Margaret Grenier. She was also commissioned to be one of the 2022 guest choreographers for the National Ballet School’s Sharing Dance program alongside choreographer Aïcha Bastien N’diaye.
She is passionate about leaving a meaningful legacy for future generations and has worked with children and youth on community art projects in her Mother’s home territory of James Bay (Treaty 9) in the communities of Attawapiskat and Moose Factory. Starr honours and celebrates her mixed Ancestry of Omushkegowuk Cree (Moose Cree First Nation), French and German in all of her work.
