Desiree Gurniak

Height: 5’5
Hometown: Surrey, BC
Languages: English
Occupation:

Desiree was born and raised in beautiful White Rock, British Columbia. At the age of 4, she began her first ballet class, and her love for dance began. She spent many hours in the studio learning Jazz, Acro, Contemporary, lyrical and ballet. By the age of 7, she started competing, which led the way to her performing on the Big Bear Jamboree stage in Disneyland, California. She has done workshops with 5678 Hollywood, Disneyland Cast members, the Broadway cast of Aladdin, Brickhouse NYC, The Martha Graham School of Dance, and the Radio City Rockettes NYC. During her time dancing she spent a couple of those years auditioning for tv, and filmed an American Express commercial.

When she was 17, Desiree was personally invited to intern for Dancinema, an international education and production company. She managed archives of hundreds of dance films from all over the world and co-edited digital and print publications. Desiree viewed dances and films from countless countries, gaining creative inspiration and a global perspective from artists and documentarians. Many projects highlighted important social issues such as; justice for murdered and missing women, Indigenous rights, and Child protection. Desiree’s contributions to the proper archiving and presentation of these works is essential to Dancinema’s mission.

Currently she is working as a Language and Cultural Ambassador for her local First Nation community. Her culture and family history are very important to her. She enjoys being involved in community events, and learning her native language of Hunquminum.

In her spare time she loves reading, travelling, and spending time with her family, and many dogs.