Kass Prus (they/them) is a queer, trans non-binary, and multiply disabled performer, movement therapist, and facilitator. A 2nd generation Ukrainian-Canadian settler, Kass was born into a home immersed in ancestral traditions, dance, music, art, and resistance to imperialism. Early formative experiences include performing as a soloist on local stages and at international CIOFF Folk Dance Festivals as a member of Arkan Ukrainian Dance Company. Kass also holds a BFA in photography from TMU and has spent eight years studying Slavic polyphonic folk singing. They’ve had opportunities to present their experimental film and photography, as well as sing, at various venues across the Greater Toronto Area.

With over 2,000 hours of training as a yoga teacher & yoga therapist, Kass moves from the understanding that illness, pain & mental health challenges are intrinsically connected to the systemic oppression upon which colonial systems stand. They integrate these insights into their role as a changemaker and arts administrator, with recent experiences at Generator TO’s Artist Producer Training, Dancemakers, Nightwood Innovators, and with Shay Erlich Consulting.

As an artist committed to challenging the exclusion they’ve faced in the name of “tradition,” Kass’s current art-making explores using contemporary performance to queer and crip Slavic folk arts practices. This reclamation of joy and play is central to their broader personal praxis as a disabled trans person navigating unjust and traumatizing systems.