Artists:Tamara

From Tamara's website

TAMARA PODEMSKI is a multi-disciplinary artist born and raised in Toronto, Canada. She calls upon her roots to inspire her art, creating a fusion of spirituality, politics, and self-empowerment. She is a graduate of the Claude Watson School for the Performing Arts in Toronto, where she studied theatre, dance and music throughout its 10-year program.

Tamara’s acting has spanned across all mediums with such credits as DANCE ME OUTSIDE, THE REZ, READY OR NOT, MOOSE TV, numerous theatre productions, and, most notably, as a member of the Original Canadian Cast of RENT, as well as playing Maureen in the Broadway Company of RENT. Next spring will find her starring in the Sundance film FOUR SHEETS TO THE WIND, written and directed by award-winning Oklahomian, Sterlin Harjo.

Her singing can be heard as the lead singer of the Los Angeles band SPIRIT NATION, whose album WINTER MOONS was nominated for a 2001 Aboriginal Music Award, on the solo album SPIRIT VOICES which she released under the pseudonym “Ceshia Anaquod,” and on her recent self-titled, 4-time nominated album, TAMARA, which she released under her own record label, MUKWA MUSIC. Tamara’s music video, MEEGWETCH, has garnered awards both in the States and Canada and her latest recognition came from the 2006 Aboriginal Music Awards in the category of Best Female Artist.

As a songwriter, Tamara’s songs have been featured on the TV series THE REZ, THE SEVENTH GENERATION, MOCASSIN FLATS, and the feature documentary GREEN, GREEN WATER. She was also the lyricist for SPIRIT NATION, writing all 10 songs in Saulteaux, and was both co-composer and lyricist on SPIRIT VOICES which she also wrote in the Saulteaux language. She wrote and co-composed another 9 original songs for her latest album TAMARA, (this time in English), receiving an Aboriginal Music Award for Best Songwriter. She regularly composes original songs for theatre productions, as well as for numerous songwriting workshops and music seminars across Indian Country.

Tamara’s dancing has taken her across Canada, the US, and Europe as a member of the Canadian Dance Tapestry of which she was a member for 5 years. She has also been a lead dancer in the nationally televised ABORIGINAL ACHIEVEMENT AWARDS since 1995. Other credits include THE ABORIGINAL DANCE PROJECT at the Banff Centre for the Arts, the Iroquoian Contemporary Ballet KAHA:WI, ANGELS OF THE WORLD at the Harbourfront Centre, and the US Touring Company of SPIRIT – THE SEVENTH FIRE.

As a choreographer she has created pieces for the ABORIGINAL ACHIEVEMENT AWARDS, numerous theatre productions, and for Native Youth across Canada who participate in her and her sister’s Hip-Hop Dance Workshops. She is currently choreographing the 2007 ABORIGINAL ACHIEVEMENT AWARDS in which she will also perform as a dancer during the Global broadcast this coming spring in Edmonton.

As a community worker, Tamara joined with her sisters to create SPREAD THE WORD PRODUCTIONS which uses unique forms of multi-media to teach Youth about Aboriginal issues and Holocaust education. She also teaches dance classes locally, in Toronto, at fitness studios, as well as at her own dance studio, BODY ALIVE.

In addition to performing across North America and Europe, Tamara also uses her travels to teach workshops, present keynote addresses and participate in panel discussions on arts-related issues. Tamara is currently completing her degree in Aboriginal Studies and Hebrew Literature at the University of Toronto..