Haunted Rhythms 2022

I YA TOYAH

I Ya Toyah is not a musical act; she’s a movement. In just a few short years, this Chicago area phenom has released several critically acclaimed recordings, organized the creation of multiple award-winning music videos, and toured the United States multiple times.

I Ya Toyah effortlessly combines elements of industrial, pop, electro, darkwave, and alternative rock into a unique aural tapestry that acts as the perfect backdrop for her intensely personal lyrics; but it’s the power and versatility of her voice that has the music industry talking. Her potent vocal performances effectively deliver a message that is modern, relatable, and speaks to the paranoia of everyday reality.

When spoken out loud in her native Polish, the words “I Ya Toyah” translate to “It’s just me.” These simple, but powerful words act as an unwavering mission statement that guides every aspect of her career as a musician, singer, composer, producer, remix artist, and performer.

HÄXA

Häxa is a dark electronic project with influences from pagan folk, witch house, goth/industrial, and synthwave. Music for space witches, Häxa is a bridge between the technological, mystical and temporal realms.

Moxie

Moxie started studying bellydance in 1998. Her day job is making people cry in order to save the world. Recently she’s been learning to apply neuroscience to movement training. She has five cats, eighteen tattoos, and more costumes than she can store responsibly.

Madam Gemini

Madam Gemini’s (Ashley) dance journey has taken many different directions over time, beginning as a fire and hoop dancer. Her bellydance foundation of study started in 2010 with Raqs Sharqi, Turkish, and ITS Belly Dance dance which eventually led into Urban Belly Dance Fusion. She has studied a variety of Belly Dance styles from various instructors in California, Chicago, New York, and India creating a dynamic fusion of all the inspiration learned along the way. House Dance has been a big part of her life from going out dancing in the Chicago club scene from a young age as well as studying with different instructors of House , Afro-House and Latin dance styles in New York, Oakland , and Chicago.

She incorporates dance styles she has learned through her travels into an embodied expression of movement and feels grateful for the opportunities to learn dance from different cultures throughout her dance journey. By day she is a massage therapist at Allyu Spa in Chicago, a dance fitness instructor, an entrepreneur, and an advocate for a healthy lifestyle.

Noori

Radia Ali, also known as Noori, is a multi- disciplinary performing artist and poet and fire dancer. She performs an array of styles from South Asian classical & folk, belly dance, flamenco, samba to bachata, salsa, and burlesque. She uses props such as silk veils, Fire fans and swords to tell stories across cultures with her movements.

Growing up in different countries, Radia was able to experience dance, music and cultural practices both in Asia and Europe. She uses these experiences to create fusion choreography and movement experiences. 

Radia is currently an organizer at the Chicago Full Moon Jam, performs with Egyptian indie artist NAXÖ, and other live music acts. She teaches fire performance, as well as fusion movement classes. 

Radia has performed extensively over the past 5 years, and some of those venues are Electric Forest, Chicago Dyke March, Beat Kitchen, Old Town School of Folk Music, Chicago Pride parade, Argyle Festival, She-Wolf, The Empty Bottle, Museum of Contemporary Art ( MCA), The Den Theater & many more.

Angelica Mendoza

Angelica Mendoza is an interdisciplinary artist and art educator based in Chicago, IL. Her work primarily focuses on spiritual and occult themes that are directly related to her personal practice. Angelica creates gateways to the hidden and subconscious world through her art—in order to link the astral and physical worlds into a tangible form. The artwork channels and connects the viewer or practitioner to the hidden in order to foster communication and understanding. She also draws on the environment around her to inspire works of art that capture the essence of a space, entity or physical being.

In the classroom environment, Angelica teaches students the basics of visual art techniques, and encourages students to use their lives as inspiration for their projects. Teaching high school students is rewarding and a way for her to give back to the community, and she is passionate about keeping arts education alive in public schools.