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Q: Can you say what role you think dance might have played in helping you get through that?

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A: Music has a way of activating different feelings and characters within me, which will be embodied and come out as dance. When I transformed and channelled these different energies, I escaped my reality and whatever harshness that came with it. I always had quite the imagination. When I’d be dancing, sure, I was in my bedroom. But I would save up my money and go buy a fog machine from Walmart and then I would get this disco ball. And I would create these shows in my room. I was imagining everything that I’m doing today.

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Q: We often think of dance as being in the background. That’s not how you see it. What do you want to do that’s different from that?

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A: Dance has been relegated to the background because the industry has yet to figure out how to commodify it. It’s bizarre that we haven’t seen dance transform in the way that, for example, we’ve seen DJs transform. DJs once upon a time were just scratching disks, they weren’t ever seen as individuals that could have an album, that could be touring artists. So the work that I have been carving out as a solo dancer artist is proving that we can be headliners and fully autonomous artists in our own right.

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Q: Janet Jackson championed you at one point, tell me about that.

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A: I had just moved to Toronto. I had done a dance cover of one of Janet’s iconic choreographies, to the song “If.” And that had gained some steam on social media. It eventually made its way back over to Janet and she posted it to her story. In response, I created a feel-good reel encouraging people to keep going because you never know who’s watching. Lo and behold, Janet and her team took that video and reposted it across Twitter, TikTok, Instagram, Facebook — it was everywhere. Obviously I was jumping up and down in tears. Getting that notification saying Janet Jackson tagged you in a post — it was a huge moment. I was able to create a press tour based off that post, which really helped amplify my career.

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Dancer Artin Avaznia poses for a portrait ahead of his Underground Pride show at Club SAW in Ottawa. Photo by Spencer Colby /Postmedia

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Q: You’ve been touring your latest show, Underground Pride, and Ottawa is your last stop. How did you get the idea for that show? What was it that you wanted to accomplish?

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A: There was a gap within the queer community where myself and a lot of others were getting tired of the capitalized version of Pride festivities. They were based solely on which corporations were involved — who was giving money to what? That’s how representation was allocated. If some folks didn’t want X, Y and Z represented, you were not going to see X, Y and Z. Pride is political. Pride started as a protest. Pride did not start at the hands of sponsors or corporations. It pushes a lot of us away, particularly those who are BIPOC. I wanted to create a space that was ridiculously affordable. I wanted to do something that preserved nightlife because nightlife has been so important to the queer community. And I wanted to amplify the queer artists who are independent and push boundaries.

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Q: Was there something even more personal to your own experience you were looking to highlight?

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A: As a Middle Eastern artist and as someone who intertwines politics into his work, I was being pulled off lineups with no clear explanation, suddenly. And I thought to myself, “If I’m experiencing this, what are other artists in my community experiencing?” And I just felt like I had a responsibility to create a safe space for everyone.

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Q: How are you feeling about your first performance in many years in Ottawa?

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A: I cannot be happier that I get to do a homecoming performance with a platform that I created. And it’s not just about me. It’s about the other artists on the lineup — artists that have been pushing the boundaries and shifting the culture. With Underground Pride, every single city’s lineup is a reflection of their underground queer culture and that’s what you’re seeing in Ottawa. Ottawa, yes, on the surface can be quite a “government” city. But the talent that comes out of Ottawa, the perspectives, the creativity, is honestly unlike anything I’ve ever seen. Maybe because people in Ottawa feel we have no other option but to get extraordinarily creative or resourceful. It’s making this moment feel perfectly divine and perfectly timed.

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This conversation has been edited for length and clarity.

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