Singer and choreographer Montana Tucker began dancing backup for Ashanti at age 13 and performed at the Super Bowl by 14. However, her career trajectory shifted dramatically with her 2022 docu-series How To Never Forget, in which she retraced her Holocaust-survivor grandmother's footsteps through Auschwitz.
After the October 7 attacks, Tucker pivoted fully from entertainment to advocacy, traveling to Israel seven times and producing The Children of October 7th, a documentary featuring child survivors. The shift has come at a cost — she has lost hundreds of thousands of followers for her outspoken pro-Israel stance — but Tucker remains undeterred, retaining a social media following of more than 14 million.
We CAN Dance Again in Toronto
On Sunday in Toronto, a group of elementary and high school dancers will join Tucker on stage for We CAN Dance Again, a live performance produced by StandWithUs Canada. Last year, 75 young dancers from across the city filled the stage performing Am Israel Chai (the nation of Israel lives) alongside Tucker.
Dave Gordon interviews Tucker, now 33, for the National Post:
Why is this StandWithUs Canada initiative important to you?
After October 7th, I had a hard time combining my worlds. What was going on in Israel, with Jews around the world, was so hard, and so dark, and so heavy, and so sad, and I always associated dance with being uplifting, and I felt like nothing was uplifting about what was going on after October 7th. I thought to myself: everybody went to the Nova Music Festival to dance, to listen to music.
Hostage Mia Schem got this tattoo, We Will Dance Again, and I think that's the story of the Jewish people, right? No matter how many times we fall, we get up, we bring our joy, we share our joy, we share life, we value life, we value love over hate. I think that is the power of dance; to dance as a universal language that unites people of all walks of life.
I went to Israel eight different times since October 7th to be on the ground, to interview survivors. I went into Gaza, as well, to interview Gazans. So, for me, it's always been important to just share the truth, real, raw, authentic stories. After October 7th, the amount of hate that I received – hundreds of thousands of people unfollowed me. Brands say they can't work with me anymore.
People who I considered friends that I would collaborate with, wouldn't collaborate with anymore, flat out, because of my support for Israel. It was really hurtful in the beginning. If people would really look into the truth, or look into what I'm posting, they would see what I'm trying to do. So it was really hard in the beginning. But it has brought me so many other opportunities of where I'm supposed to be, and who I'm supposed to be connected with, and who I'm supposed to work with.
Out of all the loss, and the hardship that it has come with, I would do it a million times over, because I believe, what is the point of having a voice? What is the point of having a platform if you're not speaking out for what you believe in?
