A dance industry veteran, a pianist who combines baroque and Middle Eastern music, and a Metis playwright are among the recipients of this year’s Johanna Metcalf Performing Arts Prizes.

On Thursday, five Ontario artists were awarded $25,000 each by the Metcalf Foundation, plus $10,000 for their chosen protégés, at a ceremony at the Gardiner Museum.

The winners include Metis playwright, actor and Toronto theatre director Keith Barker, with protege Chris Mejaki; and Brampton-born pianist and composer John Kameel Farah, with protege Evan Pointner.

Other Toronto-area winners include composer and music educator Suba Sankaran, with protege Shirsha Chakraborty; choreographer and dancer Natasha Powell, with her protege Raoul Wilke; and orchestra composer Roydon Tse, with protege Sami Anguaya.

The five winners were chosen from a list of 15 finalists and have all been producing and showing work for at least a decade.

The remaining 10 finalists each receive a $2,000 prize.

Organizers say the prizes known as “Johannas” honour artists who have made “a recognized impact on the field and the public, and show great promise in the ongoing pursuit of their ambitious and visionary practices.”