“I need my 10,000 steps to be pure joy”: Degrassi actor turned DJ Sarah Barrable-Tishauer on throwing dance parties in Allan Gardens

Most fans know Sarah Barrable-Tishauer as Liberty Van Zandt, the misunderstood, tightly wound teen with sky-high ambition on Degrassi: The Next Generation. But these days she’s better known as DJ Me Time and the co-founder of Brightside, a guided sober-friendly movement night that transforms Allan Gardens into a cathartic and uplifting dance party every second Thursday of the month. The night is part meditation, part movement, and at least one person usually cries. We spoke to Barrable-Tishauer about how Degrassi still informs her work, why adults should permit themselves some childlike wonder and what exactly goes down at Toronto’s favourite leafy cathedral after hours.

I know you’ve been deejaying for about 10 years now, but how was DJ Me Time born? I discovered dancing as a means of survival in university. I found myself through it too—through moving my body, deeply listening to music and connecting with other people. The name—DJ Me Time—is an expression of how I see the dance floor, but it’s also an expression of myself. My inner child wants to run wild. I’ve made it my mission to help other people find a similar sense of “me time” or “we time.”

What happens at Brightside?
Brightside is more than a drop-in dance party. It’s a fully guided two-and-a-half-hour community ritual I founded with my collaborator Adil Dhalla, aimed at shaking off the sticky winter blues. We start at 6 p.m., way earlier than your typical club night, and people arrive in silence. There’s a meditation that helps close all the tabs in people’s brains, then we start moving in a way that’s inspired by nature. That means we might flock like birds or sway like seaweed.

After that, we get into icebreaker-style activities. As adults, we so easily forget that playing is how we make friends, so I always challenge everyone to try to meet someone new at Brightside. Then it morphs to a freeform dance party. We end with group journalling, sharing what we wrote and singing together. Our voices sound really good under the gardens’ domed roof.

It almost sounds like yoga. Is there any crossover? Not purposefully. I hate working out. I don’t like going to organized classes. I need my 10,000 steps to be pure joy; I can’t do 10,000 steps of pain. We envisioned making it an early Thursday night event so it would feel like a practice that people could return to, similar to a movement class.

I heard you suggest bare feet? No bare feet. I saw the article that wrote that too, and I don’t know where they got it. You heard it here: we love shoes.

Who’s showing up? Is it as intergenerational as advertised? It’s the most diverse space in terms of age range that I’ve ever experienced. At our last event, we had babies in the arms of grandparents in their late 70s. People of all backgrounds and abilities come—accessibility is a big priority for us. It’s really for people who wouldn’t feel comfortable in typical club settings.

We had someone comment on our Instagram saying that they were happy to just look at the photos because they thought they were too old to go out anymore. But there’s no age limit to having fun.

Have you seen guests shift in attitude? Any profound letting go happening? There are always a few key moments when I see clear shifts in people. One is when someone is willing to do something silly in front of others. Most people arrive with a smaller tolerance for silliness, but then as they start to feel more playful, their shoulders drop and they lose the self-doubt and self-criticism they came in with. A big part of the night is about social permission. Sometimes we need a nudge or a smile from a stranger to take a small step outside of our comfort zone.

The full-on dance party is pure catharsis. We have props, suggested gestures and ways to help people feel involved if they think they can’t dance or don’t do it often. It’s for anyone who needs to move.

Do people ever cry? Someone bawls every single time. There aren’t a lot of spaces, at least in Toronto, where adults get to have that public release. Sometimes it’s tears of joy; other times it’s frustration at something that’s stuck. We try to do unsticking, but we’re also happy to just acknowledge that it’s there. It might come unstuck next time.

We also have certified support staff on-site if needed. I used to train hospitality workers in harm reduction and how to create safer spaces, so it’s important to me to have easily accessible support. They wear glowing wristbands and are there to check in on attendees, offer grounding support or sit with someone who needs a moment.

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What’s your secret to making a dance party fun without drugs or alcohol? Substances can feel like shortcuts to relaxing the body or connecting with others. That can be fun, but Brightside is more about taking the scenic route and getting there the long way. It’s designed for introverts, by me, an introvert. I don’t know if there’s one single secret, but we try to keep the vibe grounded and comfortable.

Are any tracks you’ve played really hitting on the dance floor lately? For the last event, I opened with a remix of “Bam Bam” by Sister Nancy. For that set, I designed the whole vibe around the feeling that we were on the beach. I used Brazilian carnival sounds, Latin rhythms and other nods to warmth and the tropics. I was hoping everyone would forget it was winter in Toronto for a few hours, and it worked. We also always sprinkle in Y2K nostalgia early.

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In the recent Degrassi documentary by Lisa Rideout, I noticed many of the former actors say they struggled to separate themselves from the angsty teens they played. Did you experience that? Liberty was created after I auditioned for a different character, Manny, so in some ways she was modelled off of me. As the character evolved, there were divergences between us. But, like her, I was nerdy, responsible and very into school, and I felt like I had a lot to express that I didn’t have words for yet. I was bullied a lot growing up too. Her desire to belong shapes a lot of what I do now.

Have you fully evolved or does Liberty still live in you? She’s absolutely still in me. I understand that drive, and I still want to get everything right. But I’m trying to loosen that grip and let others let go of their self-doubt and self-criticism. The visibility that Degrassi has given me is a real privilege. It gave me a platform that allows me to create space for people to move around in.

I’ve heard you’re a low-key witch. Correct? That’s right! Alongside one of my closest friends, Jessica Mary Clayton, I co-founded Bass Witch Coven six years ago. It came out of a deep love of sisterhood and bass music. We joke that I have a bright side and a dark side. Bass Witch celebrates all the shadows I’ve been taught to hide. For those, we start with a ritual performance I write, often inspired by tarot archetypes.

It’s darker, later, a little sexier than Brightside but still very playful. Fantasy is where they converge. In both experiences, people move through a portal and slip into something else—something that may feel like a character but is, perhaps, actually closer to who they really are.

What’s your overall goal? Changing the world feels lofty and overwhelming, but it’s more like a series of small actions. The hope is that people will carry whatever they practice in these spaces into their lives elsewhere. We know people are leaving with new phone numbers, plans, friendships, but they’re also leaving with small realizations, like “I’m able to let loose like this more than I think.”

When your final song of the night fades and people head back into the cold, what do you hope they’ve experienced? Release. The best feeling after a night of dance is that big exhale. People have told us that they didn’t know how much they needed it. Psychic weight lies heavy on the body. I hope people leave feeling lighter.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.