Participants 2011

Interrarium Participants 2011

Neil Cadger (Kelowna)

After graduating from the Lecoq Theatre School in Paris in 1984, Neil Cadger co-founded Wissel Theatre, a physical theatre company based in Gent, Belgium. Wissel Theatre created a number of performances that toured Europe and North America. Subsequently Neil continued his work as a teacher, director and freelance performer, winning a Dora Award in 1990 for his collaboration with Denise Clarke and Mark Christmann on Erotic Irony. He has performed frequently in Europe with theatre/dance Co. Mossoux-Bonte (B), Dame de Pic (B), Leporello (B) and in Canada with One Yellow Rabbit Performance Theatre, independent artists such as Steve Heimbecker and Michele Sereda and more recently with Inner Fish Performance Co. He is currently teaching Interdisciplinary Performance in the Department of Creative Studies at UBC Okanagan. INNER FISH

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Stephanie Cumming (Vienna)

Following her classical training Stephanie graduated from the University of Calgary in 2000 with a Bachelor of Arts in Dance. She worked in Calgary with Nicole Mion and in Vancouver with Lee Su-Feh’s company battery opera. She has been living in Vienna since 2001 and has worked with Johannes Randolph, Tanz*Hotel, Doris Stelzer, Hubert Lepka and media artist Markus Wintersberger. She has been working together with Austrian choreographer Chris Haring since 2003 and together with him, Andreas Berger, and Thomas Jelinek founded Liquid Loft in 2004. She has collaborated on and performed in every piece since the company’s inception, including Posing Project B: The Art of Seduction which was awarded the Golden Lion for Best Performance at the Venice Biennale in 2007. In 2004 Haring choreographed the solo Legal Errorist for her for which she was named Outstanding Young Dancer in Ballett-Tanz Magazine. She also received a danceWEB scholarship in 2004.

She has collaborated on various film projects with artists such as Mara Mattuschka, Erwin Wurm and Gustav Deutsch. Stephanie’s own choreographies include Rodeo Queens (2008) for x.IDA Post-Graduate Company in Linz. In 2009 she was invited as a choreographer to be a part of Beyond Fr@nta, a project between dance organizations in four different EU countries. She was invited back again in 2010 and went on to create the group choreography a kind of magic which was shown in Austria and Slovenia. In 2009 she also premiered her solo Ah.Poetry (Szene Salzburg, Impulstanz). In the same year Tanzquartier Wien commissioned Stephanie to create Redneck to Cyborg: A Shared Transformation, a lecture performance which deals with the creative relationship between her and Chris Haring, as well as the short solo P.S. which was commissioned by Tanzquartier Wien for the opening of the 2009/10 season. In 2010 she was the choreographic assistant for Liquid Loft’s piece Sacre: The Rite Thing which was created for les Ballets de Monte-Carlo. Most recently she performed with Liquid Loft in the premier of their newest creation Talking Head . LIQUID LOFT

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Mark Ikeda (Calgary)

Since graduation from the eccentric University of Calgary drama department Mark has been splashing into the Calgary theatre and dance communities; he has taken on the rolls of dancer, actor, clown, workshop leader, singer, improviser, stage manager, lover, director, teacher and performance creator. Recent work has placed Mark under the mentorship of Denise Clarke and One Yellow Rabbit, he frequents the Calgary Contemporary Dance Collective and is excited to turn into a fish in Concrete Theatre’s upcoming production of Jeremy Fisher.

Mark enjoys conversations, silver linings and finding friends – he is really good at climbing trees, breathing and has tremendous balance.

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Brendan Jensen (Toronto)

Brendan Jensen is a graduate of the National Ballet School of Canada and was a company member with Toronto Dance Theatre from 2000-2008. He is currently working with Les Carre des Lombes under the direction of Daniele Denoyers as well as Public Recording under the direction of Ame Henderson. He has also danced for Sylvain Emard Dance, ProArteDanza, Tino Sehgal, Sasha Ivanochko, Valerie Calam and many more. In 2008 Brendan was one of two Canadians to receive the prestigious DanceWeb Europe scholarship in conjunction with the Impulstanz festival in Vienna Austria. Brendan was also a participant of Deborah Hay’s 2008 Solo Dance Commission project in Findhorn Scotland. Brendan has presented choreographic works at Series 8:08 and Xpace and has participated in Dance Outreach initiatives across North America. In 2009 he became a certified Moksha Yoga teacher and is currently teaching classes in Toronto as well as guest teaching in cities all over Canada.

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Denise Kenney (Kelowna)

Denise Kenney studied at the Lecoq Theatre School in Paris, and has her MFA in film directing from the University of British Columbia- Vancouver. She has worked as a performer/creator for theatres in Canada and the U.S. committed to devised work, including Catalyst Theatre, L’Uniteatre, Azimuth Theatre and Paradise Theatre. She has written, directed and produced narrative and documentary independent film and has worked extensively in the U.S. and Canada in lifestyle series television. She recently established a new interdisciplinary company “Inner Fish Performance Co.” with Neil Cadger in Kelowna, BC, Canada. Their company creates work that challenges the boundaries of live performance and destabilizes perception. Their inaugural production The House at the End of the Road will be performed in Calgary in March. Denise Kenney teaches Interdisciplinary Performance and Film in the Faculty of Creative and Critical Studies at the University of British Columbia- Okanagan. INNER FISH

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Jennifer Mascall (Vancouver)

As a choreographer. Jennifer Mascall was characterized as a maverick, a visionary, a radical re-visionary and “the enfant terrible of Canadian dance”. Mascall’s work has consistently fulfilled this promise,defying assumptions, intensely fascinated with body research. Works such as The Shostakovich, and The Light At The End Of The Tunnel May Be Another Train Coming Toward You, I’ll Leave The Back Door Open and Housewerk – all characteristically inventive, insightful, and witty – provoke (re) consideration of the relationship of movement to meaning. Other works, The Brutal Telling, WhaT?, Cathedral, and Make A Dance, consider equally the relationship of words to movement to meaning.

Jennifer Mascall’s exuberantly prolific performance career began as a improviser and rapidly received international attention. Primary influences include Laban, Alexander, Cunningham. Paxton, T’ai Chi, New Music, and more recently Putnam and Bainbridge Cohen.

Characteristics with which she has long been associated – originality, passionate inventor, catalyst – are also seen in such diverse undertakings (among many) as the initiation of GRID (1975), a collective for site-specific work; the collection and publishing of FOOTNOTES (1978), an iconoclastic sampler of choreographic notation methods by significant and wide-ranging choreographic voices of the period; the founding with seven other independent artists of the collaborative EDAM (1982) and the formation of, Mascall Dance, where she has been Artistic Director since 1989.

Mascall is also a skilled lecturer and teacher. Educational programs such as Make A Dance and Homewerk tour extensively in the school system and are considered highly effective bridges between contemporary dance and multilevel learning. Mascall’s development of a teaching pedagogy for dance performers, influenced by the work of Bonnie Bainbridge Cohen, is a central strand of her artistic research. Jennifer Mascall’s on going advocacy for dancers and the art of dance continues to inform her contributions to juries, boards, committees, and mentorships. MASCALL DANCE

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Ryan McKinney (Edmonton)

Ryan is a proud graduate of the University of Alberta as well as the Stella Adler Studio of Acting in New York City. He is currently writing two plays: one entitled ‘A Journey to the Other Side of the Room’ and the other a yet unnamed project about Jesus, the Devil and the economic meltdown. It’s a comedy. In the future he hopes to write a book about becoming a Vegan. But first he has to become one. Ryan resides in Edmonton, his hometown, in the room he had when he was a teenager.

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

 

Ellen Moffat (Saskatoon)

I am a media artist with a special focus in multi-channel sound installation. I work with technology, action-interaction, sound and site/space using digital and analogue constructions, found and modified interfaces, high-low technology and techno-organic components to explore sound and space, meaning and perception as poetics. My production includes independent and collaborative projects with media, new music and performance artists, spoken word poets, computer scientists and mechanical engineers. WEBSITE

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Dorian Nuskind-Oder (Montreal)

Having studied on scholarship at the Merce Cunningham Studio, and earned a BFA in dance from New York University-Tisch School of the Arts, Dorian Nuskind-Oder worked for five years as a dancer, choreographer and video artist in New York City. After participating in several workshops and short-term projects in Montreal, Dorian relocated full-time to the city in the fall of 2009. Shortly after arriving, she founded the company Delicate Beast as a platform to support her creative projects. She is also currently working as a dancer/actor for the theatre company, Joe Jack et John and is part of the creative team for Helene Blackburn’s Cas Public, for whom she designs video projections. DELICATE BEAST

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Roberta Pisu (Italy)

Roberta is a dancer and emerging choreographer from Italy. She has recently relocated to Canada where she is exploring contemporary dance and improvisation methods. From 2008-2010 she was involved in La Compagnia produced by Accademia Nazionale Danza di Roma under the artistic direction of Ismael Ivo, Christiana Morganti, Adriana Boriello and Margherita Parrilla, performing the work of Wayne McGregor Ismael Ivo, Jacopo Godani, and Robyn Orlin. She has also choreographed her own work in collective shows. She has studied with Michele Pogliani, Roberto Zappala, Claudia Castellucci/Societas Raffaello Sanzio, and Francesca Harer, and ballet with Zarco Rebil, Ekaterina Danuta, Marrika Bresobrasova, and Alvina Kalchenko.

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Jacques Poulin–Denis (Montreal)

Jacques is a composer, dancer and stage artist. He studied dance theatre and music and now formulates projects that blur the boundaries between these disciplines.

In 2009, he founded the interdisciplinary creation company Grand Poney bringing artists together to help him devise a hybridized and idea‑based stage craft. His works include Gently Crumbling (2011) Practices (2009), Domestik (2009), Target of God (2009), The Pencil Project (2008) and DORS (2007). Jacques attempts to bridge the obvious and the imaginary. His pieces are communicative and honest and generally contain a measure of unfeasibility given the company’s delusions of grandeur.

Co-founder of the sound art organization, Ekumen, Jacques Poulin-Denis has published two albums and created the music for a dozen dance and theater productions, working with Mélanie Demers, Nicolas Bernier, Martin Messier, Boyzie Cekwana, Ginette Laurin, Denis Marleau, Philippe Lambert, Katie Faulkner and Eric Kupers. GRAND PONEY

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Kathryn Ricketts (Vancouver)

Kathryn has been working for the past 26 years in the field of movement and visual arts. Her work has been presented throughout Europe, South America, Africa and Canada. Kathryn ran her own company (ricketts dance co) in Copenhagen Denmark for the 10 years and later a 3 year professional dance training program called MainDance as well as her professional company Plan B Dance Productions. For the past 10 years Kathryn has been working with a focus on social /political issues in schools, galleries and community centers with movement, creative writing and visual art as the languages. She completed her Masters at the University of British Columbia on the topic of identity and place with personal stories interpreted through embodiment and is completing her Doctoral degree at Simon Fraser University furthering this research into notions of literacy through Embodied Poetic Narrative.

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Kate Stashko (Edmonton)

Kate is an independent dance artist, writer and Pilates instructor currently based in Edmonton. Born in Athabasca, Alberta, Stashko is a graduate of the Professional Training Program at The School of Toronto Dance Theatre, and has worked with Helen Husak, Jason Stroh, Peggy Baker Dance Projects, the Parahumans Dance Theatre, Once Removed and at various festivals in Toronto and Alberta, including the New Waves Festival at Luminato and the Athabasca Country Fringe Festival. She has also worked as rehearsal director with Heidi Strauss and Andrea Nann Dreamwalker Dance Company. 
Kate is a STOTT Pilates® certified instructor and works as Listings Editor and Staff Writer for The Dance Current magazine. Upcoming projects include working with m-body (Davida Monk) and presenting work at the Calgary Fringe Festival 2010.

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Stephen Thompson (Paris/Montreal)

Stephen Thompson is a dancer/choreographer/pedagogue originally from Calgary, Alberta. His initial experience as a performer started as a competitive figure skater where he competed at the 1998 Olympic Trails. He received a Bachelor of Kinesiology with a minor in Contemporary Dance at the University of Calgary.

Stephen has worked as an interpreter, collaborator and co-choreographer with numerous companies and artists across Canada and Europe including Decidedly Jazz Danceworks, Nicole Mion, Foundation Jean- Pierre Perrault, Le Groupe de la Place Royale, Production LAPS (Martin Bélanger),Par B.L.eux (Benoit Lachambre), Lee Su-Feh, DANS.KIAS (Austria), Fabrice Lambert (France), Fabrice Ramalingom (France), Dick Wong (Hong Kong) and Antonija Livingstone and Jennifer Lacey in Impulstanz festival in Vienna (2009).

He has authored several choreographies, This may contain… (2009) ________+ NOW and a little bit before (2007), Garden Variety (2006), Minor Fantasy (2005) and *You aRe HERE has been presented in Montreal OFF.T.A. (2009) and Fluid Festival Calgary. He has taught workshops and classes in Canadian and European schools, communities and Universities.

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Brian Webb (Edmonton)

Brian is 59 and he defines himself as a dance artist who also curates and teaches contemporary dance. He graduated from the University of Alberta in 1972 with a BFA [with distinction] in theatre. He moved to New York where he performed with Eric Hawkins who had huge influence on his dance practice especially in the area of music. He also danced with the Carol Conway Dance Company who presented many of his first dances at DTW. He returned to Canada in 1979 and formed the Brian Webb Dance Company. In 1986 he earned an MFA in Interdisciplinary art and Choreography from thr California Institute of the Arts. After this time, his practice has included an amalgamation of dance and performative events. His work has toured across Canada and the US since that time. In 2000 he was the first interdisciplinary artist curated into the Alberta Biannual of Contemporary Art. He has received many awards including the Queen’s Golden Jubilee Medal. In 2004 he was inducted into the Edmonton Hall of Fame. Since 2002, he has been the Artistic Director of the Canada Dance Festival. As well as programming the even year contemporary dance showcases, he has introduced HipHop 360 and Dancing Between Cultures to the Festival’s own culture.

While studying for my MFA, I was introduced to the RSVP Cycles developed by Anna Halprin. While working with her, I feel that my personal creative process was liberated. In the last several years I have my use of the cycles has evolved and become much more intuitive. While creating works for performance, I develop scores that give my work structure. Over the last while my use of structure has really loosened up and I am interested in continuing this exploration. The scores have been paths that I travel through each performance. What I want to work on in my new work will be performance without a path….as though I am going for a walk in space where all experiences are fresh.

I know the theme of the work will be influenced by my recent heart attack. I will be using the discs of my ultra sounds and my angeoplasts of my heart attack. As in my recent work I am interested in my body as a being in the here and now…the reality of where I am as a person, as a dancer, as a ‘living’ being. I look forward to being able to research some initial movement concepts. During the time 3 months ago of my heart attack, I almost died, BUT I DID NOT!!! So the title of my research is, ‘My Little Dance With Death. BRIAN WEBB DANCE COMPANY

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Nicole Mion (Springboard Performance | Calgary/Vancouver)

Artist and curator, Nicole Mion creates for the stage and screen. She is a sought after director and contemporary choreographer specializing in contemporary performance, new media, dance, and installation. She is Artistic Director for Springboard Performance where she curates the Fluid Movement Arts Festival in Calgary, Interrarium an interdisciplinary creative residency at the Banff Centre for the Arts, and containR a mobile theatre and public art installation.

Recent works include direction of an animated short film Fight for Flight for Bravo!FACT/CTV featuring International female ski jumper Katie Willis and her fight to jump at the Olympics, Gut Symmetries a dance/media performance for the stage featuring Jeannie Vanderkerkhove, and ContainR a video installation and winter sports, performance and dance film festival housed in reconfigured shipping containers for the Vancouver Winter Olympics co-curated with Evann Siebens.

Her stage work has been seen at OYR’s High Performance Rodeo, Vancouver’s Dancing on the Edge Festival, Alberta Scene at the National Arts Centre (Ottawa), New Dance Horizons (Regina), Dancers Studio West (Calgary), Mile Zero Dance (Edmonton), Brief Encounters (Vancouver), choreography representing Canada at the DaCI conferences in Brazil and The Hague, and direction and choreography for the opening ceremonies of the IAAF World Games (Edmonton). Nicole enjoys creating solos inspired by specifically wonderful and unique individuals. These biographical choreographies include solo work and commissions for Momo Mixed-Ability Dance Theatre, Luciane Pinto, Carol Greyeyes, Andrea Gunnlaugson, and Stephen Thompson.

Nicole has also created numerous short films as director and choreographer which are broadcast on CTV, Bravo!FACT, the Comedy Network, Knowledge Network, Comedy Central, the Women’s Television Network, the Independent Film Channel, and presented in festivals around the world. Most recent video work includes That Thing Between Us, a single channel broadcast and 3-channel video installation, produced in partnership with the Banff Centre New Media Institute and Bravo!FACT. and over 40 commercials for Shaw Communications where she choreographed their People Powered National campaign. Up coming, Nicole is happy to be in the studio working on a new contemporary dance for the stage called Mic and Hoody, which will premiere in 2011.

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Dana Rayment (Theatre of the New Heart | Edmonton)

Dana has been an artist for the past 28 years. In theatre, Dana has worked as a performer, collaborator, playwright, storyteller. In Dance, as a performer and choreographer. In Visual arts as a painter and glass media.

Dana has written and or performed for Fringe Theatre Edmonton, Springboard Performance, Workshop West, 10 Days of Madness Festival, Kaleido Festival, Theatre of The New Heart seasons, independent shows and has held home art shows for the past three years. Dana is co artistic director of Theatre of the New Heart.