bio all

Peter Trosztmer – After receiving his B.A. in Classics, Peter studied at the Concordia University Department of Contemporary Dance before moving to Toronto to complete the School of the Toronto Dance Theatre training program. Since then, he has distinguished himself as in interpreter of the highest caliber and has worked and continues to collaborate with many national and international choreographers. As a choreographer Peter has created five critically acclaimed solo works. His choreography was selected as a top 5 show of the year (La Presse 2006 and Voir 2012). As well he was recognized for the best performance – (The Hour 2006). His work on the multi media work Norman also received many accolades including an Angel Award at the Brighton Festival UK (2009). Peter continues to define his place as a creator who is invested in work that is sensitive, deeply researched and physically realized. His co-authored article “Collaboration as Practice The Winding Road” was presented at the Canadian Society for Dance Scholars Conference 2012. Peter is currently researching interactive movement tracking with sound and video at La Sociéte de les arts technologiques in Montreal, with Zack Settle, as well he is artist in residence at Techno Lith – New City Gas in Griffintown.

 

THEA PATTERSON – Montreal based Thea Patterson, works on a variety of projects as a choreographer, rehearsal director, dramaturge and collaborator with a group of colleagues that include Katie Ward, Audrée Juteau, David Pressault, Dean Makarenko, Bill Coleman, Wants and Needs Dance, Isabel Mohn, Sasha Kleinplatz, Jeremy Gordaneer and Lois Brown. Thea is a long time collaborator with Peter Trosztmer, for whom she has provided dramaturgical assistance on five critically acclaimed solos. Prior to this Thea created ‘Rhyming Couplets’ (08) and ‘A Soft Place to Fall’ (06)’ which was made into a BravoFACT film directed by Philip Szporer and Marlene Millar, and continues to screen at international film festivals. She was also co-choreographer for ‘Norman’ produced by Lemieux.Pilon.4Dart, (08)  which had  extensive international exposure. She is currently practicing a new solo work entitled “the dance that I cannot do” which was presented at Movement Research at the Judson Church in New York as part of the F OFF (microfest) and Third Floor Series in Montreal, as well as in Halifax and Parrsboro Nova Scotia. It will also be presented in Munich this coming May.  Thea is pursuing a Masters in Choreography at the Amsterdam Theatreschool for the Arts (AHK) 2014-16 and is in residence with Montreal Danse.

Jeremy Gordaneer’s work is deeply influenced by his participation in the Chapman Group, a collective of artists located in Victoria during the 1990’s.  Originally a dialogue between senior painter James Gordaneer RCA (Jeremy’s father) and philosopher/theologian Raymond Llorens (1933-1999), the group grew into a circle of young artists working to develop a new artistic idiom. He continues to draw from the ideas developed in the Chapman Group by merging the mediums of sculpture and painting to blur the traditional dichotomies inherent to visual art. Gordaneer divides his time between the visual arts and theatre where he has worked as a scenic painter, set designer and properties builder since 1999. Jeremy Gordaneer trained in Victoria, BC, attending Camosun College’s visual art program (1992), as well as obtaining a BFA from Uvic in scenic design for theatre (1999). He is now based in Montreal where he finds continual inspiration in the rich urban environment and cultural life. Presently working on Nufonia must fall for Kid Koala building puppets and sets.

Sonya Stefan’s dance films have been exhibited in Festival du Nouveau Cinéma,Les Rendez-Vous du Cinéma Québécois, SAT and International Festivals in Asia, Europe and South America. She is co-founder of Groop*Index a Montreal-based collective of filmmakers and visual artists and has just completed a residency/performance in Poitiers, France with Nyktalop Melodie. Sonya’s work was presented at Agora de la Danse in Oct 2013. Presently she is editing her first full-length dance film “Living Room Dances” which will be completed in 2014. Her most recent achievements include directing and performing in a 5-screen installation winning the Mel Hoppenhiem Cinema Award as well as being named in Fabienne Cabado’s 2013 Bilan danse for her vlog in cinédanse. Professional dance career began in 1996, Toronto Dance Theatre and Dance Theatre David Earle Dana Gingr, Fondation Jean Pierre Perreault, Cas Public and Montreal Danse.  She is currently persuing her Masters in Film studies at Concordia University.

 

Elinor Fueter

Elinor Fueter participe à des projets de danse, théâtre de rue, de film et d’improvisation.Dernièrement elle a travaillé avec les chorégraphes Benoit Lachambre et George Stamos pour la cie Montréal Danse ainsi que Lina Cruz et sa cie Fila 13 avec qui elle a collaboré depuis plusieurs années. Dans le passé, on a pu la voir dans les créations produit par Danse Cité, Mobile Home et des oeuvres de différents chorégraphes dont Alain Francoeur, Natalie Morin, Chanti Wadge, Estelle Clarton, José Navas et Peter James. En 2004, elle a voyagé à travers l’Europe avec “JOE”, l’oeuvre phare de Jean-Pierre Perreault et en 2007, elle tourne en France et au Québec avec Puzzle Danse. Depuis deux ans, Elinor est invité à titre d’intervenante dans les maisons de femmes pour le projet Danse Contre la Violence.

 

Nathan Yaffe:

Born and raised in Massachusetts, Nathan Yaffe received his BFA in Dance from Purchase College in New York. During that time, he also trained at Codarts in Rotterdam and worked at Le Groupe Dance Lab in Ottawa. In 2008 he found himself in Montréal, and has since worked on both sides of the border with artists such as, Sasha Kleinplatz, Mollye Maxner, Brian Brooks, Hélène Langevin (Bouge de Là, Inc.), Sonya Stefan, Les Imprudanses, Peter Trosztmer, Dorian Nuskind-Oder, Audrée Juteau, Katie Ward, Kate Hilliard, Kimberly de Jong, and Georges-Nicolas Tremblay. Nathan’s own choreography has been presented in New York, Ottawa and Montreal. His newest piece, The Johnsons, was presented by Tangente in Montreal as part of Danses Buissonières_Classe 2014 at le Monument National. The_Johnsons 00:21:51, a dance-film installation he created in Los Angeles with Elisha Yaffe, will be presented as part of the Cinedans festival in Amsterdam in March 2015.

Chi grew up in australia. Her dream when she was 5, was to dance the dying swan just like anna pavlova before the queen of england. This dream morphed and evolved as dreams sometimes do. She moved to montreal and danced many years for o vertigo danse, compagnie marie chouinard, and most recently mayday. On one occasion not too long ago she performed for the princess of japan.

 

 

Karen Fennell is a contemporary dance artist originally from Newfoundland, and now based in Montreal. Driven by a passion for movement, a love of performing, and a fascination with the human condition, she has pursued a double-career in interpretation and choreography since graduating from the Contemporary Dance Program at Concordia University in 2007 (BFA). As a dancer, she has had the privilege of working on a diversity of projects with choreographers Dana Gingras, Sasha Kleinplatz, Susanna Hood, Maria Kefirova, Erin Flynn, Eroca Nicols, Allison Nichol, and Peter Trosztmer, among others. As a choreographer, her own short works have been presented on a variety of stages in Montreal, Quebec City, and Halifax. Since 2013, she has collaborated regularly with musician Jackie Gallant, and their interdisciplinary co-creations have been presented in Montreal (Phenomena Festival, Edgy Redux, Short & Sweet, Words & Music), and in Toronto at the 2015 Rhubarb Festival. In addition to her work as a choreographer and dancer, Karen produces and hosts the open performance night, ‘So You Think That Was Dance?’ at Mainline Theatre, and is a certified instructor of the GYROTONIC® and GYROKINESIS® Methods.

 

Winnie is a performance artist who is drawn to finding various experiential and intimate ways to fully immerse our personal and collective bodies together in the felt presence of immediate experience. Her durational and site specific works and performances include ‘Practices of Looking’ by Snövit Hedstierna at Göteborgs Konst Hall in Gothenburg, Sweden and ‘Walkapolis’ by Maija Hirvanen at Helsinki Festival, Finland as well as ‘Rebirth’ by The House of IA at the Fusebox Festival in Austin, USA. Her work ‘Secret/Sacred Love Letters Club’ was part of a 24hr installation project during her residency at Ponderosa in Stolzenhagen, Germany in summer of 2013.

 

Sigrid is a young Montreal artist. She currently studies glass through the technique program affiliated with Cejep du Vieux Montreal and L’Espace Verre. She has worked on several occasions on sight specific projects with the dance companies Coleman Lemieux. She has also been an actor in several shows in Montreal such as the Laramy Project and Talking to Terrorists. Sigrid worked this past summer on numerous projects in permaculture and eco construction with the companies Solution Era, Terra Perma, Violon et Champignon and Terra Vie. She was, among other things, in charge of the documentation of these projects. Since this autumn, Sigrid has been working with boxtape as a performer and photographer. She went to Frabrik Potsdam with boxtape this January and continues to work with them in Montreal.