JACINTE ARMSTRONG:
A Halifax-based dancer and choreographer. She trained at Halifax Dance, and went on to study at the New World School of the Arts in Miami, FL. She is a certified Stott Pilates instructor, and holds a BA in French from Dalhousie University. In 2002 Jacinte co-founded Verve Mwendo Dance Company, currently in-residence at Halifax Dance. As a local performer, choreographer, and teacher, Jacinte has been awarded grants from the Nova Scotia Talent Trust, the Craig Foundation, and the Nova Scotia Department of Tourism, Culture and Heritage. Her dance studies have brought her to dance festivals across Canada and the United States, and to Brazil to learn capoeira, maculêlê, and Afro-Brazilian dance and music. She performs most frequently as part of Verve Mwendo with Cory Bowles and musicians Dani and Sageev Oore, and has worked with choreographers Veronique MacKenzie, Sara Coffin, Ruth-Ellen Kroll Jackson, and Rebecca Lazier. As a member of S.I.N.S. (Sometimes In Nova Scotia) Dance Collective, with native Haligonians Sara Coffin and Susanne Chui, Jacinte will be working with Susan Lee in May 2006.
FRANCINE BOUCHER :
Graduated from L'École Superieure de Danse du Québec and was a member of Les Grands Ballets Canadiens and Le Groupe de la Place Royale, touring extensively throughout Canada , Europe, Mexico and the US. A recipient of two Canda Council grants, she has also been awarded the Maharishi Award of creativity and a du Maurier “search for stars” award. Her works have been performed by Nova Dance Theatre, the Atlantic Ballet Company, Halifax Dance, Portus Theatre Productions, Coastal Dance Theatre, Nova Music and Les Voix d'Acadie. She presently teaches Ballet and Modern Dance with the Antigonish Creative Dance Association and the Municipality of the District of Lunenburg Ballet Program.
CORY BOWLES:
Dance training began in his bedroom in Truro through old movies and library videos. In high school he formed the band Hip Club Groove with whom he toured for Universal Records, and appeared in several music videos. He spent 4 summers at the Nosco Academy of Theatre Arts as a movement and improvisation instructor before forming a touring theatre company in 1997. In 1999 he auditioned for Decidedly Jazz Danceworks in Calgary and became a scholarship student, which led to joining and touring with the company and teaching at the school. Cory found his home in roots jazz and dance of the African diaspora. He continues to study its traditions and advancements, travelling from coast to coast, the Carribean, and Brazil to study afro-roots. He has choreographed for theatre, film, television, music videos, and co-created a popular school show about the roots of Hip Hop. Besides dancing, he acts in the television series Trailer Park Boys, provides the voice for the animated series Poko, and plays in his band Aide-de-Camp. He recently appeared in 2B Theatre’s production of “Manners of Dying”, and finished a residency at the Banff Centre for the Arts where he worked with Theatre Junction and the Aboriginal Dance Program.
KYM BUTLER:
Disciplines range from Body Percussion and Jazz to Tap and Modern. Her choreographic portfolio has over 50 works including three award-winning shows created in Cape Breton and commissions from Live Art Productions, Halifax Dance YOung COmpany and Maritime Dance Performance Group. Kym has traveled to Montana, New York, Boston and Calgary to study intensively. Since the Fall of 1995, Kym has taught at Halifax Dance where she is a co-creator of the school’s tap and jazz syllabi. She has served on Arts Grant Juries for both Nova Scotia and New Brunswick and former member of the Board of Directors for Dance Nova Scotia. In 2006, Kym was appointed the Artistic Director of the highly acclaimed Halifax Dance YOung COmpany until 2010.
ALEXIS CORMIER: (emerging choreographer 2004)
A graduate of Coastal Dance, performed many principal roles since 1996 as well as becoming a rehearsal mistress. Alexis was the recipient of the CDTS "Emerging Choreographers Award" in 2004 and has had her choreography presented in several CDTS productions. Alexis has performed works by several choreographers such as Robert McCollum, Micaela Archer-Shee, Ruth-Ellen Kroll Jackson, Cory Bowles, Jacinte Armstrong, Gwen Noah and most recently with Hip Hop b-boy Lenny de la Pena. In 2010 she formed the Hip Hop company " The Woods".
STEPHANIE HARRIS:
Originally from Minnesota holds a B.F.A in Dance from the University of Minnesota. She was the youngest student ever to be accepted into Zenon Dance Company's scholarship program. She has studied and performed at The Alvin Ailey American Dance Center, Jacobs Pillow, Jazzart and The Boston Summer dance festivals, Stephanie has worked for choreographers Colin Connor, Jana Hicks, Laurie Devito and Cathy Young. Stephanie is currently performing and teaching throughout the United States and Canada with Onesock Productions, a company she co-founded with guitarist and singer/songwriter Paul Zunno. Her work has been presented throughout the New York Area including the New York City Summer Dance Intensive. Harris is a guest teacher at Dance New Amsterdam in New York City.
RUTH-ELLEN KROLL JACKSON:
Started her early dance training at Halifax Dance and was a founding member of Halifax Dance’s Young Company. She received a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Dance from The North Carolina School of the Arts. Ms. Jackson’s professional career took place in New York where she danced for The Martha Graham Dance Ensemble, New York City Opera, Cortez and Company, Patricia Kenny Dance Collection, Robert Battle and most extensively with the Parsons Dance Company. During her five years with Parsons, Ruth-Ellen performed signature works of Parsons including the solo Caught. She has been choreographing and teaching at various colleges and festivals throughout the U.S and Canada, and now resides in Halifax where she continues to help educate the dance community here. Ruth-Ellen choreographed on the Young Company of Halifax Dance and The Maritime Performance Group and Coastal Dance Theatre Society.
ROBERT McCULLUM:
Trained at the American Ballet Centre, the School of the Joffrey Ballet and with such renowned teachers as Maggie Black, Peggy Baker, Louis Falco in NewYork and danced professionally in the US and Canada. Mr. McCullum is on Faculty at the Canadian Childrens Dance Theatre, The National Ballet School and The Toronto Dance Theatre. He Has choreographed for Musical specials, opera and theatre. Mr McCullum has been spotted in Features in the Globe and Mail and Dance Magazine.
ALEXIS MILLIGAN:
Since graduating from George Brown Theatre School in Toronto, Alexis has spent the majority of her career performing with Canada’s leading international puppetry theatre, Mermaid Theatre of Nova Scotia. This work included tours in Japan, Taiwan, Vietnam, Singapore, Mexico, Canada, and the USA with productions of The Very Hungry Caterpillar;Swimmy, Fredrick, & Inch By Inch; and When Dinosaurs Dine By Moonlight. A particular highlight of these tours was a private performance for the Japanese Royal Family. She has also had the great opportunity of performing with Theatre NorthWest, Meta-Physical Theatre, The Village Playhouse, and was also a soloist dancer with the Halifax Dance Young Company and Coastal Dance Theatre. Currently, she is working with Theatre Gargantua on their production of e-DENTITY, for which she was nominated for a Dora Mavor-Moore award in 2006.
ROYA MURPHY(Emerging Choreographer 2006):
Roya began dancing at Halifax Dance achieving a Highly Commended in her Advanced Russian Society of Ballet Exam. A member of the Halifax Dance Young Company and CDTS she has performed solo roles in the Nutcracker and in the spring showcases. Roya has studied at the School of Toronto Dance Theatre, Royal Winnipeg Ballet, Banff Center of the Arts, Dance Nova Scotia Summer Dance, the Dance Theatre of Harlem, Coastal Dance and with Ballet British Columbia in the Mentor Program. Roya has danced with Sharon Wehner Dance Company, Arts Umbrella Senior Dance Company, with choreographers Simone Orlando, John Alleyne, Katherine Ricketts, Sharon Wehner and Edmond Kilpatrick. She has also been a recipient of the Nova Scotia Talent Trust.
GWEN NOAH:
Newfoundland-born Gwen Noah began her began her dance training in St. John’s. At the age of 17 she moved to London, England for further training. For three years, Gwen was a member of the Julie West Dance Foundation (Ottawa), touring through Canada, the United States and Africa. In 1990 Noah moved to Halifax, founded her own company, Gwen Noah Dance, and began deep exploration into solo dance form. For Noah, a courageous artist, the art of creation is a sacred journey; her destiny is to share her personal discovery on the stage, as a kind of public prayer. Artistic collaborations throughout her career have deepened and extended her creative voice as a solo artist. Today, with more than 40 choreographies and 15 seasons of Gwen Noah Dance to her credit, Noah is a force in the Nova Scotia and Canadian dance community. Gwen Noah Dance is Company-in-Residence at Halifax Dance.
KARLA HODGE: (Emerging Choreographer 2003)
Mrs.Hodge has studied dance with Dance East, Halifax Dance and Coastal Dance. A founding member of Coastal Dance Theatre Society, Karla has received s several Nova Scotia Talent Trust scholarships and the YTV “Yaa” achievement award. She has performed with the Halifax Dance “Nutcracker” and was a seasoned principal performer with Coastal Dance Theatre. She has danced competitively with the Saint Mary’s Dance Team and was co-producer and choreographer for “halfway there” which was displayed in the Atlantic Fringe Festival. Karla attended the National Ballet Schools Teachers Modern Seminar. She has choreographed for many musical theatre productions.
GEORGIA SKINNER:( Emerging Chroeographer 2011)
Georgia has trained at Coastal Dance since 1995. As a senior member of CDT she performs leading roles as well as holds the Dance Captain position. She is also currently a member “The Woods”. Georgia has trained professionally with The Alvin Ailey School in NY and the Toronto Dance Theatre Summer Program where she has been accepted to continue her training in the fall of 2011.
KIRSTEN TAYLOR: (Emerging Choreographer 2009)
Kirsten has danced with the Laurie Morash School of Dance and Coastal Dance where in 2005 she became a full member of the Coastal Dance Theatre and remained as such until her senior year in 2008. Kirsten currently attends Dalhousie University, where she is working towards her Neuroscience degree and continues to dance as a member of the Halifax Dance Young Company. This opportunity as Coastal Dances Co-winner of the Emerging Choreographers Award is sure to only further Kirsten's choreographing experience.
DARRYL TRACY:
Darryl is a native New Brunswick boy and is now a Toronto based independent dance artist-dancer, choreographer and teacher. He has performed in works by most of Canada's leading choreographers and was voted in 2004 NOW magazine's top performers of the year. Darryl's own work has been seen across Canada and in the US and in Europe. Most recently, he has choreographed on IDAC (Toronto based independent co), his own creation CASA as well as a creation at Ryerson University Dance Dept. Darryl is very active in the Toronto community and practices part time as a physiotherapist.
EMERGING CHOREOGRAPHERS AWARD:
2003 Karla Hodge
2004 Alexis Cormier
2005 NOT AWARDED
2006 Roya Murphy
2007 NOT AWARDED
2008 Co Choreographers: Joanna Fensome & Emma McBoyle
2009 Kirsten Taylor
2010: NOT AWARDED
2011: Georgia Skinner