Dance Ontario’s Selection Committee chose choreographers Hanna Kiel and Courtnae Bowman for the 2014 Creative Partnerships Program.

These unique artists brought two exciting world premieres to the Fleck Dance Theatre stage in January as part of Dance Ontario DanceWeekend 2015.

2014 Dora Mavor Moore nominee for Outstanding Choreography Hanna Kiel created Ugly Hero, a 15 minute section of a full evening work to be presented in the fall of 2015 entitled Armband. Performed by Erin Poole, Daniel McArthur and Kate Holden, this highly physical piece explores the effects of power, authority and evil while delivering a strong emotional impact on audiences.

Cadence Ballet’s Artistic Director Courtnae Bowman worked with a large group of dancers who symbolized the collective consciousness moving as one human race.  Inspired by Bach’s Concerto in D Minor, each individual’s story was reflected in the music’s movements and by the unique quality and vocabulary of each dancer. Bowman exposed the pointe shoe in new ways, utilizing its brilliant engineering to explore unique movements and experimenting with ways it can be stripped of its more conventional uses.

CHOREOGRAPHERS’ BIOGRAPHIES

Hanna Kiel is from Seoul, South Korea and moved to Vancouver in 1996. Since then, she has been pursuing her goal as a choreographer.  Hanna’s work has been presented at 12 Minutes Max, PlanB Singles and solos Festival, Rainbow Festival, Dancing on the Edge Festival, Asian Heritage Month Festival, Pulse at the Scotiabank Dance Centre, Roundhouse Centre, Surrey Arts Centre in Vancouver, Lynda Raino Dance in Victoria and New Face Dance Festival in Seoul Korea. In 2007, she choreographed and danced at the Centre A collaborating with Yoko Ono. Hanna moved to Toronto in 2008 where she continues her dance career as an independent dance artist. She choreographed and performed at Series 8:08, Dancemakers Centre for Creation, Rivoli Dance and Dance Ontario Nuit Blanche in Toronto. She is Co producer and choreographer for 3 is Company. She also choreographed for U4Change, Cadence Contemporary Ballet Company and Canada’s Ballet Jorgen. She was commissioned by Maindance School, Choommy dance group in Vancouver, George Brown Dance Spring Showcase in Toronto and Garion Contemporary Dance Company and Soong Hee Woman’s College in South Korea. Hanna is also the 2012 winner of the fourth annual Northwest Dance Project ‘Pretty Creatives’ international choreographic competition in Portland, Oregon. Hanna Kiel/Human Body Expression presented her full evening work in December 2013, Project L – The world that you created for which she was nominated for a Dora Mavor Moore Award in the Best Choreography category.

Born in Victoria B.C, Courtnae Bowman moved to Toronto in 1999 to pursue dance professionally. She has had the pleasure of dancing for Karen Kaeja, Allen Kaeja, David Earle, Donald Sales, Sharon Moore, John Alleyene, and Emily Molonar.

Her love of choreography began at age nine when she was given the opportunity to enter a piece in the “young choreographer’s” section of the local festival. Since then she has continued to set work on herself, students and peers creating her first professional work in 2004.

In 2006 Courtnae joined the faculty of Canada’s National Ballet School creating numerous student works as well as being commissioned to create instructional videos and a flash mob for the school’s International Dance Day celebration involving over three hundred children.

Courtnae founded Cadence Progressive Contemporary Ballet in 2008 for which she has created

over twenty works ranging from short five-minute pieces to full evening works.In 2010 Courtnae co-founded Cadence Dance Studio with partner Zhenya Cerneacov. It is home to Cadence Ballet’s three companies and Professional Training Programs.Her students have been accepted into international schools such as the Bolshoi Ballet in Moscow, the American Ballet Theatre in New York and Royal Ballet in London, have been invited to represent Canada in international competitions, and are currently found performing in various companies throughout the world.Courtnae looks forward to continuing her mission to develop, create and produce compelling contemporary dance works to be presented throughout Canada and abroad and to further the development of dance artists who push the boundaries of possibilities.

Commissioned works @ Dance Ontario’s DanceWeekend 2015! A celebration of creativity …not to be missed!

 

 

DANCE ONTARIO’s Commissions @ DanceWeekend 2015

Part of  Harbourfront Centre’s Next Steps

Fleck Dance Theatre, 207 Queens Quay West, Toronto

January 16-18, 2015

Information 416-204-1083