12 MINUTES MAX
SUPPORTING THE DEVELOPMENT OF CHOREOGRAPHIC IDEAS THROUGH EXPERIMENTATION AND DIALOGUE.
12 Minutes Max (12MM) seeks to foster experimentation and the development of a choreographic idea or work-in-progress, from the initial stages through to the first public encounter.
2025-2026 season
Module 1:
Showing March 30, 2026
Module 2:
Showing June 1, 2026
Facilitators: Tasha Faye Evans, Ziyian Kwan
Participants receive subsidized studio space at Scotiabank Dance Centre, ongoing support and feedback from facilitators, access to professional development over the season including Craft Development Series workshops and Business of Dance sessions, lighting design consultation, and professional video and photographic documentation.
Participants share their research with their peers in the program and participate in community dialogues with audiences at public showings.
The 12 Minutes Max Process
- There will be three research and development modules for which artists can submit ideas and works-in-progress.
- Two facilitators each module.
- The facilitators will select up to three artists per module.
- Selected artists will receive 30 hours of fully-subsidized studio space at Scotiabank Dance Centre to develop their works, with input from the facilitators. Artists may book additional rehearsal hours at regular rates if desired.
- At the end of each module all the artists will share their work first with each other and the facilitators, and then in an informal studio showing open to the public. Artists are expected to have 7-12 minutes of material to show.
12 MINUTES MAX ARTISTS
Arno Kamolika
Arno is a Vancouver based bharatanatyam dance artist and instructor. Born and raised in Bangladesh, she draws from her training of various disciplines like architecture, music, mime, theater, and other dance forms to create an informed and unique artistic ...
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Jamie Ranney
Jamie Ranney is a contemporary dance artist with a specific interest in creating cross-disciplinary work connecting performance and conservation...
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Kaya Tsurumi
Kaya Tsurumi is a Japanese-Filipina dance artist who grew up on Kwikwetlem First Nations territory (Coquitlam, BC). Kaya has performed in site-specific works such as Stop!? by Eilish Shin-Culhane in Peggy Baker’s Presence program, and Stratum by Sarah U. ...
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Max Hanic
As a queer artist, his interests are in the vitality of movement, and performance as a practice of self-actualization. For Max, performance and engaging with his body’s deep listening and transmutative capacity is an act of self affirmation and self love, ...
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GUIDELINES AND HOW TO APPLY FOR 12 MINUTES MAX
Eligibility
- Applicants must be Full Artist or Company members of The Dance Centre.
- The applicant must be the author and primary creator of the work/idea.
- Proposed works must be in the early stages of development: finished works are not eligible.
- This program is geared towards emerging artists but is also open to any artist experimenting with new directions in their practice.
- All dance forms and choreographic styles are welcome.
- Emerging artists must have completed a recognized professional dance training program, or the equivalent.
Tips for Applying
Artists should provide:
- A brief biography/artist profile
- Short bios of collaborators, if any
- A SHORT description (500 words max) of the research/idea you are interested in working on during 12 Minutes Max.
DID YOU KNOW?
The original 12 Minutes Max concept was pioneered in 1979 by On the Boards in Seattle. In 1994 The Dance Centre launched a Vancouver edition which for over fifteen years provided an opportunity for artists to show eclectic and innovative new works that ran under twelve minutes. The program was relaunched in its current format in 2014.