Blog

We are thrilled to announce the recipients of the annual Isadora Award for excellence in choreography are Gabrielle Martin and Jeremiah Hughes, Artistic Directors of contemporary aerial dance company Corporeal Imago (Ci).

The Award acknowledges the creation by Gabrielle and Jeremiah of an outstanding full-length choreographic work, Limb(e)s. This contemporary aerial dance work explores the liminal space between holding onto or letting go of another, creating a rich visual world that earned a Total Theatre Award nomination in Physical and Visual Theatre and was described as a “dark, quietly riveting gem of aerial drama” (The List, Scotland). The piece has been presented live in Montreal and at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, and online as a cinematic adaption at Vancouver’s Dancing on the Edge Festival.

Mirna Zagar, our Executive Director, said: “These are trying times for the arts sector, but we can find reasons to celebrate, and the Isadora Award is a chance to acknowledge the artistry and diversity of choreographic approaches in BC today. So I am very pleased to have the opportunity to support and celebrate the achievements of Gabrielle Martin and Jeremiah Hughes. They are actively contributing to the ever-expanding and flourishing genre of aerial dance. Their work takes audiences on transformational, dreamlike journeys offering new experiences and a new appreciation for the art of dance. The times we are living in require reflection, and attentiveness to the work of others, so we can hear our own voices better and see more clearly what our role may be. The arts, and artists, are more important than ever now.”

Limb(e)s is available for viewing online until April 19, 2022 here

Congratulations Gabrielle and Jeremiah!

About the Award
The Isadora Award, named after the great dance pioneer Isadora Duncan (1878-1927), was instituted by The Dance Centre in 1999 to recognize and celebrate the achievements of the dance profession in British Columbia.

Gabrielle and Jeremiah will receive a cash award of $2,500, access to studio time at Scotiabank Dance Centre towards the creation of a new work, and a specially-designed award created by renowned glass sculptor Mary Filer. Previous recipients have included Peter Bingham, Crystal Pite, Wen Wei Wang, Jennifer Mascall, Helen Walkley, and Julia Taffe, amongst others.

About the Artists
Gabrielle Martin is a choreographer working in contemporary dance and circus. She began performing street circus arts with companies such as the Public Dreams Society in 2001 and directing and independently producing multidisciplinary performance projects in 2003. Gabrielle has a BFA in Contemporary Dance from Concordia University (Montreal, 2009) and a certificate in Circus Dramaturgy from the Centre national des arts du cirque (Châlons-en-champagne, 2020). From 2009-2011, she presented her choreography at the Vancouver International Dance Festival, Guelph Contemporary Dance Festival, ROMP! A Festival of Independent Dance (Victoria), WAVE RISING SERIES (New York), and more. Gabrielle performed in over 1,400 shows as an aerialist and dancer with Cavalia (2011-2015), and as a principal character and aerial soloist with Cirque du Soleil (2015-2019). In 2018, Gabrielle co-founded Corporeal Imago (Ci) and researched new aerial vocabulary for an invented apparatus through residencies in Belgium, France, and Sweden. Her work Limb(e)s, created with Jeremiah Hughes, was nominated for a TOTAL THEATRE AWARD in Physical and Visual Theatre at Edinburgh Festival Fringe (UK). She is currently Artist in Residence with Ci at The Dance Centre (Vancouver).

Jeremiah Hughes is a dynamic physical performer who places great importance on storytelling in his craft. He trained and competed extensively with the Canadian Dance Company (Toronto) before studying at the Randolph College for the Performing Arts (Toronto). He was a featured soloist on So You Think You Can Dance (2007) and So You Think You Can Dance Canada (2008), and joined the competitive internship program at the Broadway Dance Center (NYC) in 2008. Jeremiah has performed with artists such as Bruno Mars, Meatloaf, and Taylor Swift, and in large-scale shows such as: PEEPSHOW, JUBILEE!, Britain’s Got Talent, Franco Dragone’s LE REVE and Cirque du Soleil’s Viva ELVIS. From 2015-2019, he toured as dance captain and the lead male character of Ralu in Cirque Du Soleil’s TORUK – The First Flight. Since 2018, he has been performing and creating with Corporeal Imago (Ci), and has presented at Montréal Complètement Cirque and La Chapelle Scènes Contemporaines (Montreal), Assembly Festival, Edinburgh Festival Fringe (UK) and Dancing on the Edge (Vancouver).
__________________________________________________________________

Learn more about The Dance Centre’s Awards

Photos by Jessica Han and Janie Mallet