RESIDENT CHOREOGRAPHER PROGRAM
The Resident Choreographer Program was developed in 2018, in partnership with Place des Arts and Agora de la Danse, to recognize and support mid-career dance makers.
Springboard provides these exceptional artists with residencies, opportunities to network with producers and venues, and informal showings of their work at notable venues within the summer project's host city. Our inaugural Residents, former Emerging Choreographers Jasmine Ellis and Michael Getman, have been commissioned internationally and have employed Springboard dancers as their collaborators.
The Resident Choreographer Program was developed for mid-career dance makers whose work is captivating and boundless, positioning themselves at the forefront of the international choreographic scene. Springboard curates these exceptional artists who have been commissioned for national and international productions. Springboard provides creative residency support, including the awe-inspiring dancers selected to participate in the Springboard Danse, studio space for both independent research and collaborative rehearsal, and informal showings at public venues within the host city.
-
Photos (top to bottom)
2019 SBDM_Resident Choreographer, Kate Hilliard_©Michael Slobodian
2018 SBDM_Resident Choreographer, Jasmine Ellis_©David Gonsier
2022 SBDM_Resident Choreographer, UNA_©Michael Slobodian
OUR 2025 RESIDENT CHOREOGRAPHERS
photo by Sentientforms
-
Laja Field is an international dancer-theater creator, educator and performer known for her hyperphysical, non-linear storytelling through movement. Her work spans across the U.S, Canada, Central America and Europe with her most recent premiere on NYU | Tisch where she was also an adjunct professor. Laja has been a teaching artist for Springboard X since 2021. Originally from Salt Lake City, Utah, Laja earned her BFA in Dance from the University of Utah and went on to join Johannes Wieland at the Staatstheater Kassel, Germany. After relocated to NYC in 2015 Laja brought her style of floorwork teaching at Peridance and Gibney. She was also a founding member, rehearsal director and co-creator with Vim Vigor and co-founded LajaMartin Physical Dance Theater with Martin Durov. Since then Laja has been commissioned in Calgary with Project InTandem, Montréal for Danse à la Carte’s Transformation, traveled to Spain for Deltebre Dansa and returns annually to the b12 festival in Berlin. As a performer, Laja collaborates with Jessie Lee Thorne, notably with “Topia” that won best dance film on indie short fest and is streaming on apple tv and amazon. Most recently Laja was in Switzerland performing for Victor Rottier | greywax dance company, in Paris teaching for Le Facteur and has been serving as a Performance Admissions Workshop Leader for the Place | London Contemporary Dance School. Laja continues traveling for projects across the globe; finding joy in connecting to communities to share her curiosity in how to weave physical ferocity and cinematic dreamscapes together.
photo by slowdanger
-
taylor knight & anna thompson are co-founding artistic directors of slowdanger, a multidisciplinary performance organism based out of Pittsburgh, PA. slowdanger uses systematic approaches to movement, technology, sound, queer world building and ontological examination to produce performance work, utilizing process based practice to delve into circular life patterning including effort, transformation, and death. From directing music videos to scoring plays, they transform their shape to adapt to a variety of different containers. slowdanger has performed across the United States, Canada and Europe in venues ranging from proscenium theater and gallery to nightclub and dive bar. Their work has been shared at the Kennedy Center, Carnegie Museum of Art, Dance Place, The Warhol Museum, Kelly Strayhorn Theater and more. They have been featured in/by Dance Magazine’s “25 to Watch” (2018) and were 2022 awardees of the NPN Creation Fund and NEFA/National Dance Project to create their work, SUPERCELL which premiered in fall 2023 and presented by Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center, Kelly Strayhorn Theater, The Flea, and Velocity Dance Center. Recently, they were Texas A&M’s New Work Development Artists in Residence in the College of Performance, Visualization and Fine Art.
PREVIOUS RESIDENT CHOREOGRAPHERS
-
Chuck Wilt / UNA Productions (New York, USA)
Artistic Director Chuck Wilt
Resident Choreographer 2022 | Emerging Choreographer 2017
-
These editions were cancelled due to COVID-19
Chuck Wilt / UNA Productions (New York, USA)
Resident Choreographer 2020 + 2021 | Emerging Choreographer 2017
Kyra Jean Green / Trip the Light Fantastic (Montréal, CA)
Resident Choreographer 2020 + 2021 | Emerging Choreographer 2009
-
La Tresse (Montréal, CA)
Resident Choreographers 2019 | Emerging Choreographers 2017
Kate Hilliard (Toronto, CA)
Resident Choreographer 2019 | Emerging Choreographer 2007
-
Jasmine Ellis (Munich, Germany)
Resident Choreographer 2018 | Emerging Choreographer 2017
Michael Getman(Tel Aviv, Israël)
Resident Choreographer 2018 | Emerging Choreographer 2017
Springboard launched my performance-making career. In 2007, I attended as an emerging choreographer. The program offered me a three week creative residency in Montreal and then organized a second research period for my entire cast in Manhattan. I was afforded the opportunity to work with a Dramaturge for the first time and a cast of performers that were world class. This experience resulted in federal support from Canada Council and a Canadian tour of my work.
In 2019, I returned to Springboard as a mid-career artist, receiving a residency to support a new creation. This project has subsequently been presented at the Venice International Art Fair and will be featured again this June in tandem with the 2024 Venice Biennale.
The cost of performance research is unattainable for independent artists and academics. Without the support of Springboard and Alexandra Wells, these creation projects would not have been possible. I owe so much of my experiential knowledge to this program.
– Kate Hilliard
Emerging Choreographer 2007, Resident Choreographer 2019