Project  }  Artists

NWPDP 2008 Project Artists

Hélène Blackburn: Artistic Director / Cas Public

Since 1983, Hélène Blackburn has made her daring choreographic voice heard in the contemporary dance world, both in Canada and abroad. She was trained in the Linda Rabin studios and at the Université du Québec à Montréal and has performed with the Fondation Jean-Pierre Perreault. She founded Cas Public in Montréal in 1989. A sought-after choreographer and recognized teacher, Hélène has received commissions from LADMMI, Concordia University, UQÀM, the École Supérieure de Danse du Québec, the Laban Centre in London and the Accademia di Danza in Venice. In 1990, she captured the Canada Council for the Arts' Jacqueline Lemieux Prize in recognition of the originality and quality of her approach. In 1999, Hélène received the Bonnie Bird Award for North America, presented by the prestigious Laban Centre in London.

James Canfield: Artistic Director / Nevada Ballet Theatre

The founding Artistic Director of Oregon Ballet Theatre, James Canfield received his early dance training at the acclaimed Academy of the Washington Ballet and went on to dance for the renowned Joffrey Ballet for several years. In addition to creating numerous original, visionary works, including an original production of "The Nutcracker," James established the School of Oregon Ballet Theatre and played a crucial role in establishing Oregon Ballet Theatre as a major Portland arts institution. He was named Interim Artistic Director of Nevada Ballet Theatre in March 2008. James has created three works and regularly teaches for NWPDP.

Zachary Carroll: Ballet Master

A native of Tucson, AZ, Zachary Carroll received his early training with George Zoritch and Marybeth Cabana before being awarded a full scholarship to study at The National Ballet School In Toronto, Canada. He went on to dance as a Soloist with Oregon Ballet Theatre, Ballet Arizona and Ballet West, as well as performing as a guest artist with many other companies. Zachary was also a long-time member of BodyVox contemporary dance company. He has performed a wide variety of repertoire from classical to contemporary, and toured extensively both nationally and internationally. Zachary now dances and teaches ballet as a guest artist around the country, as well as locally in Portland, OR.

Jason Davis: Ballet Master

Jason Davis, a Tucson native, spent eleven seasons with the San Francisco Ballet under the direction of Helgi Tomasson. He danced an extensive classical and contemporary repertoire, and toured in the U.S. and abroad to England, Scotland, Iceland, France, Italy, Spain, and Denmark. Jason has enjoyed teaching dance for ten years and currently teaches at Beaverton Arts and Communication Magnet Academy and previously taught for Pacific Artists Dance Center, Stites Performing Arts Center, Dance Vision, and Vancouver Dance Theatre.

Thaddeus Davis: Choreographer + Artistic Director / Wideman/Davis Dance

Thaddeus Davis was named by Dance Magazine as "One of 25 to Watch" in 2002 and received the prestigious Choo San Goh Award for Choreography in 2003. His first choreographic work, "Once Before Twice After," was named one of the top-ten moments in dance for 2002 by The New York Times, which called it "reassuring evidence of New York Dance's promising future." Thaddeus has danced with numerous companies and taught extensively across the U.S. He has created works for Ballet Austin, Complexions, Ballet Memphis, Fugate/Bahiri Ballet NY, Donald Byrd/The Group, Spectrum Dance Theater, Nashville Ballet and others. Thaddeus is currently the Co-Director of Wideman/Davis Dance and has created three original works for NWPDP.

Noam Gagnon + Dana Gingras: Artistic Directors / The Holy Body Tattoo

Noam Gagnon met Dana Gingras in the late 1980s while both were dancing for EDAM (Experimental Dance and Music) in Vancouver. They later worked together as dancers for Le Groupe Dance Lab in Ottawa before returning to Vancouver to start their own company, The Holy Body Tattoo, in 1993. The company's name references how life experiences become inscribed on the body, permanently marking and changing it. The Holy Body Tattoo has received both critical and audience acclaim with performances in Canada, U.S. and Europe. The film version of their work "Poetry and Apocalypse" has been shown at more than sixteen international film festivals and has received numerous awards and accolades. In 1997, The Holy Body Tattoo was nominated for more than one Dora Mavor Moore Award for "our brief eternity" and won for Best Ensemble Performance. Noam and Dana's "Circa" was made into a film by William Morrison featuring the band Tiger Lillies and won the inaugural Alcan Performing Arts Award - Dance.

Mark Godden: Choreographer

Mark Godden has choreographed original works for the Royal Winnipeg Ballet, Les Grands Ballet Canadian, Boston Ballet, American Ballet Theatre (Studio Company), Ballet British Columbia, Alberta Ballet, Ballet Memphis, Ballet Florida, Milwaukee Ballet, Compania Nacional de Danza (Mexico), Ballet Contemporania (Argentina) and more. He was a soloist with the Royal Winnipeg Ballet and became their first Resident Choreographer. In 1989 he won the Clifford E. Lee Award for his work "Forms of Distinction," and the following year his "Myth" received the highest honours at the prestigious International Ballet Competition in Varna. His full-length ballet, "Dracula," was filmed by celebrated director Guy Madden and won a Gemini Award. Mark was born in the United States, but now lives in Montreal, Canada with his wife and two sons.

Steve Gonzales: Artistic Director / Jefferson Dancers

Steve Gonzales is the Artistic Director of The Jefferson Dancers and remains a member of MOMIX Dance Theatre. He began his dance training at Jefferson Performing and Visual Arts High School in Portland, Oregon, was a member of Oregon Ballet Theatre, studying further at New York University's Tisch School of the Arts. He has performed and taught master classes worldwide. As Artistic Director of The Jefferson Dancers for the past nine years, Steve Gonzales has created several original works on the nationally recognized company. He continues performing with MOMIX and serves as a rehearsal director for the company. Steve is the Associate Artistic Director of the Northwest Professional Dance Project.

Jamey Hampton: Artistic Director / BodyVox

Jamey Hampton was born in Portland, Oregon and began his dance training in the early '70s. He graduated from Dartmouth College in 1976 with a BFA in drama. Two years later, Jamey joined Pilobolus Dance Theater. He was an original member of MOMIX and co-founded ISO Dance in 1987. Jamey formed BodyVox in 1997 along with Ashley Roland. They have danced together for over two decades. In 1989, Jamey won an Emmy award for his performance in the KCET television production, "Episodes." The following year, he co-choreographed and performed in the Academy Awards and in 2002, he won an American Choreography award. Jamey has created works for Ballet Pacifica, Portland Opera, Oregon Ballet Theatre, Trinity Irish Dance Company, The Lille Opera and the Geneva Opera Ballet.

Sharee Lane: Professor / University of Utah

Sharee Lane joined Ballet West in 1971 under Artistic Director and founder, Willam F. Christensen, and later Bruce Marks, where she rose to the rank of soloist. She joined the Ballet West artistic staff in 1989, directing the Ballet West Conservatory under Artistic Director, John Hart, until 1999. Having also served as an adjunct Associate Professor from 1989-2001, in the Department of Ballet at the University of Utah, she was promoted to Associate Professor in July 2001. This is Sharee's third year as a Master Teacher for the Project.

Donald McKayle: Choreographer + Artistic Mentor / Limón Dance + Professor, UC Irvine

Named by the Dance Heritage Coalition "one of America's Irreplaceable Dance Treasures: the first 100," Donald McKayle has choreographed over seventy works for dance companies worldwide. The Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, the Cleo Parker Robinson Dance Ensemble, Ballet San Jose Silicon Valley, the Dayton Contemporary Dance Company, and the Lula Washington Dance Theatre serve as repositories for his works. He is Artistic Mentor for the Limón Dance Company. Donald has received five Tony Award nominations and received the Capezio Award, the Samuel H. Scripps/American Dance Festival Award, the American Dance Guild Award, a Living Legend Award from the National Black Arts Festival and numerous other awards including receiving the UCI Medal, the highest honor given by the University of California, Irvine. Donald has served on the faculties of many prestigious institutions including the American Dance Festival, the Juilliard School, Bennington College, Bard College, Sarah Lawrence College, and was Dean of the School of Dance at the California Institute of the Arts. His autobiography, "Transcending Boundaries: My Dancing Life," was published in 2002 and PBS aired a documentary on his life and work, "Heartbeats of a Dancemaker," in 2003. An honoured guest, Donald has led several Project workshops and created one piece, "Syncopated Gambol," for the PC in 2007.

Mary Oslund: Artistic Director / Oslund + Company

Mary Oslund is the Artistic Director of Oslund + Company/Dance, which she founded in 1977 and she is one of the Pacific Northwest's leading dance artists. Mary Oslund studied dance and received her BFA and MA from Ohio State University. She founded Dance Works Studio in Eugene and has served on the faculties of Reed College, Lewis & Clark College, Portland State University and the University of Oregon. Mary has created two works for NWPDP and led master workshops. Mary also currently Co-Directs Conduit Studio in Portland and remains dedicated to advancing the discipline of contemporary dance.

Sarah Slipper: Choreographer + Artistic Director / NWPDP

An award winning independent choreographer, Sarah Slipper studied at the Royal Ballet School, was a principal dancer with the Royal Winnipeg Ballet and appeared as a guest artist worldwide. She has worked with internationally renowned directors and choreographers such as Arnold Spohr, Rudi van Dantzig, Hans van Manen, Jirí Kylián and Agnes de Mille. Sarah served as Ballet Mistress of Alberta Ballet and Oregon Ballet Theatre, and teaches master classes throughout North America. She was awarded the Grand Prize for Choreography at the International Choreographic Competition at Saint Sauveur in 2000. Sarah has created over 20 works for the Royal Winnipeg Ballet, Cincinnati Ballet, Nashville Ballet, Oregon Ballet Theatre, Ballet Jorgen, Louisville Ballet, Alberta Ballet, Ballet New York, Ballet Pacifica and The Jefferson Dancers. "A Fine Balance," her pas de deux created during the inaugural NWPDP, was nominated for the prestigious Benois de la Danse award in 2006 and was performed at the Bolshoi Theatre as part of the award's gala celebration. Sarah is currently working on several new creations and serves as the Artistic Director of the Northwest Professional Dance Project.

Cayetano Soto: Choreographer

Cayetano Soto was born in Spain in 1975. He started his dance education in his hometown Barcelona at the Instituto del Teatro and continued his studies at the Royal Conservatorium in Den Haag (Netherlands). After receiving his degree, Cayetano danced with IT Dansa in Barcelona before joining the Ballet Theater Munich a year later. There he created several successful ballets for the company. Cayetano has gone on to create "Cotidiano" for the Festival Internazionale di Danza in Venice, Italy and "24FPS" for the Royal Ballet of Flanders, which won the Hapag Lloyd prize in April 2006. His first full evening ballet was a new "A Midsummer Night's Dream" which was premiered in July 2006 in Lübeck and in November 2006 in Schwerin, both in Germany. Earlier this year he choreographed new works for the Royal Ballet of Flanders and the Stuttgart Ballet. Cayetano created "Not Yet" for the 2007 Project.

Katarina Svetlova / Ballet Master

Katarina Svetlova trained extensively with Haydee Gutierrez and began her professional career in 1995 at the age of 15 with Oregon Ballet Theatre, under the direction of James Canfield. From 2002 - 2006, she danced as a principal with the Deutsche Oper am Rhein, a leading ballet company in Düsseldorf, Germany. Under the direction of Youri Vàmos and Joyce Cuoco, she danced the principal roles in Youri Vàmos's "The Sleeping Beauty," "Swan Lake," "Romeo and Juliet," "Cinderella," "Erda," John Neumeier's "Sylvia," Mats Ek's "Bernada's House," and Hans van Manen's "Sarkasmen." Katarina teaches at the school of Oregon Ballet Theatre and is the happy mother of two children.

Paul Vasterling: Artistic Director / Nashville Ballet

Paul Vasterling was appointed Artistic Director of Nashville Ballet in June of 1998 after ten years as a professional dancer, School of Nashville Ballet faculty member, Ballet Master and resident choreographer. Paul Vasterling graduated Magna Cum Laude with a bachelor's degree in theater and dance from Loyola University. In 1996 he was named Resident Choreographer of Nashville Ballet and two years later he was named the Artistic Director. He has seen more than 30 of his works performed in three continents. The National Endowment for the Arts appointed him to serve on their 2001-2002 dance panel and he was awarded the elite Fulbright Scholar grant in 2004. Paul Vasterling spearheaded the ongoing creative collaboration, Emergence!, with Vanderbilt University's Blair School of Music in 2003.

Eduardo Vilaro: Artistic Director / Luna Negra Dance Theater

Eduardo Vilaro was born in Havana, Cuba, and immigrated to New York City where he grew up in the Bronx. He received his dance training at the Alvin Ailey American Dance School and the Martha Graham School of Contemporary Dance and then received a BFA in Dance from Adelphi University in 1988. Eduardo was a principal dancer with Ballet Hispanico of New York where he taught and performed until 1996. In 1999, after earning a Masters degree from Columbia College Chicago, he established Luna Negra Dance Theater. Eduardo has received commissions from the Ravinia Festival, the Chicago Sinfonietta, the Lexington Ballet, New Jersey Dance Theater Ensemble, the Civic Ballet, and Same Planet, Different World. In 2001, he was a recipient of a Ruth Page Award in choreography and in 2003 he was honored at Panama's II International Festival of Ballet for his choreographic work. Eduardo has been on the faculty of the Dance Center of Columbia College Chicago and the Chicago Academy of the Arts. He currently serves on the board directors of Dance/USA.

Septime Webre: Artistic Director / Washington Ballet

As a dancer, Septime Webre was featured in works by Balanchine, Taylor, Tudor, Ailey, and Cunningham. He was appointed Artistic Director of the Washington Ballet in June 1999, after serving six years as Artistic Director of American Repertory Ballet. Septime has created works that appear in the repertoires of many companies in North America, including Pacific Northwest Ballet, Les Grands Ballets Canadiens, North Carolina Dance Theatre, Dayton Ballet, Ballet Austin, Atlanta Ballet, Aspen Ballet, Sacramento Ballet, Cincinnati Ballet, Colorado Ballet, Louisville Ballet and Ballet Memphis. A former member of the board of directors of Dance/USA, Septime sits on the board of the Cultural Alliance of Greater Washington, and has been honored by Young Audiences of the District of Columbia and received a number of fellowships for his choreography.

Edgar Zendejas: Artistic Director / ezDanza + Les Ballets Jazz de Montreal

Edgar Zendejas hails from Mexico City where he began his training at the Estudio Profesional de Danza de Ema Pulido. His passion for dance soon led him to the United States where he received a fellowship from the United States International University, and shortly thereafter became a member of the International Ballet Company of USIU. Prior to joining Les Ballets Jazz de Montreal in 1993, Edgar lived in Chicago where he was a dancer in both Hubbard Street Dance Chicago and Gus Giordano Jazz Dance Chicago. Edgar has worked with several choreographers who have inspired him to further his career, not only as a dancer, but as a creator as well. Among these inspirations are David Parsons, Twyla Tharp, Ulysses Dove, Mia Michaels, Crystal Pite and Jennifer Muller. Edgar was named Associate Choreographer of Les Ballets Jazz de Montreal, following several successes and commissions with his choreography. Currently Edgar also serves as Artistic Director for ezDanza a Montreal based company dedicated to presenting his choreography.

 

ALL ARTISTS SUBJECT TO CHANGE

PREVIOUS NWPDP ARTISTS:

John Alleyne: Artistic Director / Ballet British Columbia
Gioconda Barbuto: Choreographer + Nederlands Dans Theater III
Gregg Bielemeier / Choreographer
Cristina Betts / BodyVox
Donald Byrd: Artistic Director / Spectrum Dance Theater
Paul De Strooper: Oregon Ballet Theatre + Artistic Director / Ballet Victoria
Madeleine Denko-Carter: Choreographer
Mariecella Devine / Devine Funk
Susan Gaudreau: Rehearsal Director / Les Ballets Jazz de Montreál
Mark Goldweber: Ballet Master / Joffrey Ballet + Ballet West
Shawn Hounsell: Choreographer
Lane Hunter / Artistic Director / BodyVox 2
Alonzo King: Artistic Director / LINES Ballet
Ronen Koresh: Artistic Director / Koresh Dance Company
Stephen Mills: Artistic Director / Ballet Austin
Josie Moseley: Choreographer / Teacher, Oregon Ballet Theatre
Eric Nordstrom / Oslund + Company
Davis Robertson: Choreographer
Louis Robitaille: Artistic Director / Les Ballets Jazz de Montréal
Ashley Roland: Co-Artistic Director + Choreographer / BodyVox
Alison Roper: Oregon Ballet Theatre
Jonathan Sadony / Choreographer
Lauri Stallings: Choreographer
Christopher Stowell: Artistic Director / Oregon Ballet Theatre
Gérard Théorêt: Artistic Director / Cirque du Soleil
Paul Vasterling: Artistic Director / Nashville Ballet
Luca Veggetti: Choreographer
Septime Webre: Artistic Director / Washington Ballet
Meredith Webster / LINES Ballet