HOME ABOUT US WHAT'S NEW TOURING THE WORK CONTACT MEDIA & AUDIENCE Dancers Dancing is continually working to develop a voice which reflects our contemporary environment. Formed in July 1999, Dancers Dancing is dedicated to bringing exciting dance to as many and as varied audiences as possible. Selected by Artistic Director, Judith Garay, the eclectic repertoire of the company exhibits technical excellence and offers the diverse artistic visions from a variety of distinguished choreographers. The repertoire currently speaks of the emotional intensity of loss, the magic of fantasy and the lightness of comedy while combining grace with raw physicality. Strong in passion, the works of Dancers Dancing can be experienced on a purely visceral level, as well as on an emotional, spiritual and/or intellectual level. Dancers Dancing has received both critical and audience acclaim at home in Vancouver and on tour throughout British Columbia. By taking appealing, engaging and stimulating works on tour, Dancers Dancing is interfacing with new communities and developing awareness and interest in contemporary dance. In May 2007 we were thrilled to open the Banff Summer Arts Festival following a one-week residency at the Banff Centre for the Performing Arts before heading off to Yellowknife, NWT for a one-week residency at the Northern Arts and Cultural to perform two mixed repertoire concerts along with a community workshop and school show. In 2007/2008, Dancers Dancing has been selected by seven regional BC presenters to tour a mixed repertoire concert as part of the inaugural Made in BC - Dance on Tour program. Check out our Touring page for more info. Dancers Dancing Personnel Artistic Director: Judith Garay General Manager: Joan Flood Dancers: Christopher Duban, Desirée Dunbar, Vanessa Goodman, Kiri Figueiredo, Bevin Poole, and Meredith Kalaman Costumes: Judith Garay / Margaret Jenkins Production Manager: Kimberly Plough Tour Stage Manager: Jaime Carlson Photography: David Cooper, Daniel Collins and Greg Ehlers Communication Assistance: Laura Farn Website Design: Soyoung Park Board of Directors: President: Mary-Elizabeth Jane Manley Past President: Gisa Cole Vice President: Cheryl Prophet Secretary: Jennifer Harwood Treasurer: Eric Donald Garay Judith Garay, Artistic Director and Choreographer Judith Garay, a native of British Columbia, has been the Artistic Director of dancersdancing since its formation in 1999. She is a graduate of the London School of Contemporary Dance, a former Principal Dancer with the Martha Graham Dance Company and currently holds a faculty position at Simon Fraser University in the School for the Contemporary Arts. Judith began choreographing regularly in 1979 and has created more than forty dances which have been presented in Canada, the US, and Holland. As Artistic Director of dancersdancing she has commissioned works and acquired existing works from emerging and senior choreographers. Her choreography has toured in British Columbia with dancersdancing to many communities that have not seen professional dance in more than a decade. She has created and/or reconstructed her choreography for dancersdancing including Entangled Extensions (2000), Reckless Cascade (1999), Place of Dreams (2001), Interface (1999), Quicksilver (2002), Ice (2003), Frost (2004), TWO (2004), Trio of Duets (2005) and ONE, The Catwalk premiered in March 2006. Desirée Dunbar Desirée Dunbar is a performer, creator and instructor of contemporary modern dance. Since graduating from the School for Contemporary Arts at Simon Fraser University and the Apprenticeship program at MainDance she has worked closely with choreographers Judith Garay (Dancers Dancing), Jennifer Mascall (Mascall Dance) and Kathryn Ricketts (Plan B). Her choreography has been produced by Dancing on the Edge and Late Night Kiss. Her commitment to introducing dance to people of various ages, backgrounds and experience has spurred her to create various educational projects including stART dance and LAFF 2001, Lillooet Artists for the Future. She has had the opportunity to teach modern dance at Simon Fraser University, Arts Umbrella and The Goh Ballet Academy. Desirée has danced with Dancers Dancing since its inception in 1999. Christopher Duban Christopher Duban has performed with Dancers Dancing since 1999, and has performed with Winnipeg's Ruth Cansfield Dance. He has worked with many choreographers including David Earle, Anthony Morgan, Lee Eisler, and Wen Wei Wang. He currently choreographs for Modus Dance where he is in an Artistic Directorial mentorship under Katherine Labelle.  Since graduating from Grant MacEwan College in Edmonton and earning his B.F.A. at Simon Fraser University, he has performed across Canada as well as in Mexico and the U.S.A. Vanessa Goodman Vanessa Goodman, a native of Toronto, Ontario, began contemporary dance at Etobicoke School for the Arts. In Toronto Vanessa danced with PBJ Dance Projects and Canadian Children’s Dance Theatre. Vanessa completed her final year at Simon Fraser University in Dance in 2006, where she had the pleasure of dancing in works by faculty and choreographers such as Paul Andre-Fortier, Serge Benathan and Jennifer Mascall. Vanessa was invited to join Dancers Dancing in 2006. Kiri Figueiredo Kiri Figueiredo is from Toronto, Ontario where she began her training at Rosedale Heights School of the Arts. She is a recent graduate of Ryerson University's BFA dance performance program where she studied under the direction of Nadia Potts. Both at Ryerson and independently, she has performed in works by Heidi Strauss, DA Hoskins, Roger Sinha, Marlee Cargill and Vicki St. Denys. Most recently, she performed in Nuit Blanche 2007 with Kaeja d'Dance. Kiri also joined Coleman Lemieux & Compagnie in their U.S. Tour, performing James Kudelka's masterworks, In Paradisum and 15 Heterosexual Duets. As an emerging choreographer, she has presented her work at Ryerson's Choreographic Works, The New Voices Festival, The Toronto International Dance Festival and The Guelph Contemporary Dance Festival. Bevin Poole Bevin’s first exposure to Contemporary dance was a Graham class with Judith Garay in 2003, an experience that has allowed a passion for Contemporary art to spill into all aspects of her life. A recent graduate of the Dance Program at Simon Fraser University, Bevin received a degree in Dance and English Literature. Performing in the works of many inspiring artists such as Colin Connor, Day Helesic, and Robert Kitsos has directed Bevin to pursue movement with an infatuation for the abstract. Meredith Kalaman Meredith Kalaman is thrilled to be joining Dancers Dancing as an understudy. Meredith received her pre-professional training from Burke Academy and the BBC Mentor Program. She has performed with MovEnt, and been on tour with Cori Caulfield. Her own work has been presented at 12 Minutes Max, Dances for a Small Stage 14 and the In the House Festival in Vancouver as well as at Winterfest and 12MM at On the Boards in Seattle. In June she will perform at the Guelph Contemporary Dance Festival, ON. Meredith is also a member of the Flat Screen Series Collective with Amanda Sheather and Susan Kania.