Dance Victoria announces three recipients of the prestigious Chrystal Dance Prize (CDP) – Training and the Arabella and Robert Award for Dance (ARAD), two annual awards that champion the international training and development of emerging Canadian dance artists.
Selected by a panel of local dance professionals, these outstanding young artists represent Vancouver Island and Coquitlam, B.C. They have been awarded a total of $9,480 to pursue international dance training in the UK and United States. The CDP and ARAD both affirm Dance Victoria’s commitment to supporting the artistic development of emerging artists, helping young dancers reach new heights in their careers.
Clara Keefer-Urquhart (she/her) from Ladysmith, B.C., is awarded $3,000 through the CDP – Training. She will begin her postgraduate year at VERVE, Northern School of Contemporary Dance (UK) in Fall 2025. Keefer-Urquhart has trained in Graham technique, contemporary, ballet, jazz, theatre, and tap, and toured with Dancestreams Youth Company (2017–2018). She continued her studies at Harbour Dance Centre and Modus Operandi before graduating from École de danse contemporaine de Montréal, where she performed works by Ohad Naharin, Sofia Nappi, Catherine Gaudet, and Dana Gingras. She performed with Ballet BC in Bolero X and attended intensives including Arts Umbrella, Transformation, and Orsolina 28. Clara is now developing a personal practice rooted in dynamic technicality and intuitive movement and will use these funds to support her training in the UK.
Natalie Marlowe (she/her) from Coquitlam, B.C., is awarded $3,480 through the ARAD to support her second year of training at the Boston Conservatory at Berklee, where she is working towards a BFA in Contemporary Dance. Marlowe grew up training at Tri-City Dance Centre. She has had the opportunity to attend intensives such as Arts Umbrella’s ISDI, The Protégé Movement, and The Ailey School. Throughout her time at these training institutions, she has had the opportunity to learn works by Jiri Kylian, Sharon Eyal, and Mats Ek, and has had the privilege of performing repertoire by Lar Lubovitch and José Limon. Natalie is excited to attend Ballets Jazz de Montréal’s intensive this summer before returning to her studies at Boston Conservatory in the fall.
Lillian Wallman (she/her) from Port Alberni, B.C., on the traditional territories of the Hupacasath and Tseshaht First Nations, is awarded $3,000 through the CDP – Training to pursue a master’s degree in dance performance at London Contemporary Dance School at The Place. Of Métis and mixed settler heritage, Wallman is an emerging dance artist based in Vancouver on the unceded ancestral lands of the Musqueam, Squamish, and Tsleil-Waututh Nations. She holds a BFA honours with distinction in contemporary dance from Simon Fraser University and continued her training through a scholarship with EDAM Dance. Wallman has worked with Company 605 as an apprentice and with Dance Novella as an emerging artist (2024). She performed with Co.ERASGA in What On EARTH and apprenticed in Alvin Collantes’ Bulkan (2024). Wallman is currently collaborating with Rob Kitsos and participating in the New Works Cohort.
About the Awards
The Chrystal Dance Prize (CDP) is awarded twice annually. The Training category supports emerging Western Canadian dance artists continuing full-time training at recognized international institutions outside of Canada. The Projects category supports independent artists, companies or collectives working on exceptional projects with an international artist (interpreter or choreographer). The CDP is generated from a bequest made by Dance Victoria patron Dr. Betty “Chrystal” Kleiman to the Victoria Foundation. Between the two awards, over $60,000 is awarded to Western Canadian dance artists annually.
The Arabella and Robert Award for Dance is open to dancers from across Canada continuing their training at international dance conservatories or institutions and is generated from a fund established by Dance Victoria patrons Arabella Martin and Robert Britten, held at the Victoria Foundation.
About Dance Victoria
Dance Victoria brings the World’s Best Dance to the Royal Theatre and supports the development of new dance for the international stage from our studios in Quadra Village. Dance Victoria is a non-profit charitable society with the mission to cultivate a connection to dance by presenting and supporting diverse local, national, and international artists, and inspiring all communities through the magic of dance. Our vision is that everyone in Greater Victoria can experience the transformative power of world-class dance. DanceVictoria.com
Media contact
Anne-Sophie Cournoyer
Marketing Manager
anne-sophie@dancevictoria.com
250-595-1829