Vancouver-based Artists in Residence
Kirsten Wicklund is privileged to live, work and create on the unceded territories of the Coast Salish Peoples: Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish), Stó:lō and Səl̓ílwətaʔ/Selilwitulh (Tsleil-Waututh) and xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam) Nations.
She studied dance at Pacific Dance Arts, Goh Ballet Academy, Modus Operandi Contemporary Training Program and received scholarships to train at American Ballet Theatre, Boston Ballet, Pacific Northwest Ballet, The Royal Winnipeg Ballet, & Banff Centre for the Performing Arts. Awards include; the Vancouver Foundation Arts Study Award, the Vancouver Ballet Society’s Memorial Scholarship, & the Mary Day Artistry Award at Youth American Grand Prix in NYC and recently the YAGP Choreographic Award 2020.
She has danced with The Washington Ballet Company, Alonzo King’s choreographic workshop, BALLET BC and has choreographed numerous independent works for Dances for a Small Stage, the Dance Deck Series, Arts Umbrella, Goh Ballet, Lamon Dance, Dancing on the Edge Festival, and Move: The Company.
Kirsten is currently a full-time artist at Ballet BC where she has danced since 2014. She has danced works by Lesley Telford, Medhi Walerski, William Forsythe, Emmanuel Gat, Wen Wei Wang, Cayetano Soto, Adi Salant, Aszure Barton, Company 605, Johan Inger, Serge Bennathan, Jorma Elo, Jacopo Godani, Walter Mateini, Emily Molnar, Crystal Pite, Ohad Naharin, Sharon Eyal, and others.
Kirsten choreographs, teaches yoga & movement workshops and adjudicates across Canada and the US. Kirsten has most recently created a new choreographic work for Move: The Company to Premiere in Fall 2020.
Peter Smida is privileged to live, work and create on the unceded territories of the Coast Salish Peoples: Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish), Stó:lō and Səl̓ílwətaʔ/Selilwitulh (Tsleil-Waututh) and xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam) Nations.
Peter is an independent dancer, choreographer, actor and emerging filmmaker based in Vancouver, BC. He is currently the artist in residence with Ballet BC as well as a teacher for Modus Operandi (Tiffany Tregarthen & David Raymond) and the Arts Umbrella Dance Company (Artemis Gordon).
Born and raised in Kingston, Ontario, Peter moved away from home at the age of 16 to begin his formal training at the Royal Winnipeg Ballet School. Upon graduating from the RWB, he spent a year as an aspirant where he performed with the company as well as guesting with Ballet Victoria and Ballet BC.
Peter officially joined Ballet BC as a company artist in 2008 and stayed there for the next 11 seasons. There, he created, collaborated, and performed works by internationally esteemed choreographers such as Crystal Pite, William Forsythe, Ohad Naharin, Johan Inger, Jorma Elo, Itzik Galili, Sharon Eyal and Medhi Walerski, among several others. In addition to dancing with the company, Peter has choreographed works and produced films for several workshops and labs as part of the company’s outreach. With Ballet BC he has also served as a rehearsal director and coach is the current Artist in Residence.
Peter’s film “Let me leave so that you may continue” was recently featured on the Tanstheater Wuppertal (Pina Bausch Company) Create’s Platform as part of their Digital Stage Series.
His passion and underlying mission is to explore new ways to create and tell stories with the physical body through the mediums of dance, theatre and film.