2023/24 Artist in Residence
David Ferguson is a writer, painter, and producer of dance and film. He lives and works on the traditional and unceded territories of the Songhees and Esquimalt Nations. He was born in Brandon, Manitoba, on Treaty 2 territory, a traditional shared land between the Dakota, Ojibway, and the Métis peoples. His development as an artist has been influenced by his Ukrainian and Celtic origins.
As a Founding Artistic co-Director of Suddenly Dance Theatre (1992-present) in Victoria, B.C. he has been a producer/curator of numerous collaborative, multi-media projects and dance productions, including the Romp! Festival (20x). His original works include OPIUM (2005), a made-for-television dance film seen nationally on Canadian Television; NATURE ECSTASY (2007), a silent dance film made for composers; and the Bravo!FACT films AISLING – We Saw A Vision (2007) and GUTHRIE SWIMS THE LAKE (2010). Supported by The Belfry Theatre’s INCUBATOR/ SPARK! Festival, he premiered his stage play AGNES B (2010) inspired by the life of Agnes Bernelle.
He has co-choreographed and performed with dance artist Jung ah Chung in a longtime creative partnership, with LIVE appearances in South Korea at The World Dance Stars Festival, Busan International Dance Festival, the Next Wave Dance Festival, and the Daegu International Festival of Dance. In summer 2012, the duo premiered their work RUSH OF WATER / RUSH OF AIR, an outdoor dance-film installation in Victoria’s Centennial Square. They followed up with OPHELIA (2014) a dance film projection for an outdoor vertical garden as part of Antimatter Festival.
Since 2016, David has been working in partnership with Hoyeon Kim, Jungha Lim and members from Seoul’s Dab Dance Project, with Ferguson directing We Are Diamonds (2018/2022); and, Another Version (2019), a music/dance video made for the Irish singer/producer CHIRPY. In 2020, David was awarded Dance Victoria’s Chrystal Prize (for the second time) to deepen this international relationship. Directed remotely during the pandemic, LUCKY MAYBE: Episode 1 (2021) was filmed in South Korea and has premiered at the National Arts Centre’s online showcase CAPSULE, at the Busan International Dance Festival, and Dance Camera West, Los Angeles. The second and third episodes of the series TIGER IN THE CITY and HAENYEO are currently in production.
Under the umbrella of Suddenly Dance Theatre’s Fountain of Youth Program – which aims to support dance artists under the age of 26 to build new and diverse choreographic voices – David provides opportunities and mentorship for youth. In 2017, with the University of Victoria and The WITS Programs Foundation, David launched WITS IN MOTION – a short, youth-engaged dance-film and educational toolkit for the prevention of peer victimization and bullying co-directed with Miles Lowry. The French version DIRE EN DANSE was released in October 2019.
David is currently working on IN A NUTSHELL a full-length play starring Lynda Raino commissioned by the Belfry Theatre. He works in a variety of media with longtime collaborator Miles Lowry.
Collaborators
