Victoria-based Artist in Residence
on the nature of… is an interdisciplinary dance performance and installation work that explores themes of memory and nostalgia. Incorporating interactive elements and immersive sensory experiences for both audience and performers, the work examines the transformative processes of life and how these are reflected in sensitive coastal ecosystems.
Amber Downie-Back (she/they) is an interdisciplinary movement artist who lives and creates on the unceded territories of the lək̓ wəŋən and W̱SÁNEĆ peoples.
Interested in integrating dance in collaborative contexts with other media, such as sound and video art, Downie-Back’s practice views the reflection of physical spaces in the digital world. Creatively, she focuses on Murphy’s Law and its opposite, Yphrum’s Law, exploring the many combinations of what can and will be, investigating perceived boundaries between process/product, and performer/audience.
Downie-Back has a BFA in Contemporary Dance from Concordia University, has performed professionally in programs such as Festival TransAmeriques, and has exhibited creations at Toronto Harbourfront Centre, with Impulse Theatre, and more. She received the 2022/23 Chrystal Dance Prize for the project on the nature of… which explores themes of memory and nostalgia with Netherlands-based dance artist, Emilie van der Waals.
Emilie van der Waals – Performer, Creative Collaborator
Angus Gaffney (he/him) – Sound Design, Creative Collaborator
