Vancouver-based Artist in Residence
Sisu is Cristina Bucci’s inaugural solo work inspired by her personal life journey. This piece, which she both choreographs and performs, expresses her inner reserves of power, courage, determination, and strength of will in the face of adversity.
Cristina Bucci has been enriching the arts community for over two decades, leaving her indelible mark as a choreographer, performer, educator, producer and mentor. She is the 2023 Jacqueline Lemieux Prize winner and, in 2014, co-founded OURO Collective to advance the public’s appreciation of street dance culture. Bucci’s global career includes collaborations with Lamondance Company (Canada), Yarita Yu Ballet (Japan), KMA Dance/Orchestra (Japan), and Avant Garde Dance Company (UK). She has performed works by Tentacle Tribe, Alexandra Spiceya Landé, and Rauf “RubberLegz” Yasit and has participated in numerous dance festivals throughout Canada.
As a dedicated educator, Bucci has spearheaded numerous outreach and youth initiatives, leaving a lasting impact on the next generation of artists. She served as the assistant director of the hip hop/funk dance training program SOULdiers, collaborated with Kidsafe, Share Dance (New Works), Power of Dance (The Dance Centre), and is a board member of community space, Bridge and Enrich Lives Society. As a registered holistic nutritionist, she has developed dancer wellness workshops that have been presented over one hundred times for various programs and schools, including Goh Ballet Academy, Vancouver Ballet Society (Spring Seminar), Harbour Dance Centre, Ballet Bloch Canada, and the Dancer Transition Resource Centre.
Bucci’s new career trajectory is centred on her growth as an independent artist after a collaboration-rich career. She is developing two solo pieces and a group work titled Project Inizi, set to debut in Vancouver in 2025. She is extremely grateful for the support from Dance Victoria’s Artist Residency Program as she embarks on this new path. Born in Malta and a first-generation Italian immigrant to Canada, she now resides in Vancouver on the unceded territories of the Musqueam, Squamish, and Tsleil-Waututh Nations, which she is deeply grateful to live and work on
