The Chrystal Dance Prize (CDP) – Projects supports exceptional dance research and/or creation between a Western Canadian dance artist, artists, collectives or companies and an international dance artist or artists (interpreter or choreographer). Since 2010, Dance Victoria (DV) has awarded more than $544,000 through CDP – Projects. In 2024, Dance Victoria allocated a total of $60,500 to the Chrystal Dance Prize – Projects.
2024/25 Chrystal Dance Prize – Projects
Ballet Edmonton, led by Artistic Director Kirsten Wicklund (she/her), receives $30,000 to support a new work of contemporary dance theatre in collaboration with multidisciplinary dance and theatre maker Marie Gyselbrecht (Belgium) and sound designer Raphaelle Latini (France). Gyselbrecht has worked with some of Europe’s most established theatre and opera houses and avant-garde organizations, including the renowned theatre and dance company Peeping Tom. Bringing dance, sound, storytelling, and theatre together into one creative process, this collaboration with Ballet Edmonton aims to create an immersive experience that expands and redefines ballet as a vehicle for abstract storytelling. The final piece is anticipated to be a 40-minute contemporary ballet to premiere in February 2026.
Kirsten Wicklund (she/her) was born in British Columbia, Canada and trained at Goh Ballet Academy, Modus Operandi Contemporary Training Program, The Royal Winnipeg Ballet School, The Banff Centre for the Performing Arts, and received scholarships to train at American Ballet Theatre, Boston Ballet & Pacific Northwest Ballet.
As a Dance Artist, Wicklund has danced with The Washington Ballet Company, Ballet BC under Emily Molnar, CM / Medhi Walerski (2014 – 2021), Opera Ballet Vlaanderen (2021 – 2024) and more. Kirsten has danced and created original works by Crystal Pite, Ohad Naharin, Sharon Eyal, Pina Bausch, Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui, Akram Khan, 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, Fernando Magadan, Walter Mateini, Emily Molnar, Jan Martens, Richard Siegal, Ella Rothschild and more.
As an independent maker, Wicklund has choreographed works for Ballet Edmonton, Opera Ballet Vlaanderen, The Dutch National Ballet’s Junior Company & New Moves Program, The New York Choreographic Institute at New York City Ballet, Ballet BC’s Take Form, Ballet Kelowna and more. Her work Overcast was selected as a finalist for the International Choreographic Competition Hannover in 2021. In 2024, Wicklund was appointed the artistic director of the Edmonton Ballet Company. She is passionate about leading the 10-dancer ensemble with a focus on creating bold and risk-taking work in contemporary ballet and dance theatre, featuring leading and emerging voices within the global dance community. Wicklund was recently commissioned to build a new work FIELD for Opera Ballet Vlaanderen which made its World Premiere in Antwerpen, Belgium in November 2024.
Vanessa Goodman of Action at a Distance receives $18,000 for Future Alternates, a creation developed in collaboration with choreographer Simona Deaconescu of Tangaj Collective (Romania). This new dance work decentralizes the human experience, exploring how the body might merge with non-human entities like machines, ecosystems, and even digital worlds. Drawing from Rosi Braidotti’s notion of the “posthuman subject,” the performance questions the anthropocentric worldview, asking what it means to be human in a world where technology and nature intertwine. Future Alternates raises urgent questions about agency, ethics, and survival in a world where technology is no longer a tool, but a force that reshapes what it means to be human.
Action at a Distance Dance Society is a contemporary dance company based on the ancestral and unceded lands of the Coast Salish peoples, including the Sḵwx̱wú7mesh, Stó:lō, səl̓ílwətaʔɬ, and xʷməθkʷəy̓əm Nations. Directed by choreographer Vanessa Goodman, the company creates immersive, experiential works that explore intimacy through performance, blending physical, visual, and sonic practices. Since Goodman became Artistic Director in 2015, the company has presented work across Canada, the U.S., Europe, the UK, and South America.
The Company is inspired by artistic collaboration across multiple disciplines, with a mission to create environments and facilitate immersive experiences for those who engage with the work. The company values community-building through dance and sees it as a means to foster human connections.
Goodman holds a BFA from SFU and has received several awards and honours, including The Iris Garland Emerging Choreographer Award, The Chrystal Dance Prize, and The Schultz Endowment from the Banff Centre.
Action at a Distance’s work has been showcased at major festivals and venues including PuSH Festival, DanceHouse, SFU Woodwards, The Firehall Arts Centre, and The Dance Centre in Vancouver, as well as international festivals like Tanzmesse in Germany, Estrogenius in New York, and the FIDCDMX in Mexico City. The company has also been artist-in-residence at institutions like The Banff Centre, The Dance Centre, and Harbourfront Centre.
Recent collaborations include works with artists Scott Morgan, Caroline Shaw, and Simona Deaconescu. Upcoming projects include BLOT – Body Line of Thought with Deaconescu, touring to Europe in 2024/25, and Graveyards and Gardens with Shaw, touring across BC and the U.S.
Tangaj Collective was founded in 2014 by choreographer Simona Deaconescu as a cultural NGO based in Bucharest. The organization produces artistic works by Deaconescu and her collaborators, while also offering educational programs and organizing tours. Additionally, the collective curates showcase platforms and cultural projects for the local community. It receives annual project-based funding from the Administration of the National Cultural Fund, and in 2021, it was awarded funding for Promoting Romanian Culture Outside the Borders.
Tangaj Collective has developed one of Bucharest’s most popular contemporary dance training programs for non-professionals, with over 3,000 participants to date. It also offers regular workshops on dance technique and interdisciplinary composition for professional dancers, led by Deaconescu and her collaborators. Since 2015, Tangaj Collective has organized the Bucharest International Dance Film Festival (BIDFF), a platform showcasing innovative work at the intersection of dance, film, and digital art. In parallel, BIDFF has established a laboratory to support the production of domestic dance films.
Eric Cheung (he/him) receives $12,500 to support the creation of IN/YANG, a site-responsive dance duet in collaboration with dance artist and choreographer Kinui Oiwa (she/her) and sound composer Nouses Kou (Japan). The work delves into the importance of balance in today’s society and lives. IN/YANG seeks to discover different approaches that challenge preconceived notions of balance through the philosophical and culturally similar practices of “Yin-Yang” and “In-Yo.” The project examines the history of cultural exchange between China and Japan, exploring an evolving relationship, both past and present.
Eric Cheung (he/him) is a second-generation Chinese-Canadian inter-disciplinary street dance artist and choreographer based in so-called Vancouver, on the unceded territories of the xwməθkwəy̓əm, Skwxwú7mesh, and Səl̓ílwətaʔ/Selilwitulh Nations. Cheung has cultivated a singular approach to generating movement and choreography that is recognized nationally and internationally, with his specialization in the popping style while incorporating outside influences and other dance forms in his practice.
Cheung has been a member of the street dance contemporary company Ouro Collective since 2018, partaking in the creation process of HAKO, SOTTO51, Fire06, 7y98D (Theatre / Film) in collaboration with RubberLegZ, Ouro Excerpts and Ouroboros.
Individually, Cheung explores different mediums to expand the boundaries of street dance further in various artistic forms of film, theatre, digital new media, interactive experiences and art installations. Select works include E_GO, I(n)finite, Re:1974, iye, Diverge, Flux, Liminal, Null, and Flux.
Cheung is most notably known for his short film E_GO that garnered international acclaimed. The work, which was commissioned by FORM in 2018, was featured on numerous online art platforms and festivals, such as Nowness, Booooooom, Vimeo Staff Pick, screened at international film festivals such as Aesthetica Festival, San Francisco Dance Film Festival, FORM Prague Film Festival, and Telus Spark Optik TV. Later, Cheung received the Best Experimental Short at Cift 2023 for his recent film I(n)finite featured on Nowness Asia.
Additionally, Cheung has presented solo theatre works and exhibited at Place Des Arts, Pact Zollervin, Phi Centre, La Nuit Blanche, Music Conservatory of Montreal, VIVO, Polygon Gallery, VAG, SFU, and Festive Acces Asie. Eric has collaborated with Acronym, ASUS ROG, CBC Arts, Spencer Badu, Company 605, Spy Films, Modus Operandi, and RubberLegZ.
Read the media release about the 2024/25 winners here.
2024/25 Guidelines and Application Procedure
Learn about the application procedure and guidelines before making your submission. Expressions of interest are on longer being accepted for 2024/25. The deadline was 5:00 pm PDT, Friday October 18, 2024.
History of the Chrystal Dance Prize
The prize is funded through an annual disbursement from the Chrystal Dance Fund held at the Victoria Foundation. Learn about Dr. Betty “Chrystal” Kleiman and past winners.