The Chrystal Dance Prize is named for Dr. Betty “Chrystal” Kleiman whose bequest to the Victoria Foundation in 2009 created the prize that Dance Victoria awards on an annual basis. A committee of dance professionals is assembled each year to select the recipients.
It was Chrystal’s desire that dance artists from western Canada have the opportunity to learn from and work with the best professionals in the world and that they bring these influences and new works back to Canada. A much-loved pediatrician in Victoria known for her extraordinary work with troubled youth, Kleiman was fiercely individual. She loved the arts and pursued interests in poetry, pottery, painting and dance. She was also an avid kayaker and environmentalist. One of her proudest achievements was getting arrested when she protested against the logging of Clayoquot Sound on Vancouver Island in 1993. The Chrystal Dance Prize is awarded to artists who share Chrystal’s generosity and passion for self-expression.
2022/23 Winners
- Julia Taffe of Aeriosa Dance Society (Vancouver) and choreographer Marija Scekic of Histeria Nova Artistic Organization (Croatia); Shion Skye Carter (Vancouver) and choreographer/performer Mayumi Lashbrook, and co-choreographer/dramaturg Ayumi Hamada (Japan); Amber Downie-Back (Victoria) with sound designer Angus Gaffney and contemporary dancer/choreographer Emilie van der Waals (Netherlands-based, from Sint Maarten)
- Margarette Bernal (Richmond) and Bryn Bridgen (Vancouver) (Dance Training winners) Margarette Bernal (winner of Arabella and Robert Award for Dance).
2021/22 Winners
- Kevin Fraser (Vancouver) with his dance collective, Immigrant Lessons, will collaborate with dance artists/producers Margarida Macieira and Nicolas Ventura (Portugal) and other international dance associates at Meeting Point: Portugal; Kayla Henry (Victoria) with her company Noble Riot Dance Theatre will collaborate with Christina Medina (Austria)
- Kiana Bell (Vancouver), Isabel Tornqvist (Calgary), Robin Butterfield (Victoria) (Dance Training winners) Kiana Bell (winner of inaugural Arabella and Robert Award for Dance).
2020/21 Winners
- Ralph Escamillan (Vancouver) with Raul “Buboy” Raquitico (Philipines); OURO Collective with RubberLegz (Germany/USA)
- Mikaela Kos, Maya Milic, and Ashvini Sundaram (Vancouver)(Dance Training Winners)
2019/20 Winners
- David Ferguson (Victoria) with Hoyeon Kim (South Korea); Julianne Chapple with Sahar Damoni (Palestine)
2018/19 Winners
- Vanessa Goodman (Vancouver) with Belinda McGuire (USA); Kidd Pivot (co-production support for its new production, Revisor, to be presented in Victoria, February 2020); Out Innerspace Dance Theatre (for the further development of its next full-length work Bygones, presented in Dance Victoria’s 2022/23 season); Dancers of Damelahamid for the continued development of its new full-length work titled Minowin
- Mikaela Kos, Briana Del Mundo (Dance Training Winners)
2017/18 Winners
- Stacey Horton (Victoria) with Gabi Beier (Germany) and to co-commission of Ballet BC’s Romeo + Juliet (by France’s Medhi Walerski)
- Holden Cole, Adrian de Leeuw (Dance Training Winners)
2016/17 Winners
- Arash Khakpour (Vancouver) with Emmalena Fredriksson (Sweden); Meredith Kalaman (Vancouver) with Gabi Beier (Germany)
- Adrian de Leeuw, Matilda Çobanli (Dance Training Winners)
2015/16 Winners
- Justine A. Chambers (Vancouver) with Laurie Young (Germany); David Ferguson with Hyoseung Ye & Jung ah Chung (South Korea)
- Matilda Çobanli (Dance Training Winner)
2014/15 Winners
- Meredith Kalaman (Vancouver) with Gabi Beier (Germany); Josh Martin & Lisa Martin Gelley (Vancouver) with German Juaregi (Spain)
- Sasha Beardmore, Candace Gordon (Dance Training Winners)
2013/14 Winners
- Tara Cheyenne Friedenberg (Vancouver) with Silvia Gribaldi (Italy); Kimberley Cooper (Calgary) with Valeria Pinheiro (Brazil)
- Alexander Andison (Dance Training Winner)
2012/13 Winners
- Wen Wei Wang (Vancouver) with Gao Yan Jinzi (China)
- Kara Chan (Dance Training Winner)
2011/12 Winner
- Daelik with Fabrice Ramalingom (France)
2010/11 Winner
- Jung-Ah Chung with Kyeung-Eun Lee (South Korea)