Winner of the 2022 DMCA

Gillian Seaward-Boone pursued professional dance training at l’Ecole de Danse Contemporaine de Montréal (EDCM). Upon graduating, she worked with Sinha Danse, Pigeons International and Sasha Ivanochko before joining O Vertigo Danse as a full company member under the direction of Ginette Laurin. During her time with the company, Gillian performed across Europe, Asia and North and South America. In 2013, Gillian returned to Halifax and has since performed with Mocean Dance in works by Serge Bennethan, Marie-Josée Chartier, Sara Coffin, Sharon Moore and Parts+Labour_Danse. Gillian has served as Rehearsal Director for the creations of Destins Croises, Danielle Desnoyers, Heidi Strauss, Sara Coffin and Lydia Zimmer. Gillian frequently collaborates with local artists Jacinte Armstrong, Alexis Cormier, Sarah Murphy, Lisa Phinney Langley and Lydia Zimmer and is a founding member of the Home Ex Artist Collective. She is currently in creation for new works by Jacinte Armstrong, Liliona Quarmyne, Lisa Phinney-Langley, Sharon Moore and Rebecca Lazier (in collaboration with Janet Echelman). Gillian and the Home Ex collective have recently launched into an artistic research partnership with IOTA Art Institute. In addition to her roles as dancer and rehearsal director, Gillian is an experienced project and production manager. A passionate dance educator, she is a senior member of the modern dance faculty of Halifax Dance’s Intensive Training Program and regularly teaches technical training classes to the professional community of Halifax and beyond.

“This new creation represents a significant shift in my professional trajectory. I have established my career as a contracted artist, hired to contribute my artistry in collaborative group works, navigating the dynamics of a cast, and embodying the nuances of a choreographer’s style and vision. With this new creation, I step into the role of soloist presenting work created in collaboration with me from its initial seed and represents what I consider to be my individual artistic voice. To date, I have never produced my own work, nor commissioned a choreographer to create on me/with me. Instinctually, I trusted that Sharon was the choreographer who could call on my experience, my physicality, and my strengths as an interpreter, and carve space in the work for my artistic voice to drive the narrative…This new solo project is the culmination of research into our respective connections to Viking lineage and our fascination of the strong roles of women within that culture and historical era.”