Winner of the 2026 DMCA
Photo Credit: Kevin MacCormack at Springs Blooms presented by Mocean Dance.
Marrin Jessome
Live Art Dance is pleased to announce that Halifax-based dancer Marrin Jessome is the winner of the 2026 Diane Moore Creation Award (DMCA). This annual award honours Live Art Dance’s founder Diane Moore and is inspired by her passion for dance creation and her support of Atlantic Canadian Artists. The DMCA was initiated to stimulate and sustain the creation of contemporary dance in the Atlantic Region. Administered by Live Art Dance, the award is adjudicated by an independent arm’s length jury of three individuals who have an extensive knowledge of dance in the Atlantic Region.
2025 Diane Moore Creation Award
Photo Credit: Chris Ross
About Marrin Jessome
Marrin Jessome is a Kjipuktuk/Halifax-based artist who studied Performance Dance at the Toronto Metropolitan University (2019). She now works as a freelance dance teacher, choreographer, adjudicator and performer throughout the Maritimes.
As a trained pianist, her choreography is informed by her nuanced understanding of sound— arranging tension and release on a visceral level, using the architecture of the body as an instrument. Her work has been showcased throughout the Maritimes by: FODAR, Mocean Dance, The St. John Contemporary Dance Festival, Island Fringe, Kinetic Open Studio, The Underground, Antigonight Fest, The Youth Dance Ensemble, Halifax Young Company and Crescent Moon Cabaret.
She creates exciting contemporary work that is inspired by storytelling, memory, nostalgia and relationships. Marrying classical techniques with the theatre of lived experiences, she brings forth compositions that are raw and sensual while athletic and playful. Her work features intricate partnering, floor work and flow acrobatics. She is driven to make work that is relatable and accessible to a wide range of audiences.