Contemporary/Modern Dance
Dora-nominated dancer, Susan Lee’s professional career as a performer, choreographer and teacher spans twenty years. Based in Toronto, Canada she has originated roles in almost fifty world premieres by many established Canadian choreographers including Allen Kaeja, Holly Small, Yvonne Ng, Peter Chin and Maxine Heppner, performing across Canada, the US, Mexico, Portugal, Singapore and Indonesia. As a company member of Kaeja d’Dance (1997- 2008) she originated roles in most of their major work including Abattoir, Asylum of Spoons, Resistance, Courtyard and Buried Monuments. She is also featured in their award winning dance films, Asylum of Spoons, Witnessed, Resistance, Departure and the Gemini-nominated Old Country, as well as in Aroma, Terrain, and Verge, dance film collaborations with Allen Kaeja and Emmy-nominated videographer Douglas Rosenberg.
Lee’s creative interest lies in improvisation in performance, the integration of live music and dance, and combining dance with other disciplines and media. Her recent work integrates video projection and real-time based interactive technologies in a variety of settings. Susan’s choreography has been presented in dance festivals and series in Toronto, Ottawa, Halifax and Peterborough. Her work has been described as “…simple and extraordinary.” (Halifax Chronicle-Herald) and “…a tour de force of magic and mystery” (the Globe and Mail). She has been awarded grants and scholarships to support her creative research and productions.
Susan has taught in a variety of contexts including public schools in Toronto and northern Ontario, York University, professional and community workshops in Canada, Portugal and the US. She teaches contact improvisation, partnering techniques, structures for improvisation as a performance art and modern technique.
From 1995- 2006, Susan was co-Artistic Director of Series 8:08 and has also worked on the boards of several prominent dance organizations, including Canadian Alliance of Dance Artists and the CanAsian Dance Festival.
Areas of Academic Specialty: Contemporary/Modern Dance
