Andrea Nann

Teaching: The Intimate ‘I’

Andrea Nann is the founding artistic director of Dreamwalker Dance Company. Originally from Vancouver, she is a Toronto-based contemporary dance artist.

Andrea creates works for the stage, film, and outdoor sites. Her work investigates contemporary approaches to creation that interpret human experiences through collaboration with artists and producers from all artistic disciplines. She often works in collaboration with dance artists Brendan Wyatt and Sarah Chase, and with visual media artist Elysha Poirier. From 2012-2016 Andrea devised and produced a 4-year/4-city multi-arts collaborative creation initiative, The Ontario Shebang, bringing together artists with diverse practices to co-create major productions in Guelph, Burlington, St. Catharines, and Kingston. She also created and produced 9 editions of The Whole Shebang Toronto (2004- 2015) and, through these experiences, has established core values and skill-building strategies that are essential to her work. Inclusiveness, transmission, synchrony and equanimity are among these values.

A graduate of York University’s Department of Fine Arts in 1988, Andrea was a full-time member of the Danny Grossman Dance Company for fifteen years from 1988-2003 where she created, performed and taught major roles from the works of Mr. Grossman and guest choreographers. Andrea has received six Dora Mavor Moore Award Nominations in Outstanding Performance and one nomination for Outstanding Choreography which she shares with Wyatt. Over the course of her 31-year career in contemporary and modern dance, Andrea has contributed to the creation of new works by over 60 dance/theatre creators. She continues to work as a guest artist with Peggy Baker Dance Projects, Tribal Crackling Wind, Astrid Dance, and Volcano.

Andrea was resident artist of Soulpepper Theatre Company (2012-2014), Young Centre for the Performing Arts (2008-2012), and Canadian Contemporary Dance Theatre (2008-2009); and visiting artist at FirstOntario Performing Arts Centre (St Catharines 2015-2016), River Run Centre (Guelph 2013-2015), Burlington Performing Arts Centre (2014-2016), City of Kingston/Grand Theatre (2013- 2015), Brock Centre for the Arts (St. Catharines, 2013-2015), Pia Bouman's School for Creative Ballet & Movement (2013), Scotiabank Dance Centre (Vancouver 2013), Shadbolt Centre for the Arts (Burnaby 2006-2007), and the Iris Garland Visiting Choreographer at Simon Fraser University (2012). In 2016 Ontario Contact recognized Andrea as Artist of the Year for her contributions to the Performing Arts touring sector in Ontario.

Her creative collaborators include author/poet Michael Ondaatje; poet/musician Gord Downie; dance/literature artist Sarah Chase; composer cellist/vocalist Anne Bourne; dancers Brendan Wyatt and Gerald Michaud; visual artists Wayne Ngan, Michael Caines, Elysha Poirier, and Janet Morton; pianist Andrew Burashko; opera singer Patricia O’Callaghan; theatre artist Maiko Bae Yamamoto; architect/designer Michael Fohring, composers John Gzowski, Rick Hyslop, David Buchbinder, and George Gao; designers Ken MacKenzie, Aisling Sampson, Cheryl Lalonde, Peter Chin, Arun Srinivasan, Glenn Davidson, and David Duclos; musical group The Skydiggers, singer/songwriters Andrew Cash, Josh Finlayson, and Andy Maize; poet Chris Chambers; video artist Samm Higgison; digital media artist Tom Kuo; interdisciplinary artist Helen Yung; electronic musician Nilan Perera; and filmmakers Peter Mettler, Nick de Pencier, Nicole Mion, Brian Johnson, Lisa Hayes, Alexandra Seay, and Veronica Tennant.