The Dance Centre Unveils BC Dance Awards Recipients

The Dance Centre has revealed the recipients of two awards that acknowledge the achievements of British Columbia's choreographers. Eric Cheung is the recipient of the biennial Iris Garland Emerging Choreographer Award; and Vanessa Goodman, Artistic Director of Action at a Distance, receives the annual Isadora Award.

Mirna Zagar, Executive Director of The Dance Centre, said: "I am very pleased that we at The Dance Centre have this opportunity to support the work of Eric, an exciting young artist whose career is just starting to take flight, and to celebrate the achievements of Vanessa, who is one of BC's most innovative artists.

"The Dance Centre has been presenting these awards for over twenty years as part of our mission to support BC's dance sector, and every year I am thrilled to see the depth and diversity of the artistry in our community."

The Iris Garland Emerging Choreographer Award was established in memory of the pioneering educator who developed Simon Fraser University's dance program. This $5000 award assists an emerging artist between 19 and 35 years of age who demonstrates exceptional choreographic potential, to produce their work at Scotiabank Dance Centre in Vancouver. Previous recipients are Amber Funk Barton (2005), Chengxin Wei (2007), Sara Coffin (2009), Shannon Moreno (2011), Vanessa Goodman (2013), Deanna Peters (2015), Julianne Chapple (2017) Jamie Robinson (2019), Shion Skye Carter (2021) and Anya Saugstad (2023).

Through the Award, Eric will present the premiere of his first full-length trio, Contra, this fall. A collaboration with digital media artist Cristian Gonzalez, composer Matthew Tomkinson, and dancers Kinui Oiwa and Tegvaran Sooch, utilizing real-time interactive immersive projection mapping, the work is inspired by the phenomenon of cognitive dissonance, exploring the human desire for transcendence as an idealized source of self-meaning, revealing the endless journey, exposing the contradictions and the inherent flaws of human nature.

The annual Isadora Award, named after the dance pioneer Isadora Duncan (1878-1927), was instituted by The Dance Centre in 1999 to recognize the achievements of BC's dance professionals. The artists receive $5,000 and access to studio time at Scotiabank Dance Centre to support the creation of a new work. The award comes with a specially-designed sculpture created by renowned glass artist Mary Filer. Previous recipients have included Crystal Pite, Wen Wei Wang, Jennifer Mascall, Julia Taffe, Gabrielle Martin and Jeremiah Hughes of Corporeal Imago, Raven Spirit Dance, and Margaret Grenier of the Dancers of Damelahamid, amongst others.

The Artists

Eric Cheung

is a second-generation Chinese-Canadian interdisciplinary street dance artist and choreographer based in so-called Vancouver, on the unceded territories of the xwməθkwəy̓əm, Skwxwú7mesh and Səl̓ílwətaʔ/Selilwitulh Nations. Eric has cultivated a singular approach to generating movement and choreography, with his specialization in the Popping style while incorporating outside influences and other dance styles. He has been a company member of street dance contemporary company Ouro Collective since 2018.

Eric explores different mediums to further expand the boundaries of street dance in film, theatre, new media, fashion, and Virtual Reality. He has been featured on numerous platforms and festivals, such as Nowness, Booooooom, Vimeo Staff Pick, and Aesthetica Festival. Additionally, Eric has presented solo theatre works and exhibited at Place Des Arts, Pact Zollervin, Phi Centre, La Nuit Blanche, Music Conservatory of Montreal, VIVO, Polygon Gallery, Vancouver Art Gallery, Simon Fraser University, and Festive Acces Asie. www.cheung-eric.com

Vanessa Goodman

acknowledges that she lives, works, and creates on the ancestral and unceded territories of the Coast Salish peoples, including the Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish), Stó:lō, Səl̓ílwətaʔ/Selilwitulh (Tsleil-Waututh), and xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam) Nations. She holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts from Simon Fraser University and is the artistic director of Action at a Distance Dance Society. She is drawn to art that carries meaning beyond aesthetics, using choreography as a means to explore liminal expressions within the human condition. Her choreographic practice weaves together generative movement and sonic embodiment to create immersive performative environments. Through her work, she seeks to cultivate intimacy between the body and its surroundings, challenging conventional forms of performative hierarchy through collaborative approaches.

Vanessa has received several awards and honours, including The Iris Garland Emerging Choreographer Award (2013), The Yulanda M. Faris Scholarship (2017/18), The Chrystal Dance Prize (2019 & 2024), the Schultz Endowment from the Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity (2019), and participation in the "Space to Fail" program (2019/20) through Hyde Productions (NZ), Critical Path (AU), and The Dance Centre (CA). Longstanding collaborations include Graveyards and Gardens with Caroline Shaw, BLOT with Simona Deaconsecu, and multiple works with Loscil (Scott Morgan), Brady Marks, and James Proudfoot. Her work has toured Canada, the United States, Europe, and South America. www.actionatadistance.ca