Crystal Pite is a Vancouver-based choreographer and performer. She trained in dance with Pacific Dance Centre in Victoria, and at programs at the National Ballet School, the Banff Centre for the Arts, and the School of the Toronto Dance Theatre. In 1988, she joined Ballet British Columbia in Vancouver. During her eight years as a dancer there, she performed in the works of many choreographers, including John Alleyne, Serge Bennathan, James Kudelka, David Earle, Barry Ingham, and William Forsythe.
Pite’s choreographic debut was in 1990, at Ballet British Columbia’s first choreographic workshop. Since then, she has created new works for Netherlands Dance Theatre 1, Ballett Frankfurt, Les Ballets jazz de Montreal (including a term as Resident Choreographer 2001 - 2004), Ballet British Columbia, the Alberta Ballet, Ballet Jorgen, and several independent dance artists. In 1995 she was presented with the Clifford E. Lee Award for Choreography and was choreographer in residence at the Banff Centre for the Arts. Pite received the Bonnie Bird North American Choreography Award in 2004, and created a work for Transitions Dance Company at the Laban Centre in London. She has choreographed and performed in several films including Subways, directed by Daniel Conrad for CBC, the feature film One Night Stand, directed by Mike Figgis, and The Score, created by Electric Company.
In 1996, Pite joined Ballett Frankfurt in Germany under the directorship of William Forsythe, performing worldwide in works such as Eidos:Telos, The Loss of Small Detail, and Endless House. She was involved in the creation of Forsythe’s CD-ROM, Improvisation Technologies, and has participated as both performer and creator in Forsythe’s recent works. In 2000, she premiered her own creation for Ballett Frankfurt: Excerpts from a Future Work. The following year, Ballett Frankfurt presented Pite’s duet Field: Fiction – a work she performed
with Vancouver’s Cori Caulfield.
In 2001, Pite returned to Canada where she formed her own company, Kidd Pivot, and continues to create and perform in her own work. Kidd Pivot tours nationally and internationally with productions that include Uncollected Work (2002) and Double Story (2004), created with Richard Siegal. Kidd Pivot recently premiered Lost Action, a work for seven dancers that received the Alcan Performing Arts Award for 2006. Kidd Pivot is also the recipient of the 2005 Isadora Award. |
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Cheryl L'Hirondelle (aka Waynohtêw, Cheryl Koprek) is an Alberta born but currently a Vancouver based, halfbreed (Metis/Cree-non status/treaty, French, German, Polish) multi/interdisciplinary artist and musician.
Since the early 80's she has created, performed, collaborated and presented work in a variety of artistic disciplines: performance art, music (voice, percussion, keyboards, songwriter, arranger, producer), theatre (actor, writer), performance poetry, storytelling, installation art (site-specific, earthworks) video and new media (net.art, pirate radio, audio art).
Since the early 90's she has also worked as an arts programmer, cultural strategist/activist, arts consultant, facilitator/coordinator, administrator, assessor, workshop and sessional instructor and director/producer independently and within the national artist-run network, national independent music industry, various educational institutions, first nations bands, tribal councils and government agencies (provincial & federal) in this land now known as Canada.
Her practice is an investigation of the intersection of cree worldview (nêhiyawin) and the inter/multidisciplinarity of creative expression inherent in other indigenous, world and youth cultures. As part of this investigation, L'Hirondelle develops performative physical endurances, infiltrations and interventions, site-specific installations, interactive net.art projects [www.ndnnrkey.net] and keeps singing, making rhythm, songs, dancing and telling stories whenever and where ever she can.
Cheryl also is part of the group M'Girl, an Aboriginal Women's Ensemble (with Renae Morriseau and Sheila Maracle) who's first album Fusion of Two Worlds garnered a 2006 Canadian Aboriginal Music Award (CAMA) for Best Female Traditional Roots Album of the Year award and a Best Group Award again in 2007. She also still performs occasionally with her Saskatchewan based singing duo Nikamok (with Joseph Naytowhow) and is currently working on a solo project with Toronto based singer/songwriter and producer Gregory Hoskins.
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