Vancouver’s Vanessa Goodman one of three winners of the 2024-25 Chrystal Dance Prize—Projects
The director of Action at a Distance joins Ballet Edmonton and Eric Cheung in receiving the honour and cash award
Action at a Distance’s Vanessa Goodman.
VANCOUVER CHOREOGRAPHER VANESSA Goodman is one of three recipients of the 2024-25 Chrystal Dance Prize—Projects. Awarded by Dance Victoria, the honour supports dance artists, collectives, and companies from Western Canada in developing or researching new works in collaboration with international artists outside of Canada.
Goodman is the director of contemporary-dance company Action at a Distance. She is receiving $18,000 for Future Alternates, a creation developed in collaboration with choreographer Simona Deaconescu of Romania’s Tangaj Collective (who appeared at the Scotiabank Dance Centre during the PuSh International Performing Arts Festival).
The new dance work decentralizes the human experience, exploring how the body might connect with nonhuman entities like machines, ecosystems, and digital worlds. The work draws from Rosi Braidotti's notion of the “posthuman subject”, questioning the anthropocentric worldview while asking what it means to be human in a world where technology and nature intertwine. It raises questions about agency, ethics, and survival.
Also winning the 2024-25 award is Ballet Edmonton, under the artistic direction of former Ballet B.C. dancer Kirsten Wicklund, which will receive $30,000 to support a new work of contemporary dance theatre in collaboration with Belgian multidisciplinary dance and theatre maker Marie Gyselbrecht and French sound designer Raphaelle Latini. Gyselbrecht has worked with some of Europe's most established theatre and opera houses and avant-garde organizations, including renowned theatre and dance company Peeping Tom. The final piece is anticipated to be a 40-minute contemporary ballet to premiere in February 2026, an immersive experience that will combine dance, sound, storytelling, and theatre.
Independent artist Eric Cheung will receive $12,500 to support the creation of IN/YANG, a site-responsive duet in collaboration with dance artist and choreographer Kinui Oiwa and Japanese sound composer Nouses Kou. The work delves into the importance of balance in today's society and lives. The project also examines the history of cultural exchange between China and Japan.
Since 2010, Dance Victoria has awarded more than $544,000 through CDP—Projects. The prize is generated from a bequest made by Dance Victoria patron Dr. Betty “Chrystal” Kleiman, held at the Victoria Foundation. Recent CDP—Projects winners include Alexis Fletcher and Sylvain Senez of Belle Spirale Dance Projects, Justine A. Chambers, and Caroline MacCaull and Sammy Chien of Chimerik 似不像. 
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