Andrea Nann

Andrea Nann

Andrea Nann, dancer, choreographer, dance educator, artistic director (b at Vancouver 20 Sep 1966). Andrea Nann's interest in using dance to explore and express human experience stems from her youth, growing up as the youngest child of social workers. She developed her choreographic vision and craft after extensive training with influential Canadian dance artists, most significantly Danny Grossman. During and after completing a special honours BFA in dance at York University in 1988, Nann established her professional career as an independent dancer and choreographer by training and working with a diverse spectrum of dance creators and mentors, among them Peggy Baker, Tedd Robinson, Rachel Browne, Peter Chin, Kate Alton, Patricia Beatty, Terrill Maguire and Michelle Silagy.

Nann joined Danny Grossman Dance Company in 1988, touring extensively across Canada, the US and Cuba until 2003. Her time with the Grossman company gave her insight into theatrical work with a social conscience, as dancers' bodies were used to articulate the individual's relationship to society and to sculpt the theatricality of performance into something relatable to all.

In Toronto Nann incorporated Andrea Nann Dreamwalker Dance Company in 2005 and established it as a charitable organization the following year. In addition to setting work on independent artists and youth companies such as the Canadian Children's Dance Theatre, DancEast, York Dance Ensemble and Ryerson Dances, Nann's choreographies include a series of seminal solos and small group pieces, including Meditations (1999) and Meditation #4: On Becoming (2001).

Andrea Nann has frequently collaborated with poet and songwriter Gord Downie of the band The Tragically Hip for projects such as Reveries (2001), Divination Duets (2009) and Beside Each Other (2010). Nann has choreographed and appeared in film and television projects for Bravo!FACT, including Brian Johnson's Tell Me Everything (2006), Nicole Mion's That Thing Between Us (2006) and Veronica Tennant's Shadow Pleasures (2004), which featured Nann's Meditation #5: On Loss and Desire (2003), and Cato and Alice (2004), a duet with dancer Gerald Michaud.

In addition to offering workshops to people of all ages and encouraging collaborations between artists, Dreamwalker invests itself in culturally and artistically diverse projects. Andrea Nann's interest in bringing artists of various genres and cultural traditions together is inspired by Canadians who, emerging from different backgrounds, experiences and values, have chosen to share, interact and establish a vibrant community in Toronto. Dreamwalker helped to stage multi-arts shows, such as producing The Whole Shebang from 2004 to 2011; the interdisciplinary series featured Canadian artists including Souvankham Thammavongsa, Michael Winter, Sarah Chase and many more. This initial showcase manifested into The Mini Shebang from 2007 to 2008 and developed into a high school tour in 2009. Dreamwalker has since embarked on school tours across Canada.

Andrea Nann, who has been awarded grants by the Canada Council, Ontario Arts Council and Toronto Arts Council, has continued her interest in youth education by holding residencies at the Shadbolt Centre for the Arts, the Canadian Children's Dance Theatre and the Young Centre for the Performing Arts.