Share on Facebook
Share on X
Share by Email
Share on Google Classroom
Webb, Henry Brian
Henry Brian Webb, dancer, choreographer, educator (b at Unity, Sask 25 May 1951). One of Edmonton's most prominent contemporary artists, acknowledged for his innovative, interdisciplinary work in dance, performance and visual art, Webb is also an influential educator, and Alberta's leading contemporary dance presenter.
Webb studied dance at the University of Alberta, and received his undergraduate degree in drama in 1973. He moved to New York, where he trained and danced with Erick Hawkins (1973-74), whom he cites as a major influence, and the Carol Conway Dance Company (1973-77), where he developed as a choreographer, presenting several original works.
In 1979 Webb returned to Edmonton where he founded the Brian Webb Dance Company, presenting both his own choreography and that of guest artists. He has developed a healthy audience base for innovative performance in Edmonton. Since 1986, Webb has focused on self-portrait expressed through interdisciplinary performance, working collaboratively with writers, composers and visual artists, notably sculptor Blair Brennan. Some of his notable works include Crowns, Thorns and Pillows (1991); (I wanted to know) The Exact Dimensions of Heaven (1992), a site-specific work to which audience members were transported by bus; and Magic/Magick/Miracles (1993), in collaboration with Brennan.
Webb is an influential dance educator. He became chair of the Grant MacEwan Community College Dance Program in 1993 and is widely acknowledged for developing its dance curriculum to national levels. GMCC graduates are well represented in modern companies across Canada.
In 1986, Webb was awarded the Ahmanson Foundation Scholarship to complete his Masters of Fine Arts, Choreography, at the California Institute of the Arts, and is currently undertaking graduate studies at the University of Alberta. He is a member of the CanDance presenters network, has served on both the Advisory and Assessment Review Committees of the Canada Council, and is past president of the Edmonton Professional Arts Council (1994 -96). In 1996, Webb was awarded the Syncrude Award for Artistic Direction.
