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Edward “Tedd” Alan Buels Robinson, choreographer, dancer, artistic director, mentor (born 26 September 1952 in Ottawa, ON; died 27 August 2022 in Shawville, QC). Tedd Robinson was resident choreographer and artistic director of Winnipeg’s Contemporary Dancers for much of the 1980s. He established the first Festival of Canadian Modern Dance, in Winnipeg in 1985. In 1990, he founded his own company, 10 Gates Dancing, in Ottawa. He won the 1998 Chalmers National Dance Award and the Prix en art de la scène l'Avant-Première at the 2009 Culturiades de l'Outaouais. He was also an associate dance artist with the National Arts Centre.
Education
Tedd Robinson earned a BFA from York University's dance department in 1978 and trained at the School of Toronto Dance Theatre in 1978–79. Notably, he studied with iconic British physical theatre artist Lindsay Kemp.
Career Highlights
Robinson joined Winnipeg’s Contemporary Dancers in the early 1980s and became resident choreographer and artistic director in 1984. As artistic director, Robinson established the first Festival of Canadian Modern Dance, hosted in Winnipeg in 1985. The festival was an important event for seven seasons. Robinson left Winnipeg's Contemporary Dancers in 1990 to become a solo artist and artistic director of his own company, 10 Gates Dancing, centred in Ottawa.
Robinson's award-winning choreography juxtaposed spiritual controlled movement with unexpected moments of humour. Many of his solo works included balancing props on his head. In 1996, Robinson created the critically acclaimed solo Rokudo: six destinies in three steps, which received the 1998 Chalmers National Dance Award. From 1994 until 2000, Robinson was a practising monk of hakukaze soto zen, which influenced his work.
Tedd Robinson was a renowned choreographic mentor who has taught and consulted with emerging artists around the world. In 2008, 10 Gates Dancing opened La B.A.R.N. outside of Ottawa as a site-specific performance venue with a residency program. Robinson’s work at La B.A.R.N. won le Prix en art de la scène l'Avant-Première at the Culturiades de l'Outaouais in 2009. Tedd Robinson was a National Arts Centre associate dance artist.
See also Dance; Modern Dance; Dance and the Media.
