Olive theory's Shion Skye Carter wins Iris Garland Emerging Choreographer Award
Through the prize, the genre-blending artist will create a new show inspired by Japanese calligraphy
Photo by Bea Kent
THE DANCE CENTRE has announced multidisciplinary dance artist Shion Skye Carter as the recipient of the Iris Garland Emerging Choreographer Award.
Through the award, the Japan-born Carter will present a new work, Residuals (住み・墨), at Scotiabank Dance Centre in 2022. Residuals (住み・墨) is a solo that uses visual, sonic, and physical influences from the art of Japanese calligraphy. She also receives $5,000 in funding.
Carter is cofounder of olive theory, an interdisciplinary duo with musician Stefan Nazarevich. They explore the intersection of performance, installation art, and live sound; their 2019 work reach-close employed a sculptural, amplified piano-wire installation, with the performers plucking and grating the strings with violin bows, or scraping against them with their shaved heads.
In both her independent work and as olive theory, Shion has performed across Canada and worked as artist-in-residence at What Lab and Left of Main in Vancouver. Her recently produced short films have been screened at festivals in countries from the U.S. to Turkey and Greece. As a local dancer, she has interpreted the works of artists such as Vanessa Goodman (Action at a Distance), plastic orchid factory, and Ziyian Kwan (Dumb Instrument Dance). She holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Dance and Kinesiology from Simon Fraser University.
“Receiving the Iris Garland Emerging Choreographer Award is an honour, and an affirmation of my work at this crucial point in my career,” Carter said in the announcement today. “The platform and resources provided will help me continue in this trajectory as an emerging artist, receive mentorship, and fully develop my new solo dance project. I am grateful for The Dance Centre's support, and the opportunity to perform my solo in one of Vancouver's perennial theatre spaces.”
“I am so happy to have the opportunity to support the work of this exceptional young artist,” Mirna Zagar, executive director of the Dance Centre, said in the same announcement. “Shion blurs the boundaries between disciplines to explore multiple facets of identity and belonging, and she epitomizes the tremendous diversity and talent currently at work in BC.”
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