Mainstage Dance

Melanie Kloetzel (she/her; MFA, PhD) is a settler performance maker, scholar and educator based in Treaty 7 territory (Moh’kinsstis/Calgary). Director of the dance theatre company kloetzel&co. and co-director of the art intervention collective TRAction (which produces the Climate Art Web), Kloetzel has developed events, workshops and encounters in theatre spaces, alternative venues, spaces of public assembly, and online environments across four continents. Her award-winning films have garnered such accolades as Best of Fest (Sans Souci Festival of Dance Cinema, USA), Best Documentary (Mabig Film Festival, Germany; DC After Dark, USA), Best Female Short (Freedom Festival International, USA) and Best Experimental Film (GO Independent International Film Festival, USA). Her publications can be found in Dance Research Journal, Contemporary Theatre Review, Choreographic Practices, New Theatre Quarterly, Performance Matters, and Performance Research, among others, and her books –  the co-edited anthology Site Dance: Choreographers and the Lure of Alternative Spaces (2009), the co-authored (Re)Positioning Site Dance: Local Acts, Global Perspectives (2019), and the co-authored Covert: A Handbook (2021) – are currently available from University Press of Florida, Intellect, and Triarchy Press, respectively.

Canadian dancer/choreographer Heather Ware was a core dancer of LeineRoebana in Amsterdam (Netherlands) from 2003-2018. In 2010 Heather was awarded de Zwaan(the Swan) for most impressive dance performance of the year, and from 2015-2017 was the recipient of a Nieuwe-Makers Regeling from the Dutch Performing Arts Fund.

Heather is fascinated by the possibilities of the dancing body, and how complex coordinations affect how we experience emotion. As a choreographer Heather is known for her in-depth collaborations with musical partners, notably cellist Jakob Koranyi, violist Oene van Geel, and composer Rebecca Bruton. Her work has been presented throughout Europe and has been supported by Banff Centre (Canada), Kulturhuset i Ytterjärna (Sweden) and Podium Bloos (Netherlands). For 2019-2021 seasons Heather was one of the Artists in Residence with Dancers’ Studio West. Since 2019 Heather has been affiliated with the University of Calgary, where she teaches contemporary technique and Interdisciplinary studies. 

Tara Wilson is a dancer, educator and choreographer based in Calgary. With a background in Contemporary dance and over 20 years of experience in Hip Hop and Streetdance, she has developed an artistic style that blends the athleticism, rhythm and vocabulary of Hip Hop dance with the process and approaches of Contemporary dance.

Her passion for dance began in university, and she went on to pursue a degree in dance from the University of Calgary. While studying at the university, she was introduced to Hip Hop and Streetdance at the Bates Dance Festival, and became instantly hooked. She began to train intensively in these styles and has since traveled around the world to train with masters and hone her skills.

She has learned from the pioneers of Hip Hop and Streetdance and has extensive knowledge of the dances as well as the history and culture. 

Today, she teaches Hip Hop dance and history at the University of Calgary and at her own dance studio: PULSE Studios- which specializes in Hip Hop and Streetdance. She is deeply committed to sharing her love of dance with others, and strives to create an inclusive and supportive environment for her students to explore their creativity and develop their skills.

As a choreographer, she is interested in exploring the intersection of different dance styles and pushing the boundaries of what is possible through this exploration. She has collaborated with dancers and artists from a wide range of backgrounds and disciplines, and is always looking for new ways to challenge herself and the audience.

In all of her creative endeavors, her goal is to create work that is both visually stunning and emotionally resonant.