Victoria Bell
Lighting Designer
Victoria (V) is a Vancouver based scenographer (lighting, sound, set, and projection designer), technical director and Studio 58 graduate. Victoria is an ADC and IATSE 118 member, and a strong proponent for union membership and their justified authority. She is also a Stir recognized "Game Changer" in this year's fall arts guide.
She was born in Cheam, England, and immigrated to Vancouver, Canada, with her family as a child. She grew up in the East Van arts scene and was a member of quite a few artistic collective in her teens. Being an Anarchist and a trans woman she has deep ties to the politics inherent to creating art, especially live performance. Much of the work she features in focuses on contentious issues present today or that the ramifications of which are still felt, be that personal or global. Coming into her own as an artist and an adult in the Vancouver East side she has a specific focus on the issues that affect that area; poverty, BIPOC and LGBTQ2IA+ rights, Land back, gentrification and rise of authoritarianism in retaliation to these movements for equity.
She sees her work as focusing on the depth in shadow and its necessity to show detail in the light. Working between vibrant colours and muted tones, while using Physical structure to fully infuse her designs into the world of the piece. Using physical structures on stage with the performance creates a more literal connection to the lights, she very specifically doesn't want to just work in the grid "above" the performance, she is entangled with the performance as a whole, not just its outward final presentation. She wishes her designs to be objects wielded by and into the metaphor of the text.
Fernando Hernando Magadan
Choreographer
Fernando Hernando Magadan is a Spanish dancer and choreographer who originally trained as a professional gymnast, becoming a National Champion. He studied at the Royal Conservatory of Dance in Madrid and the London Studio Centre before enrolling at the Central School of Ballet. After dancing for one year in Santamaria Compañia de Danza, he joined the Nederlands Dans Theater ll in 2001, and was later nominated for ‘Outstanding Male Artist’ in the Modern Dance category at the Critic’s Circle National Dance Awards 2003.
Fernando was invited to join the Nederlands Dans Theater l in 2004, where he worked with and performed works by renowned choreographers such as Jiri Kylian, Paul Lightfoot, Sol Leon, William Forsythe, Ohad Naharin, Johan Inger and Crystal Pite, among others.
As a choreographer, Fernando has created several works, including pieces for NDT 1 and 2, the Curve Foundation Dance Company (Scotland), Luna Negra Dance Theater (Chicago), Cross Connection Ballet Company (Copenhagen), Ballet Mainz (Germany), Donlon Dance Company (Saarbruecken), Arts Umbrella Dance Company and Ballet BC (Vancouver), Korzo Theater (The Hague). He choreographed Nierka, a multidisciplinary show by visual designer Tupac Martir, which premiered in London in 2012. He has also been invited to present his choreography The Time is a House for the Russian Cultural TV.
Fernando collaborates with the NDT Education Department, and has coordinated the NDT choreographic workshop Switch for several years. He has been invited to teach at the Dance Art Faculty of Rome, Architanz International Centre for Dance in Tokyo, The University of North Carolina, The Incolballet Ballet Institute of Colombia, the Hollins University in New York and the High School for Performing and Visual Arts in Houston. He performed his solo piece Rouse with the Etoiles from the Hamburg Ballet, and has presented it at the Dance Salad Festival 2013 in Houston. His piece Royal Road was performed together with Grammy Award Winners ‘Turtle Island Quartet‘ by the Luna Negra Dance Theater in Chicago. He's been invited to perform at the Benois de la Danse Gala Performance 2013 at the Bolshoi.
Jill Henis
Rehearsal Direction/Dramaturgy
Jill Henis, originally from Vancouver, Canada (Musquem, Squamish and Tsleil-Waututh Nations} is an international teacher, dramaturge, dance artist and mentor. Her professional career, spanning over 30years, has included; classical ballet companies, contemporary companies, multi-disciplinary collaborations, collectives and independent contracts for stage and theatre. Selections: Ballet Nacional De Cuba, Havana: Evergreen City Ballet, Washington: Chrissie Parrot Dance Co., Perth and multi-year touring contract throughout South East Asia with choreographer Robert Gulliam. In 2009 Jill founded a not-for-profit dance company, mixOLOGYdancemine, and professional training initiative, The Practice. Her choreography was presented throughout Western Canada within festivals and presentation houses. Jill was awarded lead choreographer and Assistant Director for the 2010 Winter Olympic Torch Ceremony held in Saskatoon, Canada. With reverence, she closed the doors to her company in 2018.
Until 2022 Jill was a senior ballet faculty member for Vancouver's HarbourDance Centre and guest instructor for companies such as; Ballet British Columbia, Contemporary Dance Wyoming, Decidedly Jazz DanceWorks and at the renowned Henny Jurriëns Studio in Amsterdam. Currently, Jill teaches at the Conservatory of Performing Arts at Point Park University (Pittsburgh, USA) as Adiunct Professor.
Jill is deeply honoured to continue as dramaturge and rehearsal director for Vancouver's Alexis Fletcher including her team and co-artistic director of Belle Spirale Dance Projects, Sylvain Senez. "Over the last 3 years our collaborations have brought much nourishment; It is humbling to be in the midst of such beautiful creations and in the company of such profoundly skilled Artists.
Neil Griffith
Stage Manager
Starting his career in his hometown of Montreal, Neil collected field recordings to live-manipulate on radio shows before finding himself in a conceptual noise band that got kicked off more than one stage. His compositions from that era have aired on many radio stations and have been featured at festivals around the world.
Now that Vancouver is home, Neil spends his professional time engineering everything that is backstage in the live performance and event worlds. He has been audio mixing, lighting, managing crews and providing other technical expertise for countless festivals and performances throughout the city. As often as possible Neil aligns himself with groups that recognize important and overshadowed stories, using his skills to bring breath to creative, meaningful truths. This focus comes from years spent working in community radio where Neil learned the mantra that guides his career to this day: Give voice to the voiceless.
Elisabeth Kyle
Development Strategist | Editor
For me, it has always been about words and language. I am fascinated by and curious about the power of words to make things happen—to shape our realities and to connect us to each other and to shared experiences. My career is decades-long in not-for-profit leadership and administration. A lifelong Vancouverite, I left a longstanding and successful career in the health sector to follow a calling to advance arts and culture in the city I call home. My career highlights include using words to secure major public and private funding awards and gifts, writing enticing and compelling content to incite excitement and spark curiosity, and managing strategic partnerships for Lower
Mainland-based arts and culture organizations such as the Bill Reid Gallery of Northwest Coast Art, Ballet BC and Lamondance. It has been my privilege to work with remarkable creators including Emily Molnar, Medhi Walerski, Tiko Kerr, Alexis Fletcher, Davi Rodrigues, and Dance//Novella, among others. This work fuels my deep interest in contemporary art forms, the vital role of the arts in thriving communities, and my passion for turning words into action. I hold a Bachelor of General Studies (2009) and a Master of Arts in Liberal Studies (2015) from Simon Fraser University.