NEW WORKS - Key Persons
Upon completing a music conservatory and technical college, Aleksandar Zecevic started his career in sound design in 1986. As a Sound Engineer, Audio Designer, Sound Artist and Electroacoustic Composer, Aleksandar worked on numerous Radiophonic, Film, Theater and multimedia projects. From 1998 until 2018, he was Artistic and Technical Senior Sound Artist and Director for Interactive Audio in Electronic Arts Canada. As of 2019, Aleksandar Is working as an independent Sound designer - Interactive Audio Specialist based in New Westminster, BC.
Amber Barton (she/her) was born and raised in Vancouver and continues to live, work, and play on the unceded and ancestral lands of the xʷməθkwəy̓əm (Musqueam), Skwxwú7mesh (Squamish), and Səl̓ílwətaɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) Nations. She has spent the majority of her life working in the arts as a professional contemporary dance artist, performing, choreographing, producing, and teaching dance for 21 years and received her professional dance training with Goh Ballet Academy, Arts Umbrella, Ballet BC's Mentor Programme, and the Banff Centre for the Arts. Amber is also one of the few Canadians to receive a full danceWEB scholarship to study at the ImPulsTanz festival in Vienna, Austria and the inaugural recipient of the Iris Garland Emerging Choreographer Award awarded via The Dance Centre in Vancouver, BC. Amber was also the artistic and managing director of her own contemporary dance company, the response. from 2008-2021. As a past client of New Works, she looks forward to applying her experience on behalf of supporting the livelihood and well being of dance artists. | Photo by Carla Alcántara.
Job Titles:
- Artist
- Spring Student Intern
Amy Su (She/Her) is an emerging music artist and piano teacher, who is currently completing her Bachelor's of Fine Arts degree in Music and Sound at Simon Fraser University. During her time at SFU, she is currently studying multidisciplinary practices and sound production. She has also studied classical piano at the Royal Conservatory of Music (RCM) for the past 11 years and is passionate in continuing to learn and expand her musicality practices. She looks forward to collaborating with other artists and deepening her connections with the arts community. Contact: amy@newworks.ca
Job Titles:
- Member of the in Practice Team
Charlotte (she/her) is a dance artist, teacher, arts worker, and producer with over ten years of experience engaged in the arts in Vancouver. She is passionate about accessible community building, play and craft as practice, and supporting arts educators. Past roles include Communications Coordinator at DanceHouse, Front of House Coordinator at Vancouver New Music, and ArtsLIVE Producer at SFUW. She was born and raised in Seattle, is humbled to now call the unceded and ancestral lands of the xʷməθkwəy̓əm (Musqueam), Skwxwú7mesh (Squamish), and Səl̓ílwətaɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) Nations home. | | Photo by Carla Alcántara. Contact: charlotte@newworks.ca
Job Titles:
- Artist With a Bachelor
- Intern, Production & Communications
- Production and Communications Intern
Daniela Vega is a Dominican passionate artist with a Bachelor's degree in Performing Arts. With three years of experience in the audiovisual industry, Daniela has made her mark as a versatile and dedicated professional. Her roles in the film industry have encompassed 1st and 2nd Assistant Director positions, acting and dancing, and even food styling. With an unwavering thirst for knowledge, Daniela is constantly learning and exploring new horizons within the arts. Her interests extend to the direction and production of various artistic forms, including theater, dance, music, and film. She is particularly drawn to the world of artistic events and festivals. She started her dancing journey at the age of two and has been in love with the arts ever since. Photo by Jensson Cruz Contact: daniela@newworks.ca
Job Titles:
- Artist
- Registrar & Program Coordinator, Out Innerspace
Dawn Briscoe (She/Her) is an emerging dance artist, who currently works, creates and plays on unceded and ancestral lands of the xʷməθkwəy̓əm (Musqueam), Skwxwú7mesh (Squamish), and Səl̓ílwətaɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) Nations. In 2021 she completed her Bachelor of Fine Arts degree with honors in Dance from Simon Fraser University. During her time at SFU, she had the opportunity to interpret works from Rob Kitsos, Noam Gagnon and Mahaila Patterson O'Brien. Originally from a small town located on the unceded Kwakwaka'wakw territories, she has developed a passion for creating dance opportunities for rural communities. She continues to explore this while currently being based in a city-center, working on other choreographic interests. Dawn has held the position as Vice-President on the Vancouver Island Youth Dance Theatre Association board which supports Dancestreams Youth Dance Company since 2019. Contact: dawn@newworks.ca
Emmalena Fredriksson is a contemporary dance artist living and working in Vancouver, Canada, as a guest on the ancestral unceded lands of the Coast Salish peoples. Her practice is defined by choreography as a relational practice in the expanded fields of dance, often collaborating with artists of other disciplines, creating choreographic experiences and dance for social events, film, galleries and performance. Born in Sweden, she received her training at Balettakademien in Umeå and at SEAD in Austria. Emmalena has presented choreographic work, performed and taught internationally with Daghdha Dance Company (IE), Canaldanse (FR), Malta University (MT), Pact Zollverein (DE), and Falmouth University (UK) among others. Based in Vancouver since 2013 her work has been presented locally at Dancing on the Edge, The Dance Centre, Edam, New Works at Night, Push Off and at the Audain and Access Galleries. Commissioned by the National Film Board she co-created Tidal Traces (2017) together with Nancy Lee. Emmalena holds an MFA degree from SFU and regularly teaches at Modus Operandi, Training Society of Vancouver, Harbour Dance Centre and SFU and UBC in Vancouver.
Francesca has spent a few years here and there taking music and dance classes, and a far longer time being at the service of the art forms and their practitioners and dreaming of living inside a concert hall. Doomed with two left feet and a propensity to shun the limelight, Francesca found her happy place tucked behind the scenes where she attempts to tint administrative labour with imagination and solicitude and to ‘play gracefully with ideas' (O. Wilde). Francesca joined New Works in 2022. She continues to vanquish everyone at the challenge for who's got the best job in town. | Photo by Carla Alcántara. Contact: francesca@newworks.ca
Hadis is a human being, a plant ally, and multidisciplinary artist, living, breathing, and creating in the ancestral land of shíshálh Nation. In her practice she explores alternative uses of technology, and bridges art x tech. She is an AV composer, listener, poet, sound designer, computer scientist, and curator. Hadis' muses are rooted in ecofeminism, spirituality, science, and mythology.
Job Titles:
- Production and Touring Coordinator
Hilary Maxwell (she/her) lives and works on the unceded and ancestral lands of the xʷməθkwəy̓əm (Musqueam), Skwxwú7mesh (Squamish), and Səl̓ílwətaɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) Nations. She holds a BA and MFA in Dance from the University of Calgary and has over 20 years' experience working in the dance milieu. Her passion to support artists and their creative ambitions has led her to past roles including Artistic Associate at Calgary's Dancers' Studio West, Member Services Coordinator with The Dance Centre, and, more recently, Facility Manager at Left of Main. As a dance artist, Hilary has worked with notable artists and companies such as Danse Carpe Diem / Emmanuel Jouthe, Les Productions Figlio, Company 605, W&M Physical Theatre, and German Jauregui. In her position as Production and Touring Coordinator with New Works, Hilary supports the activities and initiatives of Belsher Arts Management and Action at a Distance. Since 2014, Hilary has sat on the board of mixed-ability dance company All Bodies Dance Project. | Photo by Carla Alcántara. Contact: hilary@newworks.ca
Ian Nakamoto is a Japanese-Canadian sculptor, researcher, and art fabricator from Richmond, BC. Trained as a monumental sculptor and animator, his practice focuses on exploring new ways of producing traditional figurative sculpture with emerging technology, with a focus on 3D scanning and 3D printing. He is currently the creative director at Forge Labs, where he works as a consultant and digital sculptor on fine art projects, film props, and archaeological reconstructions.
Job Titles:
- Executive Director
- Manager
Jason Dubois (he/him) is an arts manager with more than two decades experience working in performing arts creation, dissemination and presentation. Career highlights include working as Festival Manager for the National Arts Centre's Canada Scene, a 39-day festival in the summer of 2017 involving more than 1000 artists in performing, visual and media arts. Jason has previously served as Managing Director for the PuSh International Performing Arts Festival, Producing Director for the Canada Dance Festival, Executive Director of Dance Victoria, and with Eponymous as Producer for Kidd Pivot and Company 605, Associate Producer for Wen Wei Dance, Production Manager for Vancouver New Music, and Director of Patron Relations for DanceHouse. He was Associate Producer for the Dance Centre's Dance In Vancouver from 2015-2019 - a biennial showcase for Vancouver dance artists and a networking event for Canadian and international dance presenters. Jason has served as a director on the boards of The Greater Vancouver Alliance for Arts and Culture, The Professional Arts Alliance of Greater Victoria, the Canadian Alliance of Dance Artists BC Chapter (CADA/West), and as president of the Canadian Dance Assembly's National Council. | Photo by Carla Alcántara. Contact: jason@newworks.ca
Job Titles:
- Manager
- Designer, Technical Director, Production
- Production & Stage Manager
Jessica Han (she/her) is a Taiwanese-Canadian lighting designer, technical director, production/ stage manager, and filmmaker who is currently splitting her time between Taipei, Taiwan, and Vancouver, BC. She has been working and collaborating with local dance & theatre artists and companies since 2011. You can find more of her work at https://jessicahan.ca/
Job Titles:
- Member of the in Practice Team
Kayla Briët is a multidisciplinary artist exploring themes of futurity and belonging. With works spanning film scores and documentary to virtual reality installations, she aims to amplify untold stories and write love letters to the diaspora communities she grew up in. Her work has been exhibited by MoMA, PBS, NYT, SXSW, Smithsonian APAC, and NMAI. Kayla was named a 2018 MacArthur Foundation x Sundance Indigenous Program x New Frontier Fellow, 2017 TED Fellow, Found Sound China Music Diplomacy Fellow, and 2022 Asian Cultural Council Fellow in Taiwan. Currently Kayla is exploring collective memory and archival as a Graduate Researcher at MIT Media Lab. // Photo by Abbey Sacks
Laine Butler is an audio visual artist whose multidisciplinary approach creates dense, textured environments that envelop the viewer. With a background in motion and interaction design (VR and AR), visual art, and music creation, Laine's work has been showcased at the Vancouver Mural Festival Winter Arts, Holt Renfrew Winter 2022 Campaign, and Neo Shibuya TV in Tokyo.
Job Titles:
- Member of the in Practice Team
Job Titles:
- Communications Coordinator
- Artist
Marco Esccer (he/him) is a Mexican queer artist, performer, creator and educator, and has a diverse background from the technical to the therapeutic aspect of dance. He received his Bachelor in Ballet by the National Ballet and Contemporary School of Mexico City (2011-2016), followed by certifications in Research, experimentation and artistic production (2015-2016), Dance Movement Therapy (2016), Certified Yoga Instructor (2021), Progressive Ballet Technique Instructor (2022), and Mental Application: mind-body connection (2019-current). Marco's recent work has been performed with the support of Co.Erasga, 12 Minutes Maxat The Dance Centre, and Coastal City Ballet's Incubator and Emerge programs. He is currently working on a choreography about migration as a guest choreographer with Coastal City Ballet. He has also worked with New Works as a Share Dance Instructors since March 2021, and is excited to deepen this relationship and support connections between New Works and the wider dance community. | | Photo by Carla Alcántara. Contact: marco@newworks.ca
Maura Doherty (she/her) is an arts bookkeeper, passionate about financial systems and helping artists dot i's and cross t's so they can focus on the art itself. She has had the privilege of working with artists and arts organizations of varying sizes, disciplines, and mandates over the past ten years in many different capacities, including operations management, facility management and volunteer coordination. She currently provides bookkeeping services for non-profits and charities such as The Western Front, VIVO Media Arts, C-Space, New Works, Foolish Operations, Thé tre La Seizième, The Chop Theatre, and Wild Bird Trust of BC. Contact: admin@newworks.ca
Job Titles:
- Administrator
- Development & Artist Support
Michelle Kneale (she/her) is an arts administrator, and dramaturg with over 15 years experience in professional theatre; She has worked for companies such as Boca del Lupo, Pi Theatre, Alberta Playwrights Network, Pumphouse Theatre, Handsome Alice Theatre, African Friendship Society, and Ne. Sans Opera and Dance. Michelle has experience with producing, governance, operations, administration, communications & outreach, grant writing, planning, leadership transitions, and artist support programming. Contact: michelle@newworks.ca
Job Titles:
- Media Artist and Cultural Producer
- Performance
Nancy Lee 李南屏 is a Taiwanese-Canadian interdisciplinary media artist and cultural producer. In 2017, they directed VR dance film "Tidal Traces" in collaboration with Emmalena Fredriksson under the auspices of the National Film Board of Canada, marking the inception of their foray into XR. The following year, during their artist residency at Western Front with Kiran Bhumber, Nancy co-created "Telepresence," a 8.2-channel live VR performance. Their interdisciplinary works have resonated on the global stage, with presentations at festivals such as Cannes Film Festival, SXSW, MUTEK, Berlin International Film Festival, Vancouver International Film Festival, and Vancouver International Jazz Festival. Beyond their artistic endeavors, they have become a catalyst for change in the industry.
Nancy's commitment to fostering community is evident in their roles as an XR instructor at IM4 Media Lab, an artistic mentor at Festival of Recorded Movement, and as a co-founder of Chapel Sound Art Foundation and CURRENT. These initiatives aim to uplift and amplify the voices of underrepresented artists, showcasing their dedication to creating a more equitable artistic ecosystem. As a Sundance Institute Alumni and an artist-in-residence at the Society of Arts and Technology, Nancy's collaboration with Kiran Bhumber on the speculative sci-fi exhibition "UNION" shifted their focus towards narrative storytelling. Technically, the project explored 3D scanning/printing, XR, and multi-channel A/V dome theatre performance. In their latest endeavors, Nancy has shifted their focus towards performing dance, writing, and a documentary project titled "Woven Memory" alongside Soledad Munoz.
Job Titles:
- Artist
- Artistic Consultant
Pia Yona Massie is a multi-disciplinary artist, born in Brooklyn NY now living in the unceded and traditional territories of the Squamish, Tsleil Waututh and Musqueam Coast Salish peoples. Massie's work has been shown at museums, galleries, and film festivals in Canada, Europe and the United States, including The Museum of Modern Art, NYC and the grunt gallery in Vancouver, BC. The work has won grants and awards, including the BC Arts Council and Canada Council. Pia's four decades of teaching includes universities, elementary schools and community programs. The time gardening, raising bees and as an eco-activist provide the wellspring for their continuing existence.
Simran Sachar is an East Indian/Punjabi contemporary and street dance artist, choreographer, and actor. She is a captivating anomaly in this industry who consistently works in ground-breaking spaces. Simran's latest film with XR technology, premieres in 2024. Her first XR film, BETA बेटा was presented at Luna Arts Festival 2021. In 2020, her first film ‘LUNACY' was a part of the National Arts Centre time capsule and premiered at F.O.R.M Film Festival and won the Official Selection of the Audience Choice Award. She made her acting debut in 2023 as the lead actor and assistant choreographer in Alberta Theatre Projects showing of *Bombay Black* as *Apsara*. Simran is the Winner of 2023's *Release Yourself Whacking Battle* in Montreal at Artfulness Festival.
Job Titles:
- Manager
- Production Manager
- Stage Manager
Siobhan Powell (she/her) is a multidisciplinary theatre manager and visual artist of mixed European and Chinese heritage gratefully living and working on the traditional, ancestral, and unceded territories of the (Musqueam); Skwxwú7mesh (Squamish), and səl̓ílwətaʔɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) Peoples. She received her BFA in Drama with a specialization in Technical Theatre and Production from the U of A in 2012, and continues to enjoy working in theatre production, primarily based out of the great PNW. She currently works full-time at The Cultch, and is thrilled to be connecting with New Works as both a production and stage manager for an exciting anniversary season of fun! Contact: siobhan@newworks.ca
Sophia Mai Wolfe (she/her/hers) is an independent artist whose practice is ever-changing. Her practice moves and connects to live performance, video documentation, curation, festival programming, editing, filmmaking, and directing. She is a grateful guest residing on MST territories. As a performer, she has toured internationally with companies and independent choreographers such as Company 605, Co-Erasga, Chick Snipper, Cindy Mochizuki, Lisa Mariko Gelley, Kelly McInnes, Antonio Somera, Zahra Shahab, Niall McNiel, The Only Animal, New World Theatre. She holds MA in Screendance from the London Contemporary Dance School, and is the founder and Organizational Director of F-O-R-M (Festival Of Recorded Movement).