Andrew de Lotbinière Harwood is renowned as a leading light in the field of dance improvisation. He is an internationally recognised pioneer of Contact Improvisation (CI) and a master teacher/performer in both real-time composition and CI. For over forty-five years he has dedicated himself to the research, development, education, collaboration and dissemination of these rigorous artistic practices as sophisticated movement disciplines and performing art forms.
He began his dance career quite unexpectedly at the age of 23 in 1975 and knew very early on that he had found his niche in life, which was to immerse himself in the practice of dance improvisation. He first studied and then performed with (among many others) Steve Paxton, Nancy Stark Smith, Nita Little, Kurt Siddal and Daniel Lepkoff, the original developers of Contact Improvisation. He subsequently danced for the companies of Marie Chouinard, Jean-Pierre Perreault, Jo Lechay, Joint Forces and Fulcrum, as well as the improvisational dance collectives Discovery Bal, The Echo Case and The Improvisational Movement Fund.
Formerly founder and artistic director of AH HA Productions (2000–2014) his work has evolved through ongoing artistic associations with many renowned artists (Lisa Nelson, Benoît Lachambre, Kirstie Simson, Julyen Hamilton, Alito Alessi, Karen Nelson, Chris Aiken, Ray Chung, Peter Bingham, Marc Boivin, Lin Snelling and Benno Voorham, to name a few. His journey has continued to evolve through the development of various investigations of perceptual awareness, spatial design/installation, and an abundance of collaborative performances around the globe.
On the home front in Montreal, Andrew has been a guest teacher with the world-renowned companies of Marie Chouinard, O’ Vertigo Danse, Le Cirque du Soleil, Les Sept Doigts de la Main and Dance Makers. He has also shared his enthusiasm and knowledge with over a thousand young students just beginning their own professional careers at l’École de Danse Contemporaine de Montréal, Concordia University, l’Université du Québec à Montréal and The National Theater School of Canada. Still passionate about teaching, he transforms his training in gymnastics, athletics, contemporary dance, Yoga, the Alexander Technique, Aikido, Release Technique, and various somatic practices into a personal language, which he has shared throughout the world since 1977. He was awarded the Canada Council of the Arts Jacqueline Lemieux Award in 2000. This marks his 25th year as a teacher at the ImpulsTanz Festival.
10.04.2022
