Jacob's Pillow Dance

Edmonton, Alberta, and received her formal dance training at the National Ballet School in Toronto where, as a student, she helped originate the ongoing Stephen Godfrey Choreographic Showcase. She also studied at The Royal Winnipeg Ballet, Alberta Ballet School and John Cranko Schule in Stuttgart, Germany. She has performed internationally with many celebrated dance companies/projects including Mikhail Baryshnikov's Hell's Kitchen Dance, The National Ballet of Canada, Les Ballets Jazz de Montréal and Aszure Barton Artists, of which she is founder and artistic director. Aszure Barton Artists is an organization dedicated to the growth of artists and production of contemporary dance performance. Since its founding in 2002, Aszure's Artists has developed its activities as an international multidisciplinary dance project with its current home base in New York City. Barton has earned the distinguished reputation of producing striking choreography for stage and film, and, together with her intimate ensemble, she continues to develop critically-acclaimed productions around the globe. These works have toured Europe, Latin America, Australia, Asia, Africa, Canada and the U.S. Beyond her company, Barton has been commissioned to create new works for Mikhail Baryshnikov, Fang-Yi Sheu, The National Ballet of Canada, Sydney Dance Company, Les Ballets Jazz de Montréal, The Juilliard School, Martha Graham Dance Company, American Ballet Theatre II, Hubbard Street Dance Chicago, among many others. Barton choreographed the Broadway production of The Threepenny Opera starring Alan Cumming, Jim Dale, Nellie Mackay, Ana Gasteyer and Cyndi Lauper (in a new translation by Wallace Shawn, directed by Scott Elliott). She has received awards and grants across North America and overseas and has also choreographed several international film projects. She was recently designated a Paul D. Fleck Fellow at The Banff Centre, has been the resident choreographer for Les Ballets Jazz de Montréal 2005-2008 and was artist-in-residence at the Baryshnikov Arts Center in New York City in 2005, 2006 and again in 2008. The company performed at Jacob's Pillow from the 2003 through the 2006 seasons. This will be Barton's first season on faculty with The School at Jacob's Pillow.