Sasha Ivanochko
Leaping into this world feet first from her mother's belly, Sasha Ivanochko hit the ground running and spent her early life covered in chalk and sweat competing for the Canadian National Gymnastics team. Her dance training began at the Etobicoke School of the Arts, and she continued her contemporary dance studies at The School of Toronto Dance Theatre. Since then, she has graced the stage with Coleman Lemieux & Compagnie, The Judith Marcuse Dance Company, Toronto Dance Theatre, and many independents including Peggy Baker, Susie Burpee/Linnea Swan, Peter Chin, Denise Fujiwara, and Tedd Robinson.
Ivanochko made her choreographic debut in 1997. Presenters of her choreography include the Canada Dance Festival, DanceWorks, Dancing on the Edge, Dusk Dances, Spring Rites, and Tangente. She has fulfilled commissions for TILT sound+motion, Toronto Dance Theatre, and Winnipeg's Contemporary Dancers, as well as for independent dance artists Helen Husak (Calgary) and Naoko Murakoshi (Kobe, Japan). Recognized as “a mover and shaker” (The Globe and Mail, 2001), Ivanochko founded her company blackandblue dance projects in January, 2005. The company tours regularly across Canada, and has performed in the Dominican Republic and Japan.
A highly sought-after teacher, Ivanochko has worked at all the major universities, dance schools, and festivals across Canada, and teaches regularly at The School of Toronto Dance Theatre and at LADMMI l'école de danse contemporaine in Montreal. Her highly physical and challenging classes have propelled and inspired many students towards high levels of artistic achievement. Recently awarded her second Chalmers Family Fellowship, Ivanochko has developed a training system that supports the learning of her idiosyncratic choreography and enables participants to access a range of tools needed for a career in contemporary dance.
Ivanochko is a five-time Dora Mavor Moore Award nominee, and the recipient of the 2007 K.M. Hunter Artist Award. She has been profiled in the Bravo Documentary Freedom Series.
www.blackandbluedanceprojects.ca