Thea Patterson

Thea is the mentor for you, if you are interested in: dance, performance, dance dramaturgy, choreography, improvisation as performance/live composition, scores, objects in performance, and research creation. Thea is also able to offer assistance or feedback in translating your ideas through writing- artist statements, grants etc.

Thea Patterson, is a choreographer, performer, dramaturge, and researcher currently based in Tiohti:áke/Montreal. Her practice revolves around an acute set of questions around the nature of objecthood, perception, vitality, and time. She is currently a PhD candidate in Performance Studies at the University of Alberta and from 2019-2021 was co-editor-in-chief of Intonations, an online Graduate run journal.

Thea has worked on many projects as a choreographer, performer, and dramaturge with a group of peers that have included: Andrew Turner, Nathan Yaffe, Susanna Hood, Peter Trosztmer, Sara Anjo, Compagnie Montréal Danse, Audrée Juteau, Katie Ward, Isobel Mohn, David Pressault, Bill Coleman, Erin Flynn, Wants and Needs Dance, Marie Béland, Sasha Kleinplatz, Sarah Williams, and Benoit Lachambre, From 2007-2011 she was a member of the artist group The Choreographers whose first work ‘Man and Mouse’ (08) was presented at the Festival of New Dance in St John’s NL, The Bus Stop Theatre in Halifax NS, at the Joyce Soho in New York, in Lennoxville Quebec, and at selected Maison de la Culture in Montreal. While ‘The Choreographers’ were in residence at Dance4 in Nottingham UK they collectively created ‘OH! Canada’(2011), which premiered in Montreal at the Festival Éscales Improbables. Over a period of ten years (2004-20014) Thea collaborated with Peter Trosztmer, as the co-artistic director and dramaturge on seven critically acclaimed works. Prior to this trend towards collaborative practices and dramaturgical work, Thea created ‘Rhyming Couplets’ (08) which was presented at Tangente in Montreal and the Guelph Contemporary Dance Festival, as well as ‘A Soft Place to Fall’ (06)' which was made into a BravoFACT film directed by Philip Szporer and Marlene Millar. She was also co-choreographer and touring director for the multi-media performance ‘Norman'(08) produced by Lemieux.Pilon.4Dart, which premiered at the National Arts Centre in Ottawa and toured extensively to Mexico, Columbia, Asia, Europe and the USA. Her 2013 solo work " the dance that i cannot do" explored a new interest in expanded choreographic ideologies and was presented at Maison de la culture Plateau Mont Royal, at Movement Research/The Judson Church, in New York, at the Munich Dance Festival, at The F OFF(a microfest) and The Third Floor Series, Montreal as well as in Halifax and Parrsboro, Nova Scotia. From 2011- 2015 Thea, along with Jeremy Gordaneer and Peter Trosztmer, were Artists in Residence at Techno- Lyth in Griffintown Montreal where they co-created the site-specific installation works “5 out of 6 Machines”(2012) and “#Boxtape “(2014), which toured to Regina, Winnipeg, Calgary, as well as to Potsdam and Munich, Germany. In 2014 and 2015 they also co-produced and co-curated the F Off (microfest) during the Festival Transamerique. In 2016, Thea completed her Masters at DAS Choreography (Amsterdam) where she created her solo entitled “between this is and the could be”. She continues to work collaboratively on several projects in Montreal, Portugal, Newfoundland. One of these, “Intensive Maps: Oracle Variations” created with Sara Anjo and Jeremy Gordaneer, was presented in Lisbon during the Try Better Fail Better festival 2017. In May 2020, her work, Silvering was re-conceived due to Covid-19 and presented as a live Zoom performance at Mile Zero Dance in Edmonton. In 2022 and 2023 she took on the role of Festival Animateur at The Festival of New Dance in St John's NL, facilitating conversations on performance. Her latest work Un-nevering will be presented in May 2025 at the Festival Transamerique in Montreal. She has been an Art Volt mentor for three years.