Anya Saugstad and Artists
Anya Saugstad
Anya Allegra Saugstad is a dancer and choreographer based in Vancouver BC, on the unceded territory of the Sḵwx̱ wú7mesh', Stó:lō and Səlílwətaʔ/ Selilwitulh, and xwməθkwəyə̓ m First Nations.
Anya trained at ArtsUmbrella, and has a BFA in Dance from Simon Fraser University. ‘Anya and Artists’ creates live collaborative performance works in theaters and outdoors. Anya builds physical ensemble choreography to express stories that encompass strength, celebration, and yearning. Her work is often inspired by nature and the ocean. In 2023 Anya and her collaborators created their first outdoor work ‘Ocean Roaring’ which was created and presented at the shores of bodies of water. 'Ocean Roaring' toured for four weeks to Kelowna, Bowen Island, Galiano, Vancouver Island, and in Vancouver. The work was seen by over 1000 people with 11 performances, and hired eight collaborators for over two full time months in 2022 and 2023. Now the company is embarking on a new outdoor work in the forest titled 'Moss Body Breathes'.
Anya has created works for Springboard Danse, Ballet Edmonton, ArtsUmbrella, LamonDance, Simon Fraser University, Method Dance Company, and Coastal City Ballet. Anya’s work has been presented through The Scotiabank Dance Centre (Dance in Vancouver), Dance Deck (Belle Spirale), Dance West Network, Crimson Coast Dance, The Rotary Center for the Arts, and has had her work presented throughout BC, in Montreal, Edmonton, and Toronto. Anya Saugstad is the recipient of the Iris Garland Emerging Choreographer Award for 2023/24.
Moss Body Breathes
'Moss Body Breathes' is a new outdoor live ensemble dance and violin performance inspired by and in research with the flora and fauna of British Columbia. Anya Saugstad (choreographer and director) and her collaborators are interested in embodying plants and animals of the area and pulling inspiration from movement that stems from the celebration of being alive and the grief we hold in a world that's burning. The work is tech free using no electricity, studio space, or single use materials, and creating with dance, live violin, and forested outdoor sites.
Email: anyaallegra@gmail.com
Website: https://www.anyasaugstad.com/
Instagram: Anya Allegra Saugstad
Facebook: Anya Allegra Saugstad
Located: Anya and Artists is based out of Vancouver BC, on the unceded territory of the Sḵwx̱ wú7mesh', Stó:lō and Səlílwətaʔ/ Selilwitulh, and xwməθkwəyə̓ m First Nations.
Photo: Sheng Ho and Shanna Venor
Project created by: Anya Saugstad in collaboration with the dancers
Key Collaborators:
Performed and embodied by Brianne Chan, Eowynn Enquist, Nasiv Sall, Sarah Hutton, Shana Wolfe, and Shion Skye Carter.
Violinist and performer Cindy Kao.
General Technical Requirements:
'Moss Body Breathes' is easily adaptable but is ideally performed at and adapted to outdoor areas that are forested with dense foliage. The space is ideally somewhere that has a small clearing within a canopy of trees.
We require no technical equipment and prefer to keep this work without the use of generators, lights, or speakers. We like to partner with presenters who are interested in hosting us for at least one day prior to the show so we can adapt the work to the space, offer a workshop to communities, get to know people in the area, and ideally meet with someone who knows the area and the natural habitat well/someone who knows the history of the land from an indigenous perspective whom we can learn from.
Length of Performance: We are currently mid process for this work and by the end of July the piece will be 30 minutes. We hope to extend the work so that it can either be offered as a 30 minute or 1 hour performance.
Audience Type: General Audience
How many days/hours of on-site rehearsal do you require pre-performance?: We require at least one day prior to the show to adapt the work to the site.
Space required: 'Moss Body Breathes' is created to be easily adaptable, but is ideally performed at and adapted to outdoor areas that are forested with dense foliage. The space is ideally somewhwere that has a small clearing within a canopy of trees.
Number of Performers on Tour (including choreographer): 7
Number of Support Staff on Tour: (# and role) 1 (producer and coordinator)
How do you define this work?: Outdoor contemporary dance and live violin.
Does your work include outreach / community engagement?: 'Moss Body Breathes' is rehearsed and performed outside giving people an opportunity to witness not only performance but also creation. We welcome passersby's to ask questions, engage in conversation about the work, or sit and watch.
Workshops:
Through workshops, Anya is interested in making connections with other artists, and collaborating and sharing her knowledge in site-specific performance.
In this workshop Anya will guide those interested in artistic practice through a warm-up, improvisational scores, share her collaboration techniques, and lead an open jam. Adults or teens interested in or involved in an artistic practice are invited to join including those who are in dance, theater, music, and other art forms. The workshops will be accompanied by violinist Cindy Kao. This workshop will be an opportunity to make connections with Vancouver based artists, learn tools for collaboration, and experiment with improvisation.
Partnerships:
'Moss Body Breathes' engages an artist local to the community to create a work out of natural elements in the area - we imagine that this would ideally be some type of garment that a dancer could wear for a moment in the piece, blend into the natural ecosystem and made with natural materials. For our creation of this work on Bowen Island we are partnering with an artist who will be attempting to create a coat made of moss, or a veil created from ferns. We are interested in partnering with artists interested in this challenge and who would like to work with us. As this is a brand new work we are still figuring out some elements of collaborations with community members but we are hopeful and excited that this could be something that would work. This would be a paid collaboration.
Performance history of this project:
'Moss Body Breathes' is a brand new work that will be created in July 2025 on Salt Spring Island with ArtSpring, Bowen Island, and Vancouver. There will be a work in progress showing of the beginning stages of the work on Salt Spring in July 2025. We are interested in undergoing a second phase of this project which would be to complete the work (either within a residency or in Vancouver) and tour it to multiple locations.
Project Availability: 2025/26, 2026/27, & 2027/28