MAINSTAGE 2026-27
Spring Collection
Spring Collection is a collaboration between choreographer Jennifer McLeish-Lewis and fashion designer Marjan Kargar (Navan.ca).
Four female dance artists bring Narvan women’s wear to life!
NARVAN - "elm tree" in Farsi, is about the beauty and glory of nature's femininity and power.
The sound score is by Iranian musicians, both acoustic and electronic, mixed by Andy Price.
photo Negin Hajibabaei
Jennifer McLeish-Lewis
TRAILER
ARTIST BIO
Jennifer McLeish-Lewis
My work straddles traditional training and the ephemerality of improvisation. I am keen to destroy the artificial separations between dance and other forms of art. Cross-pollination and collaboration between diverse artistic practices is crucial in my work. In my choreographic process I create strong characters using the dancers’ multi-disciplinary skills, capturing the audience’s attention in an accessible and captivating way to bring the public into the worlds I create. Socially, my context revolves around my identity as a feminist, aiming to transform the portrayal and perception of power both inside and outside the dance world. I believe that the more personal the work, the more universal its impact. In its exploration of interdisciplinary elements and its fearless confrontation of discomforting subject matter, I try to make work that invites the audience to feel something.
Performance History & Upcoming Performances
Originally from Treaty 7 Territory in Calgary, Alberta, Jennifer McLeish-Lewis is a dance artist who performs, choreographs, and teaches now on Coast Salish Territory in Vancouver, BC. From the time she was eight, Jennifer trained across Canada at The School of Alberta Ballet, The School of Toronto Dance Theatre and at MainDance in Vancouver.
Her experience in Contemporary, Ballet, and Contact Improvisation are all forms she draws on in her creative practice. As a dancer, she has performed across Canada in the United States, and in Europe. As a choreographer, Jennifer has had her creations presented since 2002, nationally across Canada, and internationally at The Seattle International Dance Festival and at Lucky Trimmer, Berlin.
She has taught Contact Improvisation since 2006; up and down the Pacific NorthWest coast- Victoria, Nanaimo, Lasqueti Island, Salt Spring Island, Cortes Island, across Canada- Vancouver, Calgary, Montreal, and internationally in Guadalajara, Mexico.
Project Created by: Jennifer McLeish-Lewis
Key Artistic Collaborators: Dancers:
Gabriela Mattos
Jeya Thiessen
Kaya Tsurumi
Neve Fioravanti
Costumes: Marjan Kargar - Fashion Designer (Narvan.ca)
Sound Design: Andy Price
Performance type: THIS WORK IS ADAPTABLE TO THEATRE OR OUTDOORS OR ALTERNATE VENUES /SPACES
How do you define this work: Contemporary Dance
Fashion Design
Length of performance: 16 minutes
Audience type: General Audience
Number of Performers on tour (including choreographer): 5
Number of Support Staff on Tour: 0
Availabilities: 2027 Spring Season (Mar - June),2027/28 Season,2028/29 Season
Project Details
Community Engagement
General Technical Requirements: For Theatre: Festival Lighting plot - minimal lighting required
For Site-Specific: Ambient Lighting - nothing required
Required amount of time for tech set up: 0-1 hour
Alternative Venues: A wood floor, so the dancers can be barefoot.
Contact Improvisation
Men's League and Mixed Gender Classes
I am a Contact Improvisation teacher. Since 2006 I have been leading classes, workshops and jams in this post-modern partnering dance form. I have taught in Vancouver, across Canada, along the pacific northwest coast and in Mexico. I can offer a 1-3 hour workshop in your community. My workshops are always LGBTQIA+ inclusive. I feel Contact helps create more somatic empathy, more compassion, and deeper bonds within a community. My current niche is teaching male-identifying movers of all ages in a workshop series called, Men's League.
Outreach Activities
2SLGBTQIA+ Community Sharing Circle
Alongside my artistic practice, I am also a Registered Professional Counsellor (RPC). I am looking for opportunities to lead group sharing sessions; not counselling sessions but rather art based transformational community coaching, for those folks who see the show and would like to engage with the creator, performer, and other audience members afterwards. A special invitation to Iranian artists and any fashion designers to attend the show and sharing circle.
Contact information
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mydeeplistening/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@jennifermcleish-lewis2085