Aryo Khakpour: I am a multidisciplinary performer, director and dramaturg. I hold a BFA in Theatre Performance from Simon Fraser University. Born and raised in Iran, I have been involved in multiple theatre, dance, and film productions in Vancouver since 2006. I cofounded The Biting School in 2013, which was the company-in-residence at PuSh Festival and The Dance Centre 2018-2020.

In my practice, I explore the dynamics of power, implications of ideologies, repetition of mythologies, and cultural adaptation. I am an intersectional feminist; and I interrogate the patriarchy and its harmful effects on people. My practice is heavily physical and surrealistic; it moves from theatre to performance art to dance to film and back to theatre; it deals with pain and pleasure; it is sex-positive; and it aims to queer the status quo. I was trained in devised practices of non-hierarchical collective creations; that is my favourite way of creating.

During the past year, I co-produced and directed two art films: a film about a uterusand Suddenly Slaughter, which are both supported by Canada Council for the Arts. 

Upcoming performances are TechniCowlour(a conversation with the 1969 film, The Cow) and Zahak, the Serpent King (a critical dialogue with the myth of Zahak).