MEET OUR STAFF
Julia Carr (she/her) - Artistic Director
director[at]neighbourhooddanceworks.com
Julia Carr [she/her/they/them] is a multifaceted artist born in Vancouver, BC, on the ancestral and unceded territories of the Ê·mÉ™θkÊ·É™yÌ“É™m (Musqueam), sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish), and selÌ“ílÌ“witulh (Tsleil-Waututh) First Nations. With a diverse background spanning dance, interdisciplinary creation, education, arts administration, events coordination, and photography, Carr’s artistic endeavours blend functionality with the fantastic.
Over the past decade, she has collaborated extensively with Aeriosa, V’ni Dansi, and independent choreographers. As the co-founder of Body Narratives Collective and with significant experience in arts management, serving as Artistic Director of Dancestreams and General Manager of EDAM, Carr is dedicated to fostering a vibrant dance community and sharing her boundless enthusiasm for the art form.
Candice Pike (she/her) - Artistic Associate
associate[at]neighbourhooddanceworks.com
Candice Pike is a dance artist, educator, and administrator based in Corner Brook, NL. She uses a gentle approach to create, interpret, and share dance through both a somatic and intellectual lens. With an eclectic background of movement, artistic, and administrative experience she continues to consider ways of developing dance practices in rural areas. One recent project is a full-length dance work, Ruralesque, that sits at the intersection of contemporary dance, queer burlesque, and traditional Newfoundland culture. Candice also practices 'community networking choreography' by designing and facilitating a number of arts engagement and mentorship programs.
Candice has an MA degree in Dance from York University, is an ISMETA Registered Somatic Dance Educator, and has a post-secondary certificate in dance education. As an arts educator, she is committed to empowering people to understand their own incredible potential for movement and creativity. She has facilitated classes and workshops using her unique approach to movement, improvisation, and creativity education for private studios and community organizations and has also developed and taught integrated arts curricula in public schools and post-secondary institutions.
Candice volunteers with a number of different Canadian arts and dance organizations and works as a consultant for not-for-profit organizations.
Calla Lachance (she/her) - Project Manager
calla[at]neighbourhooddanceworks.com
In addition to cherishing my family, friends, and pets, talking to strangers, indulging in excellent chocolate, savoring fresh air, and being the queen of great salads, the world of dance holds a special place in my heart. Since my early days, dance has captivated my imagination and profoundly influenced my worldview, shaping my understanding of community while instilling a deep respect for the power, intricacies, vulnerability, and resilience of the human body.
Over the past two decades, I have dedicated myself to advancing dance in Newfoundland and Labrador. Initially, as an artistic collaborator within the independent dance scene, and subsequently, during my tenure spanning 15 years as Neighbourhood Dance Works’ Artistic Director. Now, as the Executive Director at Kittiwake Dance Theatre, I remain devoted to nurturing the growth of dance within this province.
In my role as Project Manager at NDW, I am dedicating my energy to organizing and implementing Atlantic Canada’s first-ever Atlantic Dance Gathering. A project that centers artists' queries and concerns to foster better understanding of the Atlantic dance ecology.
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Rodrigo Iniguez (he/him) - Communications Manager
marketing[at]neighbourhooddanceworks.com
Rodrigo Iniguez is a videographer and editor based in St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador. Originally from Mexico, Rodrigo has proudly called Newfoundland home since 2014, where he began to do camera work for an array of local productions, from commercial work, to scripted projects and documentaries.
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Rodrigo is passionate about figuring out the best way to tell a given story, developing the visual language and structure that will bring unheard voices to the forefront and allow for their message to be heard across different communities.
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In 2021, Rodrigo joined the team at Neighbourhood Dance Works, looking to assist NDW in its efforts to support and grow our arts community and beyond.
Robyn Breen (she/her) - Festival Coordinator
festival[at]neighbourhooddanceworks.com
Robyn Breen is a dance artist, movement educator and arts producer. She was born and raised in St. John’s, NL, and spent a dozen years living and working in Toronto, Ontario. Robyn has been involved with Neighbourhood Dance Works for many years. First as an intern to the festival director for the Festival of New Dance in both 2011 and 2012, later as an artist in the NL Dance Project from 2017-2019, and more recently in supportive roles for various projects such as the Fire Kedgy’s Howl in 2020. Robyn was a co-artistic director (aka LOVER) with the Toronto Dance Community Love-In from 2014-2021.
Her work with the Love-In connected her to a range of fascinating artists all over the globe that she hopes to someday introduce to the Newfoundland and Labrador dance communities.
Since her time as a student in the York University BFA (Honours) Dance program (grad. 2010), she has been forming collectives and producing dance. First, through NewFoundDance, Robyn produced mainstage performances in both St. John's, NL and Toronto, ON between 2008 and 2012. She later created The Movement Market, a party style performance series set in a Toronto movement studio. As an artist, her choreographic work has been presented at SummerWorks Performance Festival in Toronto, TO Love-In’s PS: We Are All Here 2017, and the Festival of New Dance in St. John’s.
