RTLA 2026: Joël Azevedo

Neighbourhood Dance Works is honored to administer the Roberta Thomas Legacy Award. The Award was established by Roberta (Robbie) Thomas' family in 2012 as a way to continue her infectious human spirit by supporting development and presentation in the field of dance and dance collaboration.

The Roberta Thomas Legacy Award (RTLA) is awarded annually to a dance practitioner or an artist in any discipline collaborating with a dance practitioner. The funds can be used for professional development, aspects of creation, or final production.

2026's RTLA is going to Joël Azevedo

Joël is a contemporary dance artist based in Corner Brook, NL / ktaqmkuk. Their practice spans choreography and performance, dramaturgy and stage management, and more recently administration and producing. They lead with curiosity and love unknotting knots, whether fibrous, logistical or creative. Their practice is firmly rooted in contemporary dance and dance-theatre, but their research and training also includes forms like karaoke, zumba, social dance, and arts leadership - as well as being influenced by clowning and devising. Joël gravitates toward collaborative and community-engaged processes.

This 2026 Roberta Thomas Legacy Award supports the development of a template for “dancing autobiographies”; a creative framework inviting people to explore and communicate their stories, memories, pleasures, fears and hopes through movement. The project grows from Joël’s interest in dance as a form of communication beyond spoken language and their commitment to accessibility, collaboration and community engagement. The award will support initial research and development with collaborators in Corner Brook, NL.

Photo by Tyler Brown