PERFORMANCE RESEARCH PROJECT

10 WEEK INTENSIVE RESIDENCY
September 8th-November 14th 2025

2025 Choreographers

2025 Cohort

Kaitlin Cheung, Grace Frazer-Sneddon,  Emma Galvin, Denae Harpham, Abby Hunter, Kevin Li, Jullianna Oke, Punit Sin, Yuha Tomita
Performance Research Project (PRP) is a creative residency for early to mid-career dance professionals led by Lesley Telford. PRP offers a small cohort daily training and research processes with personalized mentorship attuned to the goals and perspectives of each individual. The focus is on creative personal growth, networking, career development, and building new collaborative relationships with local choreographers. PRP provides a space for dance artists to connect, learn, question, experiment, collaborate, perform, and grow with the goal of developing a sustainable artistic career.

The Fall Session 2025 includes:
 • 10 weeks, 5 hours/day 
 • Personalized mentorship throughout, including 2 private mentorship meetings
 • Choreographic research with Shion Skye Carter, Josh Martin and Lesley Telford 
•  Professional photo shoot and video recordings

SCHEDULE
September 8th-November 14th, 2025
Monday-Friday
10am-3pm

CLASS 10-11:30 am daily
M/W/F in partnership with TSV
T/Th led by Lesley Telford/ Inverso Productions
 
CREATION 12-3 pm daily

PAST SEASONS PRP
  • Collaborations with Ballet BC, Chor Leoni , Bard on the Beach, Pi Theatre, Inverso Productions, Mascall Dance, Vancouver Film School
  • Creation processes with Serge Bennathan, Noam Gagnon, Tara Cheyenne Friedenberg, Idan Cohen, Heather Myers, Vanessa Goodman, David Raymond, Livona Ellis, Brandon Alley, Rachel Prince and Lesley Telford
  • Workshops and classes led by Crystal Pite, Renee Segouin and Eric Beauchesne / Kidd Pivot, Yvan Dubrueil / Nederlands Dans Theater, Clyde Archer/LEV Sharon Eyal, Khoudia Toure, Christophe Dozzi (NL), Yannick Bouquin (France), Sarah Reynolds (NL), Ayman Harper/ Forsythe repertoire, Marla Waal/ ELDOA, , Béatrice Larrivée/Gaga
  • Improvisation events and improvisation research
  • Choreographic workshops with participating dancers
  • Repertoire by Crystal Pite, Jiri Kylian, William Forsythe, Johan Inger, Medhi Walerski, Sharon Eyal, Lesley Telford
  • Dancers have worked with actors, writers, musicians, opera singers and movement sensor technology​

Testimonials

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Performance Research Project is filling a gap within the dance world. It offers time and space for young professionals between contracts and dancers transitioning out of training institutions to create and research, by providing a sense of continuity with daily training and rehearsal.

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Steph Cyr
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Independent Artist

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PRP provided me with a professional, intimate and experimental setting to dance during a transitional period and has been monumental for my growth as an artist. Under Lesley's mentorship I feel I’ve become a more open-minded, versatile and confident dancer and as a result I have become more hireable in the current dance world. I will carry the skills I have acquired during this time into the subsequent phases of my career.

Kenzie Brousson  

PRP 2018-19
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Stadttheater Flensburg,Germany ​

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Building a network is an invaluable skill as a freelance artist and through the program I have forged relationships with emerging and established artists in the Vancouver dance community and internationally, laying the groundwork for future collaborations. The personal mentorship and guidance has proved invaluable in helping me navigate a pivotal moment in my career and has fuelled momentum for me to continue down this new path as an independent artist.

Kiera Hill 
PRP 2020-21  Independent artist, formerly with Ballet BC and Les Ballets Jazz de Montréal ​

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Alumni

Alumni have gone on to work with local and international companies and have created their own choreographic projects with careers as independent artists.
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In Canada
Les Ballets Jazz de Montreal
Ballet Edmonton
605 Collective
Inverso Productions/ Lesley Telford
Action at a Distance/ Vanessa Goodman
Vision Impure/ Noam Gagnon
Les Productions Figlio/ Serge Bennathan
Wen Wei Dance
TWObigsteps collective
​Falling Company
Rachel Meyers
Mascall Dance/ Jennifer Mascall
The Darlings

​CAMP
​Project20 / Donald Sales
The Response/ Amber Funk Barton
Internationally
Luzerne Tanz Theater, Switzerland 
Mainfranken Theatre, Germany
Theatre Pforzheim, Germany​
Theatre Augsburg, Germany
Theater Nordhausen, Germany 
Staattheater Flensburg, Germany 
Staattheater Hannover, Germany 
Compañia Contemporanea de San Martin, Argentina

PAst choreographers

Picture
photo by Max Shapovalov

Lesley Telford
Picture
photo by Sheng Ho

Arash Khakpour 
​(آرش خاکپور)
Picture
photo by Micah Henry

Anya Saugstad
Plus: Serge Benethan, Vanessa Goodman, Noam Gagnon, Dance Novella, Livona Ellis, Tara Cheyenne Friedenberg, Idan Cohen, Heather Myers

Alumni

​PERFORMANCE RESEARCH PROJECT ​

2024 COHORT:  Ysadora Dias, Sophie Dow, Bęc Gombar, Samantha Krystal, Maia Morrison, Quinn Muylaert, Polina  Olshevska, Ellie Pentin,  Hana Rutka, Grace Willock 
2020-2021 COHORT: Ellie Bishop, Nathan Coburn, Juan Duarte, Anja Fanslau,Zoe Hawkins, Kiera Hill,  Xin Hui Ong,  Emily Klukas, ​Alexandra Kolarcik, Bailey Madill, Sully Malaeb Proulx, Natassja Marc, Noah McKimm, Eva Solnick, Marie Taylor, Felicia Wu, Kaitlin Zarin
Alumni 2016-2020:
Ariana Barr, Emma Berrow, Kenzie Brousson, Justin Calvadores, Hannah-Jane Clutchey, Emma Cohen, Steph Cyr, Caitlynn Danchuk, Adrian Deleeuw, Katrin Denson, Chelsea DesLauriers, Katie DeVries, Beth Durnie, Ashley Eleby, Eowynn Enquist, Karin Ezaki, Maddy Gilbert, Ria Girard, Otylia Gony, Jonas Grassi, Brynne Harper, Sakura Inoue, Terra Kell, Matisse Maitland, Adrian Maxwell Campagna, Brenna Metzmeier, Katarina Nesic, Lauren O'Kell, Desi Rekrut, Gabrielle Ritchie, Anya Saugstad, Erica Schwartz, Eden Solomon, Samantha Sutherland, Maya Tenzer, Heather Thomson, Ain Tominaga, Noémie Valois, Lucas Wilson-Bilbro