Aszure Barton

Award-winning choreographer, ASZURE BARTON (FOUNDER, DIRECTOR & CHOREOGRAPHER), was born and raised in Alberta, Canada. She has created works for Mikhail Baryshnikov, Fang-Yi Sheu, Ekaterina Shipulina/Bolshoi Ballet, Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, American Ballet Theatre, Nederlands Dans Theater, Houston Ballet, The National Ballet of Canada, Sydney Dance Company, Hubbard Street Dance Chicago, The Martha Graham Dance Company, and Les Ballets Jazz de Montréal (Resident Choreographer 2005-08), among many others. Aszure has led masterclasses across Canada and the United States, as well as mentored emerging student choreographers. She has created original works for renowned training institutions including Harvard University, The Juilliard School, New York University, Arts Umbrella, Canada’s National Ballet School and The Laban Institute (United Kingdom). Other work includes choreography for the Broadway revival production of The Threepenny Opera directed by Scott Elliott (translation by Wallace Shawn and starring Alan Cumming, Jim Dale, Nellie Mackay, Ana Gasteyer, and Cyndi Lauper), several installation projects and international outreach activities such as Kenya’s Earth Project: Healing the Rift, at the Laikipia Nature Conservancy. Aszure’s choreography has been featured in numerous film and television projects, including the Sundance Channel’s Iconoclasts Series with Mikhail Baryshnikov and Alice Waters. Aszure received her formal training at Canada’s National Ballet School, where, as a student, she helped originate the ongoing Stephen Godfrey Choreographic Showcase. She has performed with celebrated artists and companies including Mr. Baryshnikov, The National Ballet of Canada, Wendy Osserman Dance Company, Les Ballets Jazz de Montréal and others. In 2012, she was proclaimed the official Ambassador of Contemporary Choreography in Alberta and received the Banff Centre’s Koerner Award for Choreography. Most recently, she was honored with Canada’s prestigious Arts & Letters Award. Aszure was the first artist in residence at The Baryshnikov Arts Center and has been an artist in residence at The Banff Center since 2009. Aszure just finished creating a new work for Bayerische Staatsoper in Munich, Germany.