Aeris Körper is a Canadian contemporary dance company that produces live immersive shows, hosts community platforms, and leads accessible movement workshops.
Photo by Jess Bullock
Aeris, the lightness of spirit and energy, combines with Körper, the strength and beauty of body, to allow and encourage us to explore, share, connect, understand and innovate. We are working in collaboration with artists, community members, mentors and local art patrons because ultimately, we believe creating art and dance together make the world a better place. We are honoured and thrilled to be part of the community and we recognize that each member has a role to play and contributions to make.
Aeris Körper exists to inspire each audience member, dancer, community participant, to explore the endless possibilities that live in creativity, movement and dance to foster profound self-awareness and deeper human connections.
Acknowledging First Peoples & Traditional Territory
We acknowledge that the land on which we primarily gather is the traditional territory of the Erie, Neutral Huron-Wendat, Haudenosaunee and Missisaugas. This territory is covered by the Upper Canada Treaties, is within the lands protected by the “Dish With One Spoon” wampum agreement between the Haudenosaunee and Anishinaabek. Ohròn:wakon (meaning in the ditch, ravine) is covered by the Between the Lakes Purchase of 1792 between the Crown and the Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation.
Some of our reflections
around land, identity…
We seek ways of bring awareness to our personal history, lineage and ancestors by encouraging understanding of where our ancestors are from, their stories and how we can bring healing to our own lives.
We seek ways to bring awareness to our treatment of the land on which we live and work. A simple and easy way of doing this is by encouraging the use of re-useable water bottles and mugs to all classes and workshops.
We aim to reflect the diversity of the city within which we are situated. Our goal across all activities is that the folx we engage with from our administrative staff to collaborative artists, from participants to audiences we gather, feel as sense of belonging and understanding in our interactions. We recognize our relationship to land is fraught, but/and we prioritize choreographers and dance artists who live in Hamilton and its surrounding area.
We endeavour to work from a place of care for the here&now and the then&past.
Photo by Jess Bullock
Aeris Körper exists to inspire each audience member, dancer, community participant, to explore the endless possibilities that live in creativity, movement and dance to foster profound self-awareness and deeper human connections.
The Core Team.
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Artistic Director
Mayumi (she/her) is a Japanese Canadian settler who seeks to expose, challenge, and rectify systems of oppression by creating innovative, introspective and inclusive dance theatre. She sees embodiment as at the crux of world making, providing alternatives to unconscious thought and oppression. Her primary practices span performance, choreography, production and education. Mayumi graduated from Toronto Metropolitan University’s Theatre Performance Dance program, on the Dean’s list. Mayumi is the Artistic Director of Hamilton based Aeris Körper, which has just been awarded a 2024 Creators Award in the Hamilton Arts Award. She is a mentee in Butoh and composition with renowned Japanese Canadian dance theatre artist Denise Fujiwara, as well as a company member of Fujiwara Dance Inventions. Her training in Butoh has revealed ways of creating formless dance that negates the dance step and instead exposes our humanity in movement. She is the Curator for Hamilton Arts Council’s hArt Dance Film Series, Curator and Creative Producer for Kaeja d’Dance’s Porch View Dances, and Creative Producer of dance made in canada’s The ‘D’ Word Podcast. She has choreographed for Dusk Dances, Guelph Dance, CanAsian Dance and produced a bi-city presentation of her work Enemy Lines.
Photo by Daniel Neuhaus
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Here&Now Festival Producer
Rose (she/her) is a Hamilton-based producer with a decade of experience working with arts organizations and festivals across Ontario. She is passionate about helping artists realize ambitious creative projects, ensuring a balance between artistic innovation and meaningful community engagement.In addition to her work as Managing Producer for Aeris Körper’s Here&Now, she serves as the Artistic Producer for Open Heart Arts Theatre, a company that creates community-driven performances exploring themes of social justice, accessibility, and belonging through collaborative art-making. In 2023, Open Heart won the City of Hamilton’s Creator Award, recognizing its artistic innovation and expression of the cultural vitality and diversity of Hamilton’s art scene.
Her producing highlights include the premiere of Mayumi Lashbrook’s new dance work, Enemy Lines, in Toronto and Hamilton; the Southern Ontario tour of A Christmas Carol Comedy (No Porpoise Productions); two seasons as Coordinator of Operations for Kingston’s Festival of Live Digital Art; and six seasons with the Hamilton Fringe Festival.
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Artistic Associate
LOR (she/they) is an interdisciplinary artist whose work bridges film, performance, curation and facilitation, fostering connections through creativity, authenticity and care. Her recent productions in Ontario include a film with hArts Dance Film Series and a performance with In The Soil Festival. As a facilitator and space holder, LOR weaves ritual, fundamental movement, somatic practices and free-form dance to inspire self-exploration and community care. With training from GOODBODYFEEL, The 360 Emergence, Somatic Soul Coach School and Downward Dog Yoga Centre, her offerings are rooted in trauma awareness and designed to empower individuals—especially those from marginalized communities—to access their inherent wisdom and creativity. LOR’s approach nurtures curiosity, connection and compassion, while fostering a trusting relationship with the mind, body and soul. Through embodied practices, she invites participants to explore their unique potential and contribute to collective healing and transformation.
Photo by Katie Rawn
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Artistic Associate
Skye (she/her) is a dance and theatre artist based in Attiwandaronia (Hamilton, Ontario), dearly devoted to making spaces for people to feel at home. Skye is the co-Artistic Director of retrograde: dance in motion and Tapestry Theatre Collective, and is an Artistic Associate with Aeris Körper Contemporary Dance. She is an alumni of the RBC Apprentice Program with Musical Stage Co. (Choreographer, 2023-24), Brock University (Arts & Culture, 2022) and Randolph College for the Performing Arts (Triple Threat, 2019). Skye’s creative process is collaborative, embodied, and wholehearted. Her practice spans choreography, workshop facilitation, devised theatre creation, and performance. Alongside many self-produced projects, she has worked creatively with The City of St. Catharines, The City of Hamilton, Ontario Culture Days, Suitcase in Point, Frog in Hand, Stand Up Dance, Expect Theatre, shykids, Spindle Collective and Riot King, among others. You can explore more of Skye’s range of work at www.skylightcollection.com.
Photo by Jonah Atkins
Our Board Members.
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Chair
David (he/him) has been performing, creating and appreciating contemporary dance for over twenty years. Born and raised in Oxford, UK, David trained at The Laban Centre in London. David has enjoyed a diverse career as a performer, choreographer, and lecturer in dance and movement. Now living in downtown Hamilton with his husband and two dogs, David is the current Artistic Director for Hamilton Arts Council.
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Treasurer
Priyanka (she/her) is a multidisciplinary artist who has studied Indian dance and music her whole life. She currently studies and performs dance within the repertoire of Kathak and trains in Hindustani vocal music. Priyanka is also an emerging choreographer who seeks to create work that speaks to her experiences as a North American, while staying rooted to the Kathak artform. Priyanka enjoys baking and cooking with her family, taking long walks with her dog and traveling.
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Secretary
Rebekka (they/she) is a theatre maker, writer, and arts educator living in Hamilton. They are a proud graduate of Trinity College Dublin’s M.Phil. in Theatre and Performance program. Some of their favourite work to engage in is devised theatre, Irish theatre, physical theatre, site-specific theatre, and queer performance. Rebekka coordinates and co-leads the Spark Teen Performance Intensive through the Hamilton Festival Theatre Company and has had the honour of teaching amazing high school students for over seven years. Rebekka currently teaches at Glendale Secondary School in the arts based program. Learn more at www.rebekkagondosch.com and @theatre_is_wilde.
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Board Member
Andrea (she/her) is a healthcare leader, bioethicist, researcher and dancer who loves to incorporate the arts into her professional practice and teaching. She a Ph.D. in Anthropology from Rice University, and trained as a Clinical Ethicist at MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, Texas. During her twenty-five year career in healthcare, she has developed hospital ethics programs, designed an interprofessional end of life care team, delivered innovative resilience-building programs to healthcare workers and led research projects exploring values-based decision-making. As a life-long dancer, Andrea has worked with multidisciplinary dance artists to create performances that reflect the emotional and ethical complexities of therapeutic relationships between patients and clinicians. Andrea has performed her work for medical audiences and the public in Hamilton, Montreal and Amsterdam. Andrea is thrilled to support dance from behind the scenes as a board member of Aeris Korper.
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Board Member
Heryka is an intuitive choreographer and dance educator based on the traditional territories of the Mississauga of the Credit, Anishinaabe, and Haudenosaunee peoples. Her diverse dance training spans genres and practices that connect deeply to the heartbeat of liberation and freedom, including ecological land dance, expressive arts therapies, and sacred dance traditions. Holding a Master’s degree in Health and Physical Education, Heryka teaches dance as both education and wellness at Brock University and McMaster University. Her work is rooted in the belief that movement is a powerful tool for transformation, healing, and community connection. Passionate about accessibility, joy, and the magic of embodied expression, she is committed to making dance available and meaningful to all.
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Board Member
Laureen (she/her) is currently a Dance/Theatre teacher with the Waterloo Catholic District School Board where she has developed a thriving Dance program. Previously, she trained with the National Ballet School, Les Ballet Jazz Toronto and the Black Walnut Ballet Company. She has been an active member of the Dance community in Kitchener-Waterloo as a local Ballet Director for 25 years. Laureen is a passionate advocator for Arts Education and continues to promote the benefits of dance. She teaches that “dancers make passion visible”. In a society where everything is transferred digitally, the human quality of dance has never been more imperative.
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Board Member
Lauren (she/her) has danced for many years, in formal and informal dance spaces. She enjoys the technical, intentional, and also the intuitive and social aspects of dance. Lauren practiced contemporary and house dance while living in Montréal, and currently takes ballet classes at the Hamilton Conservatory for the Arts. She has an academic background in Art History and works in the role of Development Officer at the Art Gallery of Hamilton.
Contributors.
We recognize the many people who make our activities possible. We are forever grateful.
While we can’t name them all, here is a selection of organizations we love, people who support us on an ongoing basis and those whom we suggest checking out.
Our Values.
Introspection
mindfully exploring and questioning oneself
Presence
living the truth of the moment, noticing what’s relevant to this time
Transformation
inviting evolution and change of the individual, a group or globally
Relationship
finding threads of connection leading to deeper understanding