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.
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
Caitlin is an experienced facilitator and educator who has lived in Hamilton for over 15 years. She works in the non-profit field and has been involved in supporting food justice, anti-racism, environmental justice, and in support of migrant and precarious workers. She is also a gardener and musician who believes in community care as an anti-oppressive practice. Caitlin is mixed-race with Indo-Guyanese and white British families. She lives in East Hamilton with her partner, cat, and many musical instruments and plant friends.
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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.
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
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.