HEATHER MYERS RSME
dance and somatic arts
I am privileged to live and base my work on the unceded traditional and ancestral territories of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish), and səlilwətaɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) people, in what is colonially known as Vancouver and Burnaby Heights, BC.
I acknowledge the historical and ongoing violence against Indigenous people of the Coast Salish Nations, other First Nations and IBPOC people across Turtle Island, and the oppressive systems that I benefit from as a person of European descent. It is imperative that myself and others continue anti-racism and decolonization work, ongoing listening, education, and allied action.
About
My practice is rooted in my lifelong journey with dance, and my desire to empower and nourish others through artistic and creative experiences.
As a Registered Somatic Movement Educator, my work highlights mind-body connection, and the healing capacity of embodied Expressive Arts. As an artist, I am interested in bridging art and life, in the potential of intermodal process, and in offering movement and art as a vital way of thinking, feeling and connecting.
I currently lead outreach classes for Ballet BC, am Artist-in-Residence at The Roundhouse Community Arts Centre, and work with individuals and groups in recreational and professional settings. I have led Expressive Somatic Arts work for Simon Fraser University, Inverso Productions, The Comox Valley Arts Council, and Canada Council for the Arts-funded research projects.
As a performing artist, I danced with Alberta Ballet, Boston Ballet, Netherlands Dance Theater and as an independent dancer, working with artists including Crystal Pite, Ohad Naharin, Jiri Kylian and many others. I have also collaborated with organizations including The Banff Centre, Korzo Theater, All Bodies Dance Project, Singapore School of the Arts, Atlanta Ballet, TNUA Taipei, Arts Umbrella, HCMA Architecture and Design, Inverso Productions, and Rachel Meyer, as rehearsal director, teacher, choreographer and collaborator.
In 2020, I embarked on a training journey in the Tamalpa Institute’s
Life/Art Process – an approach developed by dance pioneers Anna and Daria Halprin along with psychologists, educators and artists over the past 50 years. This intermodal, movement-based work has enriched my practice with tools to access the depth of what dance and conscious movement can offer us. As a graduate of the Institute's 2 year Professional Training program, I apply Tamalpa's scoring methods, communication models, body mapping and imagery processes.
photo by Chris Randle