Gabrielle Martin and Jeremiah Hughes

In residence: 2022

While at Coppermoss, Gabrielle and Jeremiah were able to focus work towards an upcoming collaborative project.

Gabrielle Martin is an aerial and contemporary dance artist, choreographer and artistic producer who has performed over 1,400 shows internationally. Raised on the unceded territory of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Skwxwú7mesh (Squamish) and səlil̓ilw̓ətaʔɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) Nations (Vancouver, Canada), she studied somatic movement and contact improvisation and performed fire manipulation and stilt walking before obtaining her Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) in Contemporary Dance from Concordia University (Montreal, 2009). While in Montreal, Gabrielle studied aerial arts such as aerial silks and rope. In 2010, she received a Conseil des Arts et des Lettres du Quebec Research and Creation in Dance grant for her choreography, Infractions, a Sadler's Wells Global Dance Contest finalist, and from 2009-2011, she toured this and other works to: Vancouver International Dance Festival (CA, 2009), Guelph Contemporary Dance Festival (Canada, 2010 & 2011), ROMP! A Festival of Independent Dance (Victoria, CA, 2011) and WAVE RISING SERIES (NY, US 2011).

From 2011-2015, Gabrielle toured with Cavalia, performing aerial rope, bungee trapeze, bungee dance and harness dance numbers. In 2015, she began working with Cirque du Soleil as part of the creation of TORUK - The First Flight.  She toured with this show until it closed in 2019, during which time she was the principal female character, Tsyal, and performed a solo aerial silks number. In 2018, Gabrielle co-founded the aerial dance company, Corporeal Imago, and co-created its first show Limb(e)s with the support of the Canada Council for the Arts, BC Arts Council, creative collaborators, and residencies at Cirkör LAB (SE), L’Espace Catastrophe (BE), and Le Centre de Création (FR). In 2019, she presented an initial version of Limb(e)s at Montréal Complètement Cirque (CA) and La Chapelle Scènes Contemporaines (CA), and Assembly Festival at Edinburgh Festival Fringe (UK) where it was shortlisted for a Total Theatre Award. Gabrielle's certificate in Circus Dramaturgy from the Centre National des Arts du Cirque (France, 2020) supported the development of Limb(e)s to its final iteration which premiered in 2021 at the Dancing on the Edge Festival (Vancouver, BC) and toured in digital form to Assembly Festival, Edinburgh Festival Fringe (2021).

Jeremiah Hughes began his training in Toronto at the prestigious Canadian Dance Company. After a decade of competing internationally and representing Canada on the world stage he enrolled at the interdisciplinary Randolph College for the Performing Arts in Toronto. Apart from being a featured Soloist on So You Think You Can Dance and performing with artists such as Bruno Mars, Meat Loaf and Taylor Swift, he was also in the Lead Male Role of Ralu in Cirque Du Soleil’s TORUK - The First Flight where he was the show’s Dance Captain.