The Chimera Project - Toronto's Contemporary Dance Company

ARTISTIC DIRECTOR

Malgorzata Nowacka

DANCERS

COLLABORATORS

OTHER

Malgorzata Nowacka

Artistic Director / Choreographer / Dancer

Award winning choreographer and dancer Malgorzata Nowacka has been described as the "bad girl" (The Globe and Mail) of contemporary dance. Uncompromising and unconventional, she is one of Canada's most exciting and original choreographers. A dance maverick, Nowacka defies stereotypes as both a woman and an artist. Athletic yet feminine, soft-spoken yet intense, she brings a dark and dangerous aesthetic and charisma to her creations.

Nowacka founded The Chimera Project in 1999 and the company burst onto the dance scene with hyper-physical creations. Searching for a physical language that conveys emotional intensity, Nowacka's movement creations are rooted in ballet, urban dance, contact improvisation and martial arts. She has created over 15 critically acclaimed works, shown in some of Canada's most prestigious contexts including the Canada Dance Festival (National Arts Center, Ottawa), Dancing on the Edge (Vancouver), and Dance Victoria (Victoria). Under her artistic direction, The Chimera Project continues to flourish as a major force on the Canadian dance scene.

Born into a family of artists in Warsaw, Poland, Nowacka moved to Canada at the age of nine. She studied visual arts with her parents, and is a graduate of the Ontario College of Art and Design, which informs the strong visual, almost cinematic, aspect of her creations. Her dance training includes The School of Alvin Ailey Dance Theatre (New York, NY) The School of Dance directed by Bengt Jorgen (Toronto), and with Debbie Wilson (Toronto).

Nowacka has been a featured dancer with The Chimera Project for the past 10 years, and has also worked with Motus O Dance Theatre, William Yong, Hope Terry, Marlee Cargill, Kathleen Rea and Rebecca Todd.

Film credits as choreographer and performer include two Bravo!FACT films: I can almost directed by Gregory Nixon and You're It directed by James Cooper, both screened at festivals worldwide. Nowacka is a featured choreographer in Philip Szporer and Marlene Millar's Moments in Motion, a documentary highlighting the most promising dance artists in Canada.

As an artist in touch with the "disaffected youth zeitgeist" (The Globe and Mail) she is a sought-after educator who has taught and choreographed in high schools and universities including Ryerson University, McMaster University, and Earl Haig.

Other projects have included choreography for W.T.F commercial, The Northbound Leather Fashion Show, and creations for non-dancers that fuse contemporary dance with Hip-Hop.