The Hawthorne Foundation and DanceHouse announced the Louise Bentall Biennial Award for Emerging British Columbia Choreographers in December 2022.
The $10,000 first place award, and $5,000 second place award, financially support two individual emerging choreographers residing in BC to research, develop, or produce new work.
The award was created in memory of Louise Bentall, who passed away in 2017 and was a long serving board member of DanceHouse. Louise spent her life working and volunteering for many dance and theatre organizations, in addition to her numerous charitable activities in support of the performing arts and social justice communities of the Lower Mainland. Compassionate, intelligent, and feisty with a keen attention to detail, she gave back to the community with both her actions and words, and this Award honours her memory by advancing support for Vancouver’s dance community.
With ongoing funding from the Hawthorne Foundation and administrative support from DanceHouse, the award is given every other year, and juried by a diverse panel of dance professionals. Criteria for the award were developed in consultation with a distinguished advisory panel, including Louise’s daughters Carly Bentall and Erin Cayley Ross.
Applications are now closed. The winners were announced on Friday, April 25 at the Vancouver Playhouse before Peeping Tom’s Diptych (The missing door and The lost room) during a special pre-show social. Prizes were awarded based on the overall presentation of the proposal and the vision and potential of the artist.
Individual emerging choreographers working in all styles of dance, including multidisciplinary projects, are encouraged to apply when applications open again in fall 2026. There is no upper age restriction on applicants, but choreographers who have completed pre-professional training and enjoyed at least one public performance of their work are the intended recipients. Students are not eligible to apply to fund further studies or training, and companies, collectives, and organizations are not eligible.
For more information contact bentallaward@dancehouse.ca
About the 2025 Recipients
Kaili Che 謝祖弘, is an interdisciplinary artist, emerging choreographer, and movement educator based on the unceded lands of the Coast Salish Peoples, colonially known as Vancouver. Her practice centres collaboration, curiosity, play, and vulnerability, exploring themes of climate justice, community, and Asian heritage. She holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Dance (with Distinction) from the University of Calgary and is certified in Healthy Dance Practice. Her work has been shared at the Surrey Art Gallery, New Works, and Expanse Festival, and she has collaborated with companies such as Project InTandem, Cloudsway Dance Theatre, and more.
Kaili is currently developing Molds’ Lab-yrinth, an interdisciplinary research project rooted in grief, food, and family lineage. The work is created in collaboration with a dedicated and diverse team of dancers, designers, and consultants, with in-kind support from The Dance Centre.
www.kailiche.ca
Ashvini Sundaram is a Vancouver-based contemporary dance artist specializing in bharatanatyam. Her diverse upbringing as a fourth-generation Indian-Singaporean and first/second-generation Canadian has deeply influenced her creative research on migration, its stresses, and its transformations. Ashvini’s collaborative works have been presented by prominent organizations, including Tangente, the Dancing on the Edge Festival, CanAsian Dance, and the Dance Centre, among others. She remains a disciple of the acclaimed bharatanatyam danseuse Rama Vaidyanathan, whose artistry is widely regarded for its spiritual depth and ability to bridge tradition with a transcendent experience. This focus on spiritual resonance and the pursuit of inner truth deeply influences Ashvini’s own practice, as she seeks to carry this sacredness into her performances, creating a dialogue between tradition, identity, and personal transformation. Currently in development, her solo work CROSSING DEEP WATERS explores the layered terrain of identity shaped by what is lost, carried, or transformed across geographies and generations.
About the 2023 Recipients
Livona Ellis was born in Vancouver on the unceded territories of the Coast Salish Peoples. She completed her training at Arts Umbrella under the direction of Artemis Gordon. Livona began dancing with Ballet BC in 2010 and throughout 11 seasons has been fortunate to work with incredible artists such as Crystal Pite, Out Innerspace Dance Theatre, Felix Landerer, Sharon Eyal and many others.
Livona has created works for Dances for a Small Stage, Dance Deck, Public Salon 2019, Contemporary Art Gallery Gala 2018, Arts Umbrella Season Finale, and Ballet BC Take Form. In 2017 she received the Vancouver Mayor’s Arts Award for Emerging Artist. Livona was a guest artist with Konzert Theater Bern for their 2019/2020 season. Livona is on faculty at ArtsUmbrella and is a Programming Advisor for the BC Movement Arts Society.
Livona is currently collaborating with NYC based artist Rebecca Margolick on the creation of their full length duet “Fortress”.
Alyssa Favero is an emerging queer multiracial dance artist currently based on the traditional, ancestral and unceded territories of the Coast Salish peoples–Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish), Stó:lō and Səl̓ílwətaʔ/Selilwitulh (Tsleil-Waututh) and xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam) Nations (Vancouver, British Columbia). Alyssa believes in entering spaces with curiosity and love. Alyssa is a dancer, choreographer, teacher, facilitator and director. Just a year out of Modus Operandi and Alyssa has felt creative momentum and support in the Vancouver community. As a dancer they have previously performed works by Khoudia Toure, OURO Collective and Zahra Shahab. As a facilitator, Alyssa has recently completed a nourishing mentorship with All Bodies Dance Project. As a choreographer-director Alyssa has had the pleasure of researching their own work around intimacy, queering relationships and pleasure through the support of What Lab and Co. ERASGA. Alyssa is excited to share their own solo work Vibrate during Nextfest (Edmonton, Alberta) in June, 2023, and is honoured to receive an Honourary Mention from DanceHouse.
Josh Ongcol is a Dubai born, Queer, Filipinx artist that is currently a settler on the unceded territories of the Coast Salish peoples.
Josh first exposure to dance was in highschool during the advent of Youtube, Americas Best Dance Crew and choreo dance competitions. Finishing highschool he trained in dance locally and internationally, in the styles of Locking, Popping, House, Hip hop, Vogue, Whacking from Ejoe Wilson, Sekou Heru, Natasha Gorie, Rina Palerina, Anna Martynova, James de Guzman, Mike brown, Kevin Shazam and Kim Sato and Contemporary dance from Tiffany Tegarthen, David Raymond, 605 collective, Sufeh lee, Kevin Fraser, Peter Bingham, Justine Chambers, Delia Brett and Deanna Peters. Josh continues to dive deeper in his relationship to streetdance; recently he had trained in west african dance in Guinea last February.
Josh is interested in the concept of “home” and “KAPWA” and the necessity of dance in the community/culture especially in protest, spirituality and reclaimation. His latest work, LAKBAY was created in collaboration with musician Miguel Maravila. Currently, Josh is creating a piece called “The E.N.D.” or “The Energy Never Dies” a dynamic live music and dance work inspired by the concept of the cypher specifically in house club dance culture.
Photo courtesy of Carly Bentall and Erin Cayley Ross.
