Seeking Support; Floorwork Fundamentals

Deanna Witwer (she/her) is a choreographer, director, educator and performer based out of Mohkinstsis (Calgary). In process and performance Witwer holds space for the intersection of artistic rigour and honest humanity through curiosity-driven play, chasing the transformational encounters art can reveal within community. 

Witwer is a sessional instructor in the division of dance at the University of Calgary and holds a BA in Dance from the University of Calgary, collaborative with Kinesiology and specializing in performance and choreography (2009). She was the Artistic Director of Corps Bara Dance Theatre for 9 years, where she first danced for 8 years as a company member. Other highlights of her career include choreographing and producing Grief Marked, an immersive, multi-disciplinary installation work funded by Canada Heritage, producing Resonant Soul, a series of ten dance meditation films, choreographing and directing Facing the Light, an evening-length work, and presenting and performing in a variety of local and national festivals. Witwer spent two formational years training in Brussels, Belgium, where she studied extensively under David Zambrano, as well as Peter Jasko, Sun Xiao Jun, and Dominique Duszynski, and attended ImPulsTanz International Dance Festival (2011) in Vienna.

As a teacher, Witwer’s work draws heavily on David Zambrano's Flying Low technique and Davida Monk’s release and functional technique principles. She focuses on developing a functional relationship with the floor, harnessing power by releasing the joints to channel force through the body efficiently and dynamically. In her classes she prioritizes functionality over form, risk over perfectionism, and “failure” is championed as a vehicle for learning.