Christopher House (born May 30, 1955) is a Canadian

choreographer Choreography is the art of designing sequences of movements of physical bodies (or their depictions) in which Motion (physics), motion or Visual appearance, form or both are specified. ''Choreography'' may also refer to the design itself. A chor ...

, performer and educator. For many years he was the artistic director of

Toronto Dance Theatre The Toronto Dance Theatre is a Canadian modern dance company based in Toronto, Ontario. Described by ''The Canadian Encyclopedia'' as "one of the foremost modern-dance companies in Canada", the company tours nationally and internationally and regu ...

Early life and education

House was born in St.John's, Newfoundland. He moved to Ottawa at the age of 19 where he completed a Bachelor's degree in Political Science at the

University of Ottawa The University of Ottawa (), often referred to as uOttawa or U of O, is a Official bilingualism in Canada, bilingual public research university in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. The main campus is located on directly to the northeast of Downtown Ot ...

. House began his dance training in 1975 with the acclaimed dance educator Elizabeth Langley."Christopher House still ‘Ahead of the Curve’"
''The Telegram'', Toronto, August 9, 2018. Wendy Rose. House later earned a

Bachelor of Fine Arts A Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) is a standard undergraduate degree for students pursuing a professional education in the visual arts, Fine art, or performing arts. In some instances, it is also called a Bachelor of Visual Arts (BVA). Background ...

degree in dance from

York University York University (), also known as YorkU or simply YU), is a public university, public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is Canada's third-largest university, and it has approximately 53,500 students, 7,000 faculty and staff, ...

in Toronto.

Career

House joined the Toronto Dance Theatre (TDT) in 1979. In 1981, he was appointed that company's choreographer-in-residence. He remained in that post until 1994 when he was hired as the artistic director at the TDT, a position he held until 2020. House is credited with reshaping the company's image to unprecedented international acclaim with new approaches to choreographic creation and cross-disciplinary collaboration. Since 2006 House has been influenced by his close collaboration with American post-modern dance pioneer Deborah Hay on works such as ''News'' and ''I'll Crane for You''. He has also choreographed works for Les Grands Ballets Canadiens, Ballet BC, and the

National Ballet of Canada The National Ballet of Canada is a Canadian ballet company that was founded in 1951 in Toronto, Ontario, with Celia Franca, the first artistic director. A company of 70 dancers with its own orchestra, the National Ballet has been led since 2022 ...

, among many others. In 1989, New York Times dance critic

Anna Kisselgoff Anna Kisselgoff (born 12 January 1938) is a dance critic and cultural news reporter for ''The New York Times''. She began at the ''Times'' as a dance critic and cultural news reporter in 1968, and became its Chief Dance Critic in 1977, a role she h ...

called House "a fresh voice in modern dance." In 2007, a documentary of House's life and works, ''Ahead of the Curve'', was co-produced by Rock Island Productions and Rink Rat Productions. He was also profiled in Moze Mossanen's 1987 documentary film '' Dance for Modern Times'', alongside David Earle,

James Kudelka James Kudelka, Order of Canada, OC (born September 10, 1955 at Newmarket, Ontario), is a Canadian choreographer, dancer, and director. He was the artistic director of the National Ballet of Canada from 1996 to 2005, now serving as the National Ball ...

, Ginette Laurin and Danny Grossman.William Littler, "Dance feature puts viewers on stage". ''

Toronto Star The ''Toronto Star'' is a Canadian English-language broadsheet daily newspaper. It is owned by Toronto Star Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary of Torstar Corporation and part of Torstar's Daily News Brands (Torstar), Daily News Brands division. ...

'', November 27, 1987. In 2019, House was the subject of an episode of the CBC television art series ''In the Making''. The show focused on ''Marienbad'', a full-length work he created and performed with writer

Jordan Tannahill Jordan Tannahill (born May 19, 1988) is a Canadian writer and director. His novels and plays have been translated into twelve languages, and honoured with a number of prizes including two Governor General's Literary Awards.Order of Canada The Order of Canada () is a Canadian state order, national order and the second-highest Award, honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, after the Order of Merit. To coincide with the Canadian Centennial, ce ...

. Christopher House left his longtime position at Toronto Dance Theatre in 2020. His final program as artistic director was House Mix, a series of remounted works from House’s choreographic oeuvre that toured 14 cities across Canada and to Medellin and Bogota before making its final performances in Toronto. In 2022, House debuted New Tricks, a solo work that he performs. The work has toured nationally and is being remounted by Citadel Live in Toronto in 2025.

Teaching

Christopher House has taught technique, repertoire and creative process at The School of Toronto Dance Theatre,

Juilliard School The Juilliard School ( ) is a Private university, private performing arts music school, conservatory in New York City. Founded by Frank Damrosch as the Institute of Musical Art in 1905, the school later added dance and drama programs and became ...

, Rotterdam Dansacademie,

Jacob's Pillow Jacob's Pillow is a Dance studio, dance center, school and performance space located in Becket, Massachusetts, in the Berkshires. The facility itself was listed as a National Historic Landmark District in 2003. History The site of Jacob's Pi ...

, Ryerson University (now Toronto Metropolitan University),

Simon Fraser University Simon Fraser University (SFU) is a Public university, public research university in British Columbia, Canada. It maintains three campuses in Greater Vancouver, respectively located in Burnaby (main campus), Surrey, British Columbia, Surrey, and ...

and

Canada's National Ballet School Canada's National Ballet School, also commonly known as the National Ballet School of Canada, is a classical ballet school located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Along with the Royal Winnipeg Ballet School, it is a provider of professional ballet tr ...

and the Banff Centre for the Arts."Dancer Christopher House explores the risk of performance"
Stephen Hunt, ''Calgary Herald'', January 8, 2016 He taught Creative Practice for Contemporary Dance Online at the Banff Centre in 2020 and 2021, and Composition at the Dance Arts Institute in 2022-24.

Awards

Dance Collection Danse Hall of Fame
(2024) *York University Outstanding Achievement Alumni Award (2021) *Member of the Order of Canada (2017) *Silver Ticket Award (2012) *Honorary Doctorate, Memorial University of Newfoundland (2010) *Muriel Sherrin Award for International Achievement in Dance (2009)"Christopher House"
Toronto Arts Foundation website *

Dora Mavor Moore Award The Dora Mavor Moore Awards (also known as the Dora Awards or the Doras) are awards presented annually by the Toronto Alliance for the Performing Arts (TAPA), honouring theatre, dance and opera productions in Toronto. Named after Dora Mavor Moor ...

(1986, 1988, 2007) *Clifford E. Lee Award (1986) *Jean A. Chalmers Award (1983)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:House, Christopher Living people 1955 births Canadian choreographers Dora Mavor Moore Award winners York University alumni Artists from Newfoundland and Labrador