Aszure Barton

Canadian Aszure Barton is a choreographer and director who began dancing at age three. With training spanning from synchronized swimming to flamenco, she’s been producing dances since her days as a student at Canada’s National Ballet School where she helped seed the ongoing Stephen Godfrey Choreographic Showcase. After dancing with the National Ballet of Canada and Ballets Jazz Montréal, she freelanced in New York City where she founded Aszure Barton & Artists in the early 2000’s–the core of her choreographic process and an interdisciplinary creative hub. While AB&A remains her artistic home, Barton’s reach extends globally across theater, film, opera and Broadway. She has collaborated with artists and companies such as Mikhail Baryshnikov, María Pagés, Cyndi Lauper, Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, American Ballet Theatre, Ballet British Columbia, Grand Théâtre de Genève, Hamburg Ballet, Limón Dance Company, National Ballet of Canada, Nederlands Dans Theater, Sydney Dance Company, Teatro alla Scala, and others. Among her celebrated works, Mere Mortals premiered at San Francisco Ballet in collaboration with DJ Floating Points, marking the first full-length ballet by a female choreographer in the company’s 90-year history. Barton is currently Artist in Residence at Hubbard Street Dance Chicago and Gauthier Dance at Theaterhaus Stuttgart, and she’s been a longtime resident artist at the Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity. Her latest venture is an ongoing collaboration with Ambrose Akinmusire. Barton’s accolades include a Bessie Award, the Koerner Foundation Award, recognition as the inaugural Martha Duffy Resident Artist at Baryshnikov Arts, as well as the Arts & Letters Award of Canada, joining the likes of Margaret Atwood and Karen Kain. A laureate of the Ken McCarter Award, she was named Official Ambassador of Contemporary Choreography in Canada.