James Gnam Biography
Born in Calgary, Alberta and raised in Victoria, BC, James received his training at the National Ballet School of Canada in Toronto. Prior to his joining Ballet British Columbia in 2004, James danced with Les Grands Ballets Canadiens de Montreal and JoeINK. During his five seasons with BBC, James had the opportunity to perform feature roles in works created by Jiri Kylian, Twyla Tharp, Mark Morris and Lar Lubavitch; as well as creating roles with choreographers such as Crystal Pite, John Alleyne and Simone Orlando. Independent of his work with BBC, James continued to explore and broaden his artistic pallet by collaborating with choreographers such as Peter Bingham and Amber Funk Barton.
As a choreographer, James has been commissioned to create work for the Ballet BC’s Mentor Program, the Dance All Stars program at the 2006 Chutzpah! Festival, Dances for a Small Stage and The Arts Umbrella Youth Dance Company. In 2006, James incorporated The Plastic Orchid Factory; a Vancouver based performance/art company that functions as an umbrella for the work he creates with his wife Natalie LeFebvre-Gnam. Their work has been presented at Dancing on The Edge, The Vancouver International Dance Festival, The InFrinGing Dance Festival, Dances for a Small Stage as well as ROMP! A festival of independent dance.
As a teacher, James has worked as a repetiteur for Ballet BC, its Mentor program and Summer Dance Intensive. He is a faculty member at The Richmond Academy of Dance and is a frequent guest teacher for professional contemporary classes through CADA/BC.
Class Description
Class will focus extensively on initiation, drive and breath. Beginning with a gentle barre, center work will develop these qualities in a series of combinations of increasing complexity and physicality - culminating in a series of jumping routines that will focus on moving the dancers through space. Structured lines, accurate placement, and distorting and stretching shapes will develop unexpected transitions into and out of movement.
