Desirée Dunbar

Canadian artist Desirée Dunbar is a dancer, teacher and choreographer. Her performance career includes dancing principal roles in over twenty new works by acclaimed choreographers including David Earle and Serge Bennathan while with renowned repertory company Dancers Dancing (Artistic director, Judith Garay). Early in her career she had the honor of touring extensively as a dancer with local companies Mascall Dance and Wen Wei Dance.

In 2012 she received her MFA from the University of Arizona as a returning professional. Her graduate concert and thesis The Astro Dance Project was co-created with musicians, videographers, dancers and astronomers and the result was a unique and multi-faceted production in the Flandrau Planetarium in Tucson. Since returning to Canada she has created Dezza Dance, a Contemporary dance company dedicated to exploring the mysterious nature of existence through energetic performances. Projects include full-evening works FLAP & WHIRL, Heart on Fire and as well as Catalyst and the Dance Lab in which Ms. Dunbar mentors emerging dance professionals on the path to artistic excellence. Dezza Dance is resident dance company in partnership with the City of Vancouver.

She is a leader in community building. For over a decade, she has developed community dance projects. In Vancouver she originated the community dance company, Startdance as well as dance productions The Connecting Community Dance Series and LINK in order to unite dedicated dancers from the professional, community and cultural realms.

She has dedicated over twenty-five years to studying and teaching dance and her genuine, playful and passionate approach has touched the hearts of students and audience members worldwide. She instructs the Martha Graham technique and continues her connection to the company through her connection to Miki Orihara. She had the honor of assisting Ms. Orihara in the staging of Graham work Panorama on forty University of Arizona dancers in 2012. In 2013 she joined Ms. Orihara as teaching assistant at Les Etes de la Danse International Summer Course, Centre National de la Danse, Paris, France and went on as instructor of record at Trintity Laban Conservatoire of Music & Dance Summer School in the advanced Graham division.

Ms. Dunbar has been an adjunct instructor at Simon Fraser University in Vancouver since 2006 teaching Contemporary dance technique at the School for Contemporary Arts.

She is also a writer an