HALIFAX MEMBERS
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JESSICA LOWE (Co-Artistic Director/Co-Founder)
Jessica Lowe hails from Dartmouth, Nova Scotia. She started dance at the age of five at Dartmouth Dance Academy and Leica Hardy School of Dance. Pursuing dance has always been her career goal and upon graduation she moved to Toronto in 2011 to attend York University’s BFA Dance Program. Throughout University she was given many performance and choreographic opportunities. After graduating York, Jessica co-founded Nostos Collectives Dance Association. Nostos Collectives is a registered non-for-profit based in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia and Toronto, Ontario. Their mandate is geared towards creating performance and choreographic opportunities for local emerging dance artists. Jessica acts as the Artistic Director as well as being active within the local Halifax dance community.
Anastasia Wiebe is a Halifax based dancer-choreographer. She began her dance career at home in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia training at the Leica Hardy School of Dance and the Dartmouth Dance Academy. She was a member of KiDanCo from 2011-2013. She performed in Symphony Nova Scotia’s The Nutcracker for four seasons and Gen-Y for Mocean Dance in 2011. She continued her dance training at the Peridance Capezio Center and graduated from their Certificate Dance Program for contemporary/ballet and commercial dance in 2015. Performance credits include Sonderlings, Second Hand News, The Great Big Boo (Dance Captain), Post Modern Jukebox (Good Morning America), and was a performer-choreographer on MTV’s Say it with Song. She has performed works by Victor Quijada, Robert Battle, Lar Lubovitch, Hofesh Shechter, Aszure Barton, Igal Perry, and many more. Anastasia is also an emerging choreographer and has had the pleasure of setting works throughout Nova Scotia and Toronto.
ANASTASIA WIEBE (Co-Artistic Director)
LYDIA ZIMMER
Lydia graduated from Walnut Hill School for the Arts in ‘07 and joined The Boston Conservatory where she received her B.F.A. ’11 in dance performance. Lydia trained at programs in Canada and the United States such as Canada’s National Ballet School, Springboard Danse Montreal, Jacob’s Pillow Contemporary Traditions, and The Movement Invention Project. Since returning to Halifax, Lydia presented the full work Bonne Nuit at The Sir James Dunn Theatre in April 2016, supported by Canada Council for the Arts. In the fall of 2016, Lydia completed a movement research residency in Skagastrond, Iceland through the Nes Artist Residency supported by Arts Nova Scotia. Thereafter she created a trio titled Embankment, which was performed by Votive Dance at the David MacMurray Studio Theatre in 2017. Lydia additionally completed a choreographic residency in Sofia, Bulgaria at the Derida Dance Centre, July 2017, with support from Canada Council for the Arts, where Sonderling was created. Sonderlings, the trio of Sonderling, was presented at the Bus Stop Theatre through Nostos Collectives, June 2018, with support from Canada Council for the Arts. Lydia currently dances for Mocean Dance Company and Nostos Dance Collectives, and continues to present her own work through Atlantic Presenters Association and Kinetic Studio.
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AMEY RAHEY
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Amey began her dance training in Cape Breton, NS at Dance Sync, and currently resides in Halifax, NS. Amey has received numerous awards and scholarships at events across North America throughout her dance career. She is best known for her unique style of movement, as well as her commitment to the development of young artists. Having graduated in 2015 with a B.Comm. degree and a major in accounting, Amey is now a freelance choreographer, instructor, and the Creative Director of both Elite Dance Productions: a touring competition and convention company; and DFRNT Dance: an intimate artist development program. Amey has been chosen to take part in many renowned training programs, such as The Gypsy Project LA, the Dana Foglia Dance Training Program, the SoulEscape Company Intensive, and the RUBBERBANDance Winter Workshop. These programs allowed her to work alongside a select group of dancers to study under artists such as Erica Sobol, Dana Foglia, Justin Giles, Victor Quijada, Jiri Pokorny, Tilman O’Donnell, Medhi Walerski, Lisa Ebeyer, David Harvey, Dana Wilson, Will Johnston, Jen Osorio Pendleton, and Alan Salazar, to name a few. She has also participated in The Galen Hooks Method Artist Development session, under the direction of Galen Hooks. Additionally, she has performed in multiple shows as a company member of Justin Giles’ SoulEscape in Dallas and Los Angeles, at the 2018 Raptor’s home opener, at Toronto’s Original Choreographer’s Ball 2020, and has taught at Arizona’s DancePlex and Toronto’s Underground Dance Centre. She is also a proud member of the Professional Adjudicator’s Alliance.
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JULIE ROBERT
Originally from Montréal, Julie Robert studied ballet at l’École Supérieure de Ballet du Québec and danced professionally for Le Jeune Ballet du Québec, Ballet Ouest de Montréal & Le Ballet Métropolitain de Montréal as a corps de ballet member. Seeking to expand her artistic practice, Julie completed the professional dance training program at L’École de danse contemporaine de Montréal in 2015 (formally ladmmi), where she had the opportunity to perform the works of many choreographers including Mélanie Demers, Frédérick Gravel, Darryl Tracy, Ginette Laurin, Caroline Laurin-Beaucage and Estelle Clareton. Since graduating, she has presented her own choreographic works with Tangente (Montréal), and has been a part of several Montréal and Toronto-based dance projects. Julie has been an independent dance artist since 2017, working for the commission-based company Mocean Dance (Halifax) and performing works by Heidi Strauss (Toronto), Marie-Josée Chartier (Toronto) and Sara Coffin (Halifax) among others. Julie most recently worked with Vancouver choreographer Vanessa Goodman in a new work presented by Votive Dance (Halifax).
AMANDA LARUSIC
Amanda LaRusic is an independent movement artist and dance educator based out of Nova Scotia. She received her training from the School of Toronto Dance Theatre and The Maritime Conservatory of Performing Arts Teacher Training Program in Halifax. She has performed works by Serge Bennathan, Anna Blewchamp, Sharon B. Moore, Valerie Calam, Allison Cummings, Christopher House, Jean-Pierre Perreault, Gerry Trentham, and William Yong. Upon graduating from STDT in 2012, LaRusic performed with Peggy Baker Dance Projects in Night Garden and danced Christopher House’s Fjeld for Older and Reckless under the direction of Claudia Moore. Independently, she has done performances by Kathleen Doherty, Marcia Dysart, Sasha French, Nicola Henry, Ruth Levin, Nikolaos Markakis, Megan Nadain, Lauren Runions and Darryl Tracy. In 2015 she had the privilege of joining Dancetheatre David Earle in its final season, performing the iconic Sacra Conversazione. Most recently, LaRusic has had the pleasure of dancing with Connection Dance Works in St. John NB and Votive Dance in Halifax NS. As well as exploring her own choreographic endeavours, Amanda works as a Dance Educator at Cobequid Dance Academy and The Maritime Conservatory of Performing Arts. She has taught at various schools and programs in Toronto, Halifax and across NovaScotia. In 2018, alongside Melissa Page-Webster, Amanda founded KickTalkDance Productions.
