Valerie Calam is a dance artist and designer interested in finding pathways to refresh and support herself. She works with movement, fabric, patterns, sound, numbers, the nervous system, the body, and likes to edit/adapt/repurpose things. Val enjoys working alongside dancers, artists & other queer creatives and has a long history as a performer, teacher and choreographer in Toronto. Val was a company dancer with Toronto Dance Theatre for a decade, under the AD of Christopher House. Recently, she performed in Nuit, by Jean Pierre Perreault, recently remounted by Citadel & Cie, as well as Story Creatures by Kate Hilliard/Art Gallery of Ontario. Val has danced for many choreographers in her professional career including Jeanine Durning, Danny Grossman, Bill Coleman, James Kudelka, Robert Glumbek, Roberto Campanella, Stephanie Skura, Ame Henderson, Jenn Goodwin, and lots more!
Valerie completed a Master of Fine Arts Degree in Choreography & Dramaturgy in 2014 at York University and is the recipient of the KM Hunter Award for dance. She has been nominated for ten Dora Awards including Outstanding Costume Design, Outstanding Performance by an Individual, and Outstanding New Choreography. She is the Membership Coordinator & Operations Manager for CADA/East (Canadian Alliance of Dance Artists-East Chapter) where she advocates for independent dancers and manages the finances, subsidy programs, funding and overall non-profit organization.
Valerie is a faculty member at Dance Arts Institute where she teaches contemporary technique, somatics, Elements of Design and is the Costume Designer. She is currently on the Board of Directors of Toronto Dance Theatre.
