Here&Now Dance Festival

Aeris Körper is proud to present our annual Here&Now Dance Festival in Hamilton, Ontario.

This is an ongoing call for the Mainstage series. We accept proposals year round and program 1-2 years in advance of the festival. We're interested in ongoing and expansive relationships, following choreographers' journeys over time.

Presentation Series Goals
Here&Now presents a mixed program of choreographic works, from choreographers and movement/performance-based artists at any career level. We offer audiences the chance to experience the work of Canada’s most exciting up-and-coming choreographers in a vibrant and inviting environment.

Here&Now Mainstage features three to four short-length works with a culminating audience talkback after each performance. All choreographers are part of the talkback, and performers are encouraged to join, too. The format of the evening is subject to change based on the presenters' needs.

Format / Location
We typically present Here&Now at McMaster University's L.R. Wilson Hall. It features professional-level technical specs; marley floor, wings, a house lighting plot, and changerooms.

Eligibility
Proposed choreography should be 12-35 minutes in length. Choreographic works must be either proposed new works OR must have not been presented within a 100km radius of Hamilton within 2 years. Please email info@aeriskorper.com to inquire about works that fall outside of these requirements.

Deadline

Applications received by 11:59pm ET September 30, 2026 will be considered for the 2027 festival. Applications received Oct 1 onwards will be considered for the 2028 festival.

Important Dates

The next Here&Now Festival will take place April 16-18 2027. The Mainstage presentation will be on Friday April 16th at 7pm, including a mandantory afternoon full dress rehearsal.

- Choreographers receive 4 hours of technical load-in at an agreed upon time, in the days leading up to the festival - typically April 13, 14, or 15.
- Full-show dress rehearsal takes place during the daytime of the showday.
- A site-visit to the theatre venue will be scheduled in the lead-up to the festival, to offer choreographers a chance to see the space in advance.

- There will be a Choreographer's Meet and Greet scheduled prior to the show - this is a time for all presenting choreographers and the production team to get to know one another. Depending on presenting choreographers, this may occur in-person or online.

Remuneration
Here&Now offers a professional presentation fee ranging from $3000-$4000 CAD, depending on length of work. A travel stipend is available for out of province artists up to $1000, depending on cast size.
*The Lighting Designer is covered outside of the choreographer fee.
**Out of province choreographers may be eligible for travel stipends.

Curation

The 2027 festival will be curated by Artistic Associate, Skye Rogers. She offers insights into this year's theme - #IRL In Real Life. "Technology’s evolution moves at the speed of a freight train; one that threatens to steam roll over our sense of reality and diminish our humanity. Here&Now 2027 is a call to action; an invitation for dance works that remind us of what’s real, reveal a truth about our relationship to technology, or challenge our current societal proclivities to internet based living. This year’s festival will engage audiences in the art of slowing down, connecting with their bodies, and noticing what’s right in front of them, In Real Life." We welcome specific and broad applications of the theme.

If your application is successful:
Choreographers will be provided with a Lighting Designer to support the lighting states of the choreography. The lighting tools are limited, but the designer will work closely with the choreographer to execute their vision and goals to the best of their ability. Choreographers may opt to bring their own lighting designer at their own cost. A rehearsal video of a finished run prior to the show will be required for the technical team's preparation.

Our Outreach Coordinator will meet with each choreographer to learn about their community connections and hopes of who else they would like to connect with. The Outreach Coordinator works to welcome new audiences and will send personal invitations on the choreographer's behalf.

Presented choreographers will be required to write a Creative Process Blog (see examples via Aeris Körper's blog Curiosities) to provide insight on their presented work, and welcome audiences into their creative process.

Presenting choreographers will be required to submit promotional materials:
- a headshot
- a biography for each artist involved in their work
- 3 images and/or video (minimum) that represent the work
- 30 seconds of video footage representing the work or the applicant's body of work.
All items listed above will have set deadlines that choreographers will be notified of in advance.

Access
All dance or movement-based artists and performers are encouraged to apply. If the following written application is not accessible for any reason, you may also apply by:
- completing your application in-person (video call or phone call)
- submitting a video or audio application that addresses the listed questions

If assistance is required to apply, please contact info@aeriskorper.com. All digital file submissions can be WeTransfer-ed to info@aeriskorper.com by the deadline.

Aeris Körper will give priority to artists of colour, Deaf artists, artists living with disabilities, new generation artists (18-30), new Canadian (immigrant) artists and Hamilton based or regional artists living outside of city centres. We aim to present a minimum of 1 choreographer from Hamilton, 1 choreographer from out of province, and a minimum of 51% from above mentioned groups of the global majority.

We are so grateful to all the applicants and are continually amazed at the ideas, concepts and execution across Canada. We aim to have continuous relationships with you and your work. In the event you are not accepted right away, we recommend you keep in contact and continue to re-apply with your new work in the future.

For more information, please contact our Curator, skye@aeriskorper.com or visit https://www.aeriskorper.com/herenow

Preferred Name

First NameLast Name

Pronouns (Optional)

Organization Name (if applicable)

Email

example@example.com

If we need to contact you to discuss your application, please select your preferred method of communication.

Other

Phone Number

Please enter a valid phone number.Format: (000) 000-0000.

What city is your legal address in?

Do not provide your address. This is to understand where might be traveling from.

Title: Provide the name of the work you are applying with.

This can be a working title.

Program Description: Provide a 2-4 sentence description you would see in the show program for this work.

The LONG piece description should be included in the Artistic Vision question

Video Link: Provide video footage of the proposed work.

For finished works, this should be the full archival footage of the work you are proposing to present. For new works, this could be rehearsal footage of components you are working on in the new work OR footage from a different finished works that showcases your ability to execute your ideas into choreographic works.

Video Description: For finished work, provide context if it is the full archival or rehearsal footage of the work. For new work, provide context if it is rehearsal footage, or from another finished work, and how it relates to your proposed new work.

What genre(s) of dance/dance practice(s) will you be working in?

E.g. contemporary dance, concert dance, dance theatre, hip-hop / street styles, jazz dance, etc.

Please select the stage this idea/work is in:

Other

Artistic Vision: Please provide a fulsome description of the proposed work, and the ideas / questions driving it.

What is the central idea(s) of the work? What questions are you hoping to answer through the work? How will (have) you utilize(d) the idea(s) to generate choreographic material? What is the arc of the work? What compels you to create choreography around this idea(s)? 0/300

What is the duration / intended duration of your piece?

The Presentation Series has a 10 minute minimum - 35 minute maximum.

How many performers will be on stage?

Please detail whether this is certain or an approximation.

Choreographer Biography

Tell us your history of choreographing, artistic values, milestones and anything essential to understand about your practice. 0/200

Choreographer CV/Resume

Please upload a GoogleDrive link (or equivalent). Please ensure the link is viewable.

What is your relationship to Hamilton, ON or the surrounding area?

If there is a specific reason or urgency to present your work in Hamilton at this time, this is an ideal section to identify it.

Who do you plan to work with? Are these collaborators confirmed?

Why/how have you selected / will you select your collaborators? List performers, mentors, designers, or composers you hope to involve or that have been previously involved (if applicable).0/200

Technical Rider: Please provide a link to your technical rider if you have one.

Optional.

Please describe your anticipated technical needs. Provide as much detail as possible including audience orientation (proscenium, in the round, etc.)

If your work is selected, we will be in touch with you for updated and comprehensive technical and production requirements. Please note that technical requirements outside of our venue's standard set-up are the responsibility of the artist.

If you are from out-of-town, how many performers or collaborators will be travelling for the presentation?

Please note: Aeris Körper's ability to cover travel costs is limited. We encourage out of town applicants to apply for travel funding to support their participation.

Why do you want to share your work at Here&Now? Why is this choreography important to share here, and now?

Please consider our geographical location, as well as the particular time we are in.0/300

Please confirm the following:

Is there anything else you would like us to consider in relation to you or your application?

Here&Now Dance Festival | Mainstage

Basic Information

Project Information

Choreographer / Collaborator Information

Final Details