ENTITEY / jason martin
© Leif Norman
Through my experiences as an interpreter in multiples Canadian companies, I quickly wanted to understand the essence of the work of a creator and build my own choreographic universe.
I am fascinated by the genesis of a person, by what defines him at the source, and how this fits into every part of his body, to then translate it into movement. At the start of creation, I launch myself without thinking into a new unknown, guided by the sensory and dynamic dialogue that exists between emotions and bodily responses. I listen, I observe, I analyze… I am nourished by a desire to bring the body to light, so that different virtuosities are put forward in an instinctive, almost inherent way. I shape my movement for a long time in search of the integrity of the gesture, of a total and sensitive physical commitment, of the impulse to the evolution of the form. The body then becomes a communicator of the invisible, the bearer of innumerable personal and universal memories and experiences, uniting us by a causal link that I am trying to expose. This results in works where, like a visceral spasm, the relationship between the performers switches between self-sufficiency and interdependence, vulnerability and relentlessness, provocation and resignation.
The Choreographer
Jason Martin is a dancer, actor, choreographer and director. His artistic career began late at the age of 21, after playing hockey for 17 years. In 2012, he graduated from the Contemporary Dance School of Montreal. Since then, he has worked for Canadian companies such as Compagnie Marie Chouinard, Compagnie Dave St-Pierre, Daniel Léveillé Danse, The Holy Body Tattoo, Sylvain Émard Danse, Compagnie Virginie Brunelle, Louise Bébard Danse, Carré des Lombes, the Son of Adrien Danse, Danse K by K or Skeels Danse. Over the years, Jason has also participated in theater projects as a choreographer, actor or director, notably with Benoît Vermeulen, Luce Pelletier, Deviation2Théâtre and the Théâtre à l'eau froid. At the same time, Jason develops an interest in teaching and is regularly invited to give internships to professionals and in art colleges, namely at the École de Danse de Québec, the École de Danse Contemporaine de Montréal, L'Artère. - dance and movement art, the School of Contemporary Dancers in Winnipeg, the Muses - performing arts center, the Ballet Divertimento, the St-Hyacinthe Theater School and the Quebec Circus School. Very active on the Montreal scene since 2013, he quickly noticed the importance of forging relationships between artists from different backgrounds. For him, it is about working together to allow art to evolve and flourish in an independent and collaborative way.
The company
Since 2015, ENTITEY / jason martin has created works that revolve around the resilience and interdependence of the human condition. By relying on exhaustive physical research, the body is perceived as the origin and finality of everything; adaptable, emotional, limitless. The company ENTITEY / jason martin now has 4 professional creations, 5 creations in higher education schools and around twenty broadcasts in Canada, Mexico and Israel; notably with UNTAMED (2016), Falling (2017) co-created with Janelle Hacault, BEYOND (2018) while he was artist in residence at Winnipeg's Contemporary Dancers, and (AND) presented at the From Jaffa to Agripas festival in Jerusalem in October 2018. Jason hopes that his choreographic signature will help breathe new life into contemporary dance.
© Guillaume Boucher
Reviews
@ Efrat Mazor
ENTITEY/jason martin
Through my experiences as a performer with Canadian companies, I quickly wanted to understand the essence of the creator's work and build my own choreographic universe.
I am fascinated by the genesis of a person. What defines them at their source? And how is this inscribed into every part of their body, then translated into movement? At the beginning of a new creation, I launch myself without thinking into a new unknown, guided by the sensory and dynamic dialogue between emotions and bodily responses. I listen, observe, analyze. I am nourished by the desire to bring the body to light, where different virtuosities propose instinctively or inherently. I shape my movement over a long time, searching for the integrity of the gesture, a total, sensitive physical commitment, from the impulse to the evolution of the form. The body then becomes the communicator of the intangible, the bearer of countless memories of personal and universal experiences, uniting us by a causal link that I try to expose. The result is works where, like a visceral spasm, the relationships between the performers shift from self-sufficiency and interdependence, vulnerability and determination, provocation and resignation.
THE INTERPRETER. THE CHOREOGRAPHER. THE COMPANY
Jason Martin is dancer, actor and choreographer based in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. He began dancing late at the age of 21 after playing ice hockey for 17 years. In 2012, he graduated from the École de Danse Contemporaine de Montréal, and has since performed with Canadian companies such as Compagnie Marie Chouinard, Compagnie Dave St-Pierre, Daniel Léveillé Danse, le Carré des Lombes, Margie Gillis Dance Foundation, Compagnie Virginie Brunelle, The Holy Body Tattoo, Sylvain Émard Danse, Louise Bédard Danse, Red Sky Performance, le Fils d'Adrien Danse, Fila 13 - Lina Cruz, Danse K par K, VIVUS - James Viveiros, and Skeels Danse. He also collaborated on theater projects as a choreographer, actor and director, notably with Benoît Vermeulen, Luce Pelletier and Théâtre à l'Eau Froide.
In 2016, he founded ENTITEY/ jason martin, creating dance works that revolve around the resilience and interdependence of the human condition. His creations were presented in Canada, Israel, Taiwan, Mexico, Germany, Costa Rica, Colombia, Dominican Republic, Nicaragua, Hungary, Bulgaria and Spain. Two years later, in 2018, he was named guest artist-in-residence at Winnipeg's Contemporary Dancers for the creation of BEYOND. His solo étude nO.1 won Best Dancer at the SoloDuo NRW + Friends International Dance Festival in Cologne (Germany) in 2021, the Jury Prize for best choreographic work in the Certamen Coreográfico 10 Sentidos in Valencia (Spain) in 2022, and In 2023, La Gomera Choreography Center - Artistic Residency Prize at the Masdanza Festival (Spain).
Over the years, Jason has been commissioned to create works for the Ballet Nacional Dominicano (Dominican Republic), Ballet Metropolitano de Medellín (Colombia) and Compañía Nacional de Danza de Costa Rica, among others. He is also often invited as a guest choreographer and teacher for professional training programs such as Sadna Gaaton (Israel), Escuela Nacional de Danza Clásica y Contemporánea (Mexico), École de Danse Contemporaine de Montréal (Canada), Escuela Superior de Artes de Yucatán (Mexico), École de Théâtre de St-Hyacinthe (Canada) and École de Cirque du Québec (Canada).
AWARDS. GRANTS. NOMINATIONS
2023
Recipient of La Gomera Choreography Center – Artistic Residency / Festival Masdanza (Las Palmas, Spain)
Supported by Canada Council for the Arts / Circulation and Touring grant
Supported by Conseil des arts et des lettres du Québec / Public Presentation grant
2022
Jury Prize - Best choreographic work / Certamen Coreográfico10 Sentidos (Valencia, Spain)
Supported by Canada Council for the Arts / Concept to Realization
Supported by Conseil des arts et des lettres du Québec / Circulation grant
Supported by LOJIQ — Les Offices jeunesse internationaux du Québec / Career development grant
2021
Jury Prize - Best Dancer / SoloDuo nrw + friends International Dance Festival Cologne (Cologne, Germany)
Supported by Conseil des arts et des lettres du Québec / Public Presentation grant
Selected for Linkage International Choreographic Competition (Sofia, Bulgaria)
Supported by Canada Council for the Arts / Explore and Create grant
2020
Supported by Conseil des arts et des lettres du Québec / Research and Exploration grant
2018
Selected Artist in Residence at Winnipeg's Contemporary Dancers for the 2017-2018 season
Supported by the Canada Council for the Arts / Arts Abroad grant
Supported by LOJIQ — Les Offices jeunesse internationaux du Québec / Arts Abroad grant
Recipient of Compagnie Marie Chouinard Research and Creation Residency Program
2016
Recipient of Danse à la Carte Research and Creation Residency Program
Recipient of Circuit-Est Support for the Artist Residency Program
2015
Selected Choreographer for the Projet FLY — Laboratoire de création, École de danse contemporaine de Montréal
2014
Selected for Tangente Danses Buissonnières
2012
Selected Dancer and Scholarship recipient / Springboard Dance Montreal
Reviews
"Jason Martin pierces through (…) with high technical skill and large dynamic sensitivity. Martin body-mind is a vessel of dance vocabularies that seamlessly combine into one strong signature. The jury is convinced by the humble, honest curiosity of an inner journey that strives to bring us closer to the unspeakable in our existence."
— Roos van Berkel, May 23rd 2021 / about Study nO.1 / Study nO.1
"In the writing of this dancer and choreographer, melancholic accents pierce a more technological atmosphere. The style is elegant, fluid, with a few stills that underline the visual care given to the compositions. The collective paintings are also remarkable as the creator has a precise idea of the place to be occupied by each one, at what height and in what logic of movement."
— Marion Gerbier, DfDanse, December 21, 2019 / about Méandres et Solitudes
"The choreographer Jason Martin then plays on the contrasts between the group, and the individuality of these nine dancers. (...) The artists put themselves to the test and offer a powerful bodily engagement, using sensual undulations, isolations jerky. They gradually become exhausted, and gradually reveal their deep nature. We then discover the artist who slumbers, the being totally purified in symbiosis with his deep nature."
— Léa Villalba, Urban Bible, May 28, 2017 / about Souffle
"Dancer, actor and now choreographer, Jason did not take long to establish himself by his rigor at work and his sharp gestures. We often perceive a good dose of almost animal aggressiveness, although channeled in movements of great precision, all very elegant. It's scalable, human..."
— Simon Lafrance, Urban Bible, August 25, 2015 / about Us
Extraordinary choreographic cooperative
Raw set of great delicacy
Substance in symbiosis
ENTITEY