Aszure Barton

Aszure Barton was born and raised in Alberta, Canada. She is the founder and artistic director of Aszure Barton & Artists, an organization dedicated to the growth of artists and production of contemporary dance performance. Barton has been commissioned to create new works for Mikhail Baryshnikov, Fang-Yi Sheu, The National Ballet of Canada, Sydney Dance Company, The Juilliard School, Les Ballets Jazz de Montréal, The Martha Graham Dance Company, ABT II, Hubbard Street Dance Chicago, U.K. Laban Institute, among many others. She recently choreographed the Broadway production of The Threepenny Opera starring Alan Cumming, Jim Dale, Nellie Mackay, and Cyndi Lauper (a new translation by Wallace Shawn, directed by Scott Elliott). Barton received her formal training at the National Ballet School in Toronto, and also studied at The Royal Winnipeg Ballet, Alberta Ballet School, and the John Cranko School in Stuttgart, Germany. As a student, she helped originate the ongoing Stephen Godfrey Choreographic Showcase. She has performed internationally with Mikhail Baryshnikov’s Hell’s Kitchen Dance, The National Ballet of Canada, Les Ballets Jazz de Montréal and Aszure Barton & Artists. She is the recipient of numerous grants and awards from across North America and overseas, and has choreographed numerous international film projects. Barton was recently designated a Paul D. Fleck Fellow at The Banff Centre. She is the Resident Choreographer for Les Ballets Jazz de Montréal and she has been an Artist-in-Residence at the Baryshnikov Arts Center (BAC) since 2005.