photo Roberto Lacovissi
Sasha Ivanochko is a choreographer, educator and the Artistic Director of Ivanochko in company. In August of 2018, she became the Artistic Director of Dancers’ Studio West, an organization dedicated to the evolution of contemporary dance practices.
“Sasha Ivanochko is so damned expressive, you could sell tickets to watch her cross the street.” – NOW Magazine, 2005
Sasha first developed her powerful physicality competing for ten years on the Canadian National Gymnastics Team. At the age of 14 she began training in Ballet and Modern dance at the Etobicoke School for the Performing Arts, and in 1991 she graduated from the School of Toronto Dance Theatre. She has an MFA Interdisciplinary Studies from Simon Fraser University.
“Ivanochko is a masterful performer who’s not afraid to confront demons head on, or challenge her viewers by taking them everywhere from heaven to hell.” – Uptown Magazine, May 14, 2009
A virtuosic and multi-talented interpreter, she performed in the works of many outstanding choreographers, including Michael Trent, Peter Chin, Susie Burpee & Linnea Swan, Toru Shimazaki, Denise Fujiwara, DA Hoskins, Peggy Baker, James Kudelka, Tedd Robinson, Citadel & Compagnie and for nine seasons with Toronto Dance Theatre. During her final two years with TDT, Ivanochko was the Artistic Assistant to Director Christopher House.
Sasha Ivanochko
photo Kristy Kennedy
Sasha made her choreographic debut in 1997, and since then has created a body of work renowned for its dramatic physicality, unflinchingly candid performances and detailed craftsmanship. Alongside her choreographies for Ivanochko in company, she has been commissioned by Toronto Dance Theatre, Via Salzberg, Winnipeg’s Contemporary Dancers, TILT sound+motion, Toronto’s Crazyfish Collective, multiple Canadian dance conservatories and universities, and independent artists Helen Husak (Calgary) and Naoko Murakoshi (Kobe, Japan).
An educator since 1996, Miss Ivanochko has developed a training methodology that is specific to the demands of her choreography. The class supports participants developing a kinetic and interpretive understanding of her movement vocabulary, but as well encourages a broader range of skills that has applications towards many performance avenues. Sasha has guest taught internationally, was the Artist in Residence at The University of Calgary in 2014 and 2018, and is a regular guest artist at École de danse contemporaine de Montréal and The School of Toronto Dance Theatre.
Sasha Ivanochko
photo Wojtek Mochniej
Sasha’s creative output extends into the worlds of other artists. She works as an outside eye for peers and provides creative facilitation and mentorship for young dance artists. A passionate advocate for the health and status of artists and the position of the milieu in greater culture, Sasha served as Chair of the Canadian Alliance of Dance Artists, Ontario Chapter, from 2006-2009 and Chair of the Independent Standing Council with the Canadian Dance Assembly from 2009-2011.
Throughout her career, Sasha’s artistic contribution to the Canadian dance milieu has been acknowledged through a variety of awards and bursaries. She is a five time Dora Mavor Moore nominee for Outstanding Performance and Best Choreography, the recipient of the 2007 K.M. Hunter Award, a two-time recipient of the Chalmers Family Fellowship, and the first recipient of The Kathryn Ash Award dispersed by the School of Toronto Dance Theatre. In 2006, Sasha was profiled in the Bravo Channel Documentary Freedom Series. Her MFA research was awarded the Joseph Armand Bombardier Canada Graduate-Masters Award.