Tiohtià:ke/Montreal-based performer, maker and educator in both dance and music, Susanna Hood has devoted her career to synthesizing voice and movement within her dynamic practice, creating intimate, sensual and raw performances both in dance-theatre contexts as well as in the context of improvised music. Founder and former artistic director of interdisciplinary performance company hum dansoundart (2000-2013) her work has been marked by significant collaborations with musical artists Nilan Perera (improvisational duo dialogues; and choreographic musical works still, She’s gone away, Shudder), John Oswald (Spinvolver), and Scott Thomson (as band member of The Rent (repertoire by Steve Lacy) and The Disguises; and as co-creator/performer of The Muted Note – songs and dances setting the poetry of P.K. Page).
Throughout her career as a creator, and particularly in the last decade, she has sought a total integration of the dance and music aspects of her practice, influenced by her internal, holistic experience of moving, sounding, and listening. Something she refers to as embodied music: the experience of movement as music and of sound/music as movement, where the two forms, in dialogue, remain simultaneously distinct and interchangeable, to create a listener/viewer experience that blurs the lines between what is heard and what is seen. In support of this interest, she pursued post-graduate research in the Research Studios at P.A.R.T.S. in Brussels, Belgium (2015/2016) with the program’s emphasis on synergistic relations between dance and music. Her most recent creations (Music Is, 2016, and Impossibly Happy, 2019) have been driven by her own musical compositions arranging voices, instruments and movement.
Recent projects include: the duo musical collaboration Tortues Vapeur, with Montreal turntablist, Martin Tétreault, mixing turntables, electronics, synthesizers, vocals and objects. (releasing their first disk on on DAME’s Mikroclimat label in 2019); a duo with Belgian bassist, Peter Jacquemyn; and performances with the French trio Rrève Sélavy (Frédéric BBriet, double bass; Nicolas Pointard, drums; and Christophe Rocher, clarinettes). Unpacked, the first project with her trio with Toronto/Tkaronto musicians Tania Gill (piano) and Kayla Milmine (soprano saxophone), is a new arrangement and interpretation of the Packet suite by late American poet, Judith Malina and late American jazz composer, Steve Lacy. unPacked will be released as a recording in early 2024 on Quebec’s DAME label..
Since 2004, Susanna has been teaching improvisation, composition, and voice and movement synthesis in various institutions and through independent workshops across Canada, internationally and online, including: The School of the Toronto Dance Theatre (ON, CAN), T.O. Love-In (ON, CAN), l’École de Danse Contemporaine de Montréal (QC, CAN), Studio 303 (QC, CAN), TransFormation (QC, CAN), L’École de Danse de Québec (QC, CAN), l’Artère (QC, CAN), Crimson Coast Dance Society (BC, CAN), Mascall Dance (BC, CAN) and E.D.E.N. Studios (Berlin, Germany).
Since 2013 Susanna has become a teacher trainer of Open Source Forms, a practice fluidly expanded from and combining the principles of the Skinner Releasing Technique with the varied and developing practices of its teachers. In July 2023 she will complete the inaugural two-year teacher training program in Emotionally Integrated Voice with her teacher of 20 years, Fides Krucker.
Awards include the 1998 K.M. Hunter Emerging Artists Award in Dance, 2006 Dora Mavor Moore Award for Outstanding Performance in Dance, and the 2008 Canada Council Victor Martin Lynch-Staunton Award for Outstanding Achievement in the field of Dance.
Susanna is the co-director with Sarah Bild of La Poêle Studio in Tiohtià:ke/Montreal, an art space dedicated to research, creation, education and informal presentation of dance, music and other related arts practices. An important and much-loved hub in the Montreal arts-scene, the studio celebrates it’s 10th anniversary in 2023!
CV
Susanna Hood (she.her.elle)
Independent choreographer, composer, dancer, singer, teacher
Selected Choreography/Composition/Bandleading:
2025 Homing, solo corps-objet-son – solo hour-long work in
collaboration with sound artist Frédéric B.Briet, La Poêle Studio,
Côte-des-Neiges, Montréal
2023 unPacked – ongoing bandleading of musical trio with Tania Gill
(piano) and Kayla Milmine (saxophone) – a reimagining of the
Packet suite by composer, Steve Lacy and poet, Judith Malina –
performances at Women from Space Festival, Something Else!
Festival and Suonil per Il Popolo – album released by
DAME/Ambiance Magnétique in February 2024.
2021 Undrum Solo for Duo – film in collaboration with
drummer/composer Germaine Lui and video
artists Elysha Poirier & Béa Labikova. Undrum Festival/Suonil per il
Popolo Festival.
2019 Impossibly Happy – Suite of songs/dances (composed and
choreographed by Susanna Hood) setting poetry by 15c zen poet
Ikkyu for an interdisciplinary sextet for 6 voices, 3 dancers,
drums, tuba, and viola. No Hay Banda music series & Suonil per Il
Popolo music festival, Sala Rossa, Montreal; Rat Drifting Series at
Arraymusic, Toronto.
2016 Music Is… – interdisciplinary sextet for voice, movement, cello,
drums, and guitar. MIRY Concert Hall, Ghent, Belgium.
Travelling Light – solo for movement, voice and text. PARTS@Work
presentation, PARTS studios, Brussels, Belgium.
2014 The Muted Note – octet for 4 musicians (Nicolas Caloia, double-bass,
Yves Charuest, saxophone, Pierre Tanguay, drums, Scott Thomson,
trombone), 3 dancers (Ellen Furey, Alanna Kraaijeveld, Bernard
Martin) and 1 dancer/musician (Susanna Hood, dance and voice).
Piece choreographed and improvised on a suite of songs composed
by Scott Thomson setting poems by Canadian poet P.K. Page. The
Citadel Theatre (Toronto); Studio Hydro-Québec, Tangente/L’OFF
Festival de jazz (Montréal).
2012 The Share – in situ performance of music and dance for 70
professional and amateur dancers et musicians, conceived and
created with Scott Thomson (composer), Exhibition Park, Guelph, ON
– commission by ICASP and Musgetes Foundation, Guelph.
2011 The Tips – quartet for 3 musicians (Kyle Brenders, saxophone,
Susanna Hood, voice, Scott Thomson, trombone) et 2
danseuses/improvisatrices (Alanna Kraaijeveld, Susanna Hood).
Piece choreographed and improvised on the music of Steve Lacy.
ICASP Colloquium in the context of the Guelph Jazz Festival.
The Frying Pan’s Too Wide – Tangente (Montréal), February
Costing not less than everything – reworked version Tangente
(Montréal), February
Spinvolver – reworked remount Open Ears Festival (Kitchener), May
2010 Shudder – 55-minute trio for performers Susanna Hood, Alanna
Kraaijeveld, Dan Wild; composer Nilan Perera; director Ruth
Madoc-Jones; Lighting design, Rebecca Picherack; Set and Costume
design Julie Fox. Théâtre La Chapelle (Montréal) and Buddies in
Bad Times Theatre (Toronto), April and May
2009 The Frying Pan’s Too Wide (development version) – improvisation
Sarah Bild and Susanna Hood; ongoing practice and performance;
premiered at Vernissage #143 – Live!, Studio 303 (Montreal) &
Performance Mix Festival (New York City), February
Costing not less than everything – solo commission for Holly Bright
premiered at InFringing Festival (Nanaimo BC), November
2006 loveloathing – 45-minute group work for 8 performers
incorporating dance/voice/text. Dancemakers Presents,
Dancemakers Centre for Creation (Toronto), September
She’s gone away – 50-minute solo in collaboration with musician
Nilan Perera and director Jennifer Tarver, The Theatre Centre
(Toronto), April
2004 Waking en-dessous – 20-minute solo in collaboration with
musician, Nilan Perera, Winchester Street Theatre (Toronto),
March, performances in Ottawa, Quebec City, Guelph,
Newfoundland, Montreal, Ljubljana, Luxembourg, Cardiff
2003 Spinvolver – program-length solo dance-music work conceived by
composer John Oswald and created collaboratively, Festival Club
Transmediale (Berlin), February; Instants Chavires (France),
April; Festival Radiophonic (Brussels), November
2000 still – program-length solo work created in collaboration with
musician Nilan Perera, set designer Phillip Barker, lighting
designer Philip Beasley, electronics designer, Jim Ruxton,
costume designer Heather MacCrimmon, and creative facilitator
Katherine Duncanson: Nov. 9-12, 2000, Artword Theatre (Toronto)
Dialogues – ongoing collaborative improvisation with guitarist,
Nilan Perera: DUO Ontario Showcase at the Canada Dance Festival
(Ottawa), June 2000
Selected Musical Composition & Recordings:
2024 unPacked – Words by Judith Malina, Music by Steve Lacy –
recording released on Montreal label DAME, Ambiance
Magnétique, February 2024
2020 Slow Stone Motion – radio-art commission for Send & Receive
Festival as part of ongoing musical project, Tortues Vapeur with co-
composer/performer, Martin Tétrault
2019 Tortues Vapeur – debut disk album release, May (Microklimat
label); MUTEK festival, Montreal.
2018 Mobile – composition for trombone quartet, Somewhere There
Festival, Toronto
2006-08 Kidnextdoor – co-compositions for improvisation for voices and
guitar with Christine Duncan and Nilan Perera, various
performing contexts, Toronto
2003 The Botany of Desire – recorded vocal score for dance by Rebecca
Todd and Eryn Dace Trudell, Shared Habitat Festival, Toronto
2002 Ode – live composition for voice and electronics for dance by
Rececca Todd, Dusk Dances, Toronto
2002-03 FaMished America – co-composition for improvisation for radio,
voice, guitar and electronics with Nilan Perera, Ambient Ping and
Deep Wireless Festival, Toronto; Send and Receive Festival of
Sound, Winnipeg
Selected Theatre Credits:
2023 Choreographer in collaboration with Director Jennifer Tarver for
staging of Pergolesi’s Stabat Mater, Edmonton Opera, Edmonton.
2009 Assistant Director/Movement Coach to Director Jennifer Tarver
for the Stratford Festival production of George F. Walker’s
Zastrozzi, Studio Theatre, Stratford.
2007 Assistant Director/Movement Coach to Director Jennifer Tarver
for Nightwood Theatre’s production of Sarah Kane’s Crave, Young
Centre, Toronto.
Selected Performance:
2022 Ugly Feelings – trio by choreographer Caroline Gravel, Offta 2022,
Montréal.
2017-18 Black Noise – group work by choreographer Vicente Colomar.
Matadero, Madrid, Spain.
2017 Party Game – actor/singer/dancer in interdisciplinary work by
Bluemouth Inc. Edinburgh Fringe, Edinburgh, Scotland.
2008-present/ongoing – improvising vocalist/dancer with many musical
artists/communities across Canada (Montreal – including saxophonist Jean Derome, trombonist Scott Thomson; Toronto – including drummer Germaine Lui, bassist Rob Clutton; Vancouver – including drummer Ben Brown, singer Carol Sawyer) and in Europe (Brussels – ongoing duo with bassist Peter Jacquemyn; France – ongoing quartet, “Rrève Sélavy” with bassist Frédéric BBriet, clarinetist Christophe Rocher, and drummer Nicolas Pointard).
2008-16 The Rent & The Disguises – singer and dancer with these quintets
led by Scott Thomson of original repertoire and repertoire by
American Jazz Composer, Steve Lacy.
2008 Rocks – group work by choreographer Tedd Robinson, with
musical arrangement & performance by Susanna Hood and
Catherine Thompson: The Barn, Gatineau, Quebec
Yosha’s Morning Song by Malcolm Goldstein as part of his
AIMToronto Interface Series, Somewhere There, Toronto
2005 Stupa – group work by choreographer/composer Peter Chin:
Harbourfront Centre Theatre as part of DanceWorks Series,
Toronto, October
2003 Low & Four Mary’s – two quartets by choreographers Kate Alton
and Julia Sasso as part of The Overall Dance workshop production
of Level with the Ground, Madison Studios, (Toronto), March
2002 Lumens 02 – collaborative creation and performance in inter-
disciplinary performance by Compagnie Recto-Verso: La Meduse –
Salle Multi (Quebec City), June
2000 Electric Flesh – acting, singing and dancing role in the new opera
by Wende Bartley and Thom Sokoloski, Festival Musique-en scene,
The Opera of Lyon Amphitheatre (Lyon, France), March
1991-95 Dancer with the Toronto Dance Theatre
Selected Teaching:
2004 – 2013 The School of the Toronto Dance Theatre, Toronto: part-
time faculty in Improvisation and Creative Process
2008 & 2010 Crimson Coast Dance Society, Nanaimo, BC: week-long
workshops in Voice, Movement and Improvisation
2009 – 2020 Studio 303, Montreal: annual week-long workshops in
OSF/Voice & Movement
2012 l’Artère, Quebec City: week-long workshop in OSF/Voice
& Movement
TransFormation, Montreal: week-long workshop in
OSF/Voice & Movement
2013-2014 École de Danse de Québec, Quebec City: part-time
faculty in OSF/Voice & Movement and Creative Process
2013 – 2015 l’École de Danse Contemporain de Montréal: part-time
faculty in Composition and Interpretation
2013 – present Open Source Forms Teacher Certification Program,
Seattle, USA: seasonal faculty for annual summer
training program, and year-round, weekly online
faculty since 2020
2014 Various locations as part of a cross-Canada
performing/teaching tour: Improvisation and
Song/Dance composition co-taught with Scott Thomson
2016 Beyond Beginnings, EDEN studios, Berlin: 2-week
advanced workshop in OSF/SRT and Improvisation co-
taught with Bettina Neuhaus.
2019 Mascall Dance & TSV, Vancouver: week-long workshops
in OSF/Voice & Movement
2020 l’École de Danse Contemporain de Montréal: part-time
faculty in OSF/Voice & Movement
2020 – 2022 Online and live classes in OSF (beginner, intermediate &
advanced levels), Improvisation and Voice both self-
produced and through Open Source Forms, Seattle. (75
classes from Oct 2020 – Nov 2021, total of 160 contact
hours)
2020 – present regular classes and workshops in OSF and EIV at La
Poêle Studio, Montréal
2022 Weeklong workshops in OSF, EIV, and Interdisciplinary
Improvisation: Conservatoire de Brest, France; Istanbul
International Improvisation Festival, Turkey; and in
Graz, Austria
2022 – 2023 Practice & Process, co-teaching week-long workshops
with Sarah Bild: Mascall Dance, Vancouver; Ottawa Dance
Directive/School of Dance, Ottawa; Good Women Dance
Collective, Edmonton; Simon Fraser Dance Student Union,
Vancouver; Crimson Coast Dance Society, Nanaimo
2023 – present Dance Arts Institute (formerly the School of the Toronto
Dance Theatre: part-time faculty in Music I: Voice
2023 Concordia University – Department of Contemporary
Dance: part-time faculty in Dance Technique
2024 Mentorship in improvisation as part of La Poêle/Circuit-
Est IMPROmptu_24 mentorship-residency
Curation/Community-Organization/Administration
2000 – 2013 Founder, Artistic Director, General Manager of hum
dansoundart – an interdisciplinary performance company
(humdansoundart.wordpress.com)
2013 – present Co-founder/manager/curator of La Poêle Studio with Sarah Bild – a multidisciplinary Montreal space for research, creation and education (lapoele307.wordpress.com)
2013 – present Member of the support and visioning team for the Open Source Forms organization – a Seattle-based international training program
2017 – 2025 Co-curator/manager of Mardi Spaghetti – a community-led weekly improvised music event, founded in 2008
2021 – present Board member for Productions SuperMusique, Montréal. Vice President since 2024.
Selected Training:
1981-1985 School of Dance Ottawa – Pre-Professional Program
1985-1988 Royal Winnipeg Ballet – Professional Division
1988-2001 School of the Toronto Dance Theatre – Professional
Training Program
2001-present Vocal studies with Richard Armstrong, Fides Krucker;
Skinner Releasing and Improvisation with Joan Skinner
& Stephanie Skura; Tuning Scores with Lisa Nelson;
Action Theatre with Ruth Zaporah
2009-2010 Certification Teacher training in Open Source Forms
with Stephanie Skura
2015 Residency in musical composition with
mentor/composer Karl Berger, Atlantic Centre for the
Arts, Florida
2015 – 2016 Graduate studies in Pilot #2 of the new Research
Studios at P.A.R.T.S. in Brussels, Belgium
2018 Composition for Improvisation with mentor/composer
Malcolm Goldstein, Montreal
2021 – 2023 inaugural 2-year apprenticeship and teacher training in
Emotionally Integrated Voice, with master teacher and
founder Fides Krucker, Toronto
Awards:
1998 The K.M. Hunter Emerging Artist Award in Dance
2006 Dora Mavor Moore Award for Outstanding Performance
in Dance – She’s gone away
2008 Victor Martin Lynch-Staunton Award, Outstanding Mid-
Career Artist in Dance