Noam Gagnon

Noam Gagnon (born 1963 in Montreal) is a Canadian dancer. Outside of his work in dance, Gagnon is a certified teacher in pilates and the Franklin method. He is currently an associate dance artist with the National Arts Center in Ottawa and artistic director of Vancouver-based dance company, Vision Impure. Following this, he decided to further explore dance as a form taking classes in dance and choreography at Concordia University. Eventually, he graduated from Concordia in 1987 with a degree in Dance and Choreography. After completion of his degree Gagnon moved to Vancouver where he joined EDAM (Experimental Dance and Music) and later to Ottawa, dancing for Le Groupe Dance Lab. in 1993 he formed the company Holy Body Tattoo with co-artistic director Dana Gringas where he choreographed, directed, and performed for 16 years. As a performer, Gagnon is said to be, "known for holding nothing back, physically or emotionally, in his full-throttle performances."

Holy Body Tattoo

Gagnon served as co-artistic director, alongside Dana Gringas, and choreographer of the Holy Body Tattoo. He first met Gringas at EDAM (Experimental Dance and Music) in Vancouver. They also danced together with a company in Ottawa, Le Groupe Dance Lab. The remounted work also incorporated visual elements by William Morrison and projected text written by Jenny Holzer. The company has performed around the world including at the Sydney Opera House, the Barbican Centre in London, the New Moves Across Europe Festival in Glasgow, the Marator de L'Espectacle in Barcelona, and the Pride Arts Festival in London. Holy Body Tattoo is credited with helping to pioneer the distribution of dance across many platforms including using its online presence to sell merchandise, marketing in music and film, and appearances in international club circuits. The Vision Impure was the first work produced by his new company and received an Isadora Award for Excellence in Performance in 2008. Gagnon continued to use film as an accompaniment to live performance as he had with Holy Body Tattoo. In his work with Vision Impure, Gagnon explores themes of relationships, intimacy, perception, identity, and self reflection. Gagnon produced an evening length solo on himself called This Crazy Show in 2016. In this work he dons heels, wigs, and a suit at certain points - moving through a set with randomly placed furniture and props that was created through inspiration from Salvador Dalí and M. C. Escher. Vision Impure's work has been presented throughout Canada, with Gagnon's most recent work Pathways being presented at the Vancouver International Dance Festival and Dancing on the Edge.

Pilates Gagnon began training in pilates in 1987. Gagnon is quoted in The Georgia Straight as saying, "One thing that is clear is that you don’t bring the dance into Pilates, you use Pilates for the dance, when you need it."

2000 : Inaugural Alcan Performing Arts Award, Presented by the Vancouver East Cultural Center (Circa with Holy Body Tattoo)

2008 : Isadora Award for Excellence in Performance to Noam Gagnon (The Vision Impure with Company Vision Impure)