meet JA
The beating heart at the core of Small Stage is the co-founder, artistic director and creative producer, Julie-anne Saroyan.
A visionary leader with a keen eye for emerging talent + supporting artists for over 30+ years. Saroyan’s spirit resides at the core of what has made Small Stage an iconic presence.
Saroyan’s artistic practice includes dance curation, artistic direction, creative producer, dance presenter, stage + production management, content development, including post production, designer including dance lighting, costumes, props + sets, digital dance software development and integration of live + digital pipelines.
More than 20+ years after launching, Small Stage, Saroyan has evolved the organization beyond a singular focus on dance to embrace a broader world of performance, arts and music and bring it to the public through non-traditional venues.
Small Stage blends live and digital platforms to create powerful and innovative mixed-reality performances in the public realm. The work is centred around reducing barriers and elevating performing arts- dance, music, to become more accessible to a broader audience.
Simultaneously, Small Stage equips artists with opportunities to extend their reach beyond the limitations of a physical venue by embracing technology and innovation.
Saroyan’s work is recognized for fostering the growth of emerging dance artists and musicians and growing audiences with works in both live and digital realms. She continues investigating new technologies and digital strategies to tell stories and bring people as close to art as possible.
In 2001, Saroyan co-founded Movement Enterprises (MovEnt) and launched the long-running series Dances for a Small Stage in Vancouver. Dances for a Small Stage shows each featured a curated set of 5-7 minute dance performances that showcase a wide variety of styles and genres of dance, presented in non-traditional venues and beer halls better known for punk rock shows than sophisticated modern dance performances.
This innovative approach exposed new audiences to all forms of dance, including Contemporary, Ballet, Urban, Tap, Flamenco, Bhaṅgṛā, Indian Classical, Chinese and Japanese Classical and Contemporary, Scottish Highland, Burlesque and many others. The unique and compelling series was an instant classic, producing over fifty instalments over 20 years in Vancouver, including three shows in Ottawa at the National Arts Centre.
Since launching in 2001, Julie-anne has been the engine that drives the company forward. Her passion for dance and the arts and her deep knowledge of history and culture combine with her ability to coordinate, organize, and inspire others to rally for her cause.
Beyond Dances for a Small Stage, Saroyan has worked with a variety of dance artists and companies, including Ballet BC, Margie Gillis, Emily Molnar and Crystal Pite/Kidd Pivot, whom she toured with Internationally for more than ten years. She also was on Faculty at Simon Fraser University from 2005-2007 as the Production/Stage Management Instructor in the School for the Contemporary Arts.
Saroyan has also worked extensively in Corporate Special Events, creating and producing large-scale awards shows and team-building events in Vancouver and internationally, including Barcelona, Malta & Phoenix and Hawaii. Clients include BP International Engineering Conferences, Nike, Visa International and Buckingham Palace.
In 2014, Saroyan mentored under Farooq Chaudhry in London, UK. His ideas and concepts surrounding the role of the cultural entrepreneur in the dance world are fundamental to Saroyan’s approach.
Saroyan holds a BFA in Dance and Technical Theatre from York University in Toronto and trained at The Banff Centre in 1993 for Dance Stage Management, Executive Lab at Vantage Point in 2015 and New Fundamentals: Leadership for the Creative Ecology at The Banff Centre in 2016.
She is well known for her ability to build capacity for the arts through cross-sectoral collaborations, strategic partnerships, and mutually beneficial alliances.
Her work in the dance sector includes incubating new choreographic work and developing promising artists through uniquely designed workshops, mentorships, and hands-on residencies.
Julie-anne challenges artists to push boundaries and explore new styles and movements. Their dedication and passion are a continual source of inspiration for Saroyan.
“My work has fostered and engaged emerging and established dancers, musicians, visual artists, technologists and practitioners. Together with our community and business partners, we have collaborated and brought creative life and attention to neighbourhoods in ways that surprise, delight, and connect us all through the power of the performing arts.”
- Julie-anne Saroyan