Assis Carreiro
Artist Management
International Arts &
Cultural Projects
photo: Peter Smida
photo: Peter Smida
photo: Peter Smida
Press
"the opening duet in Meteorite beautifully encapsulates Kirsten Wicklund's broad aesthetic interests. The woman wears pointe shoes, a technology that facilitates the light upward energy of her trip retirees, while the barefoot man hunches over, stepping imil into the ground. yet next to each other the quiet hum of the brightly lit stage, they are well paired, not just through costuming - both wear short, fire-engine red fringed skirts - but all in the way they equally embody the same port de bras. Their oratorship in coherent, the inner impulse intriguing."
- Kaija Pepper, TanzInternational
on FIELD (Opera Ballet Vlaanderen)
"...It's an intense experience for us as well as the dancers. Wicklund knows how far to push her dancers and push she does."
"It was a bold mainstage choreographic debut for Wicklund, which indicates plenty of potential and an innovative mindset."
"…Field, was very intense, a truly amazing experience. It's incredible to what extent a human body is able to express"
- Backtrack
on PROOF
“The work was enigmatic, a sort of puzzlebox that could be read a number of different ways.”
- Janet Smith, Create a Stir
on Tu me Manques (HNB Junior Company)
“Like a sculpture of two fused bodies{,…}They slowly tear themselves away from each other. A beautiful duet to live music, stripped of unnecessary decorations.”
- Het Parool
“(The dancers…) cling longingly to each other, occasionally even hanging upside down. The beautifully constructed love drama by Wicklund is given extra shine by the live music of cellist Jeroen den Herder and countertenor Jake Ingbar.”
- Theaterkrant
“Another surprise comes from Kirsten Wicklund. The melancholic duet Tu me manques (music by Giulio Caccini) is inventive and atmospheric and shows a couple (the excellent Bo-Ann Zehl and Robin Park) who seem to long for their intimate entanglements of the past. Wicklund translates the harmony of that time into synchronous or mirrored passages; their curved torsos represent the loss.
“the beautiful Tu me manques by Kirsten Wicklund, one of the highlights of the evening. I scribbled 'Emotional gem' on the program booklet in the dark.”
- Scènes
Kirsten Wicklund
Kirsten's video reels can be viewed HERE.
Kirsten Wicklund is a Canadian choreographer, director, and dance artist with a career bridging international performance, curatorial research, and collaborative artistic leadership.
Born in British Columbia, Kirsten received her foundational training at several Canadian and international institutions, including Goh Ballet Academy, Modus Operandi Contemporary Dance Program, the Royal Winnipeg Ballet School, and The Banff Centre, alongside scholarships to American Ballet Theatre, Boston Ballet, and Pacific Northwest Ballet.
Her performance career subsequently took her to stages across North America and Europe. For eight years, she was a core company member of Ballet BC under the artistic direction of Emily Molnar, CM and later Medhi Walerski—a formative period that deeply shaped her values as both a dancer and a maker. During her time at Ballet BC, Kirsten performed existing masterworks by William Forsythe, Crystal Pite, Johan Inger, Ohad Naharin, Sharon Eyal, and Jorma Elo, while directly collaborating on the creation of original world premieres by Lesley Telford, Medhi Walerski, Emmanuel Gat, Wen Wei Wang, Cayetano Soto, Adi Salant, Aszure Barton, Serge Bennathan, Company 605 and more.
In 2021, Kirsten relocated to Belgium to join Opera Ballet Vlaanderen as a Demi-Soloist, performing in works by Pina Bausch, Sharon Eyal, Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui, and Akram Khan, and originating roles in new creations by Jan Martens, Richard Siegal and Ella Rothschild.
As an independent choreographer, Kirsten has built a varied portfolio of commissions. Her work has been produced and programmed by the Dutch National Ballet’s Junior Company, Staatstheater Nürnberg Ballett, Opera Ballet Vlaanderen, the New York Choreographic Institute (at New York City Ballet), Ballet BC, Alberta Ballet, and Ballet Kelowna. Her piece, Overcast, for Ballet BC’s Inaugural Take Form was named a finalist at the International Choreographic Competition Hannover, and her creations have toured across both Europe, Canada and the USA.
In 2024, Kirsten was appointed Artistic Director of Ballet Edmonton. In this role, she guided a twelve-dancer ensemble, championing a contemporary creation focussed repertoire while establishing sustainable operational structures, managing national touring, and building cross-disciplinary partnerships. Her leadership philosophy is rooted in shared agency, low-hierarchy environments, and a profound commitment to dancer mentorship within a creation-focussed structure.
Guided by a deep love for collaborative, interdisciplinary creation, Kirsten was recently commissioned by Canada’s National Arts Centre (NAC) to develop a new, evening-length production, supported in part by the Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity which is currently in progress. This spirit of creative curiosity also extends to her upcoming international projects, including a new work premiering with the Dutch National Ballet in September 2026 and a self produced new full evening of work with co-creator Peter Smida making its debut in Vancouver, BC in December 2026.
Through her ongoing creative work, her dedication to teaching, and her commitment to building healthy, supportive studio spaces, Kirsten remains devoted to nurturing the next generation of dance artists and makers while contributing meaningfully to cultural leadership in Canada.
@kirstenwickland