Alysa Pires

Choreographer Alysa Pires was born and raised on the traditional territory of the W̱SÁNEĆ people near Victoria, B.C. Her works have been performed by companies such as New York City Ballet, Alberta Ballet, Ballet Kelowna, Ballet Edmonton, and the National Ballet of Canada, where she held the position of Choreographic Associate from 2019-2022. 

Most recently, Alysa became the first Canadian woman commissioned by New York City Ballet. Her work Standard Deviation premiered at Lincoln Center in May 2023 and subsequently toured to the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC. 

Pires began working with the National Ballet of Canada as part of their Choreographic Workshop (2016-2018) and then represented the company at the 13th International Competition for the Erik Bruhn Prize (2019). Alysa was appointed Choreographic Associate by Karen Kain in 2019. Pires created two films for the company’s 20/21 virtual season and made her mainstage debut in March 2022 with Skyward. 

Pires’ commissions for Ballet Kelowna include her full-length Macbeth (2022), and MAMBO (2018), which has become a signature work for the company, being presented as part of the 2018 Fall for Dance North Festival in Toronto, the China Arts Expo in Beijing, and touring extensively across Canada. 

Pires is a three time participant of the New York Choreographic Institute and was one of the 2017 winners of Northwest Dance Project’s International Choreographic Competition. She also creates under the umbrella of Alysa Pires Dance Projects, which made its critically acclaimed full-length debut with Exterminating Angel at the 2016 Toronto Fringe Festival. Alysa is an Honours BFA graduate of Toronto Metropolitan University and was the recipient of the 2015 Jack McAllister Award.