Our Mission

Animals of Distinction creates performance work that influences, engages with and inspires other forms and disciplines. The company's work is grounded in the idea that dance is fundamentally a condition of risk, and an embrace of that risk. Dance creation is rooted in the physical and social, and as such has the potential impact society by instigating discourse and creating micro-communities. As a dance artist, artistic director and choreographer Dana Gingras is drawn to amplifying the sense of physical possibility – exploring and pushing the limits of what bodies are capable of, and allowing that to become manifold and present in the most innovative fashion possible. Animals of Distinction is a framework for contemporary practice, as a point of intersection where the social kinesthetic, and the possibilities of physical thinking can be actualized in choreographic ideas with different collaborations and with other art forms to nourish, inspire and cultivate ideas, individuals and communities.

Animals of Distinction has a deep and abiding interest in integrating performance with emerging technologies, manifested through the constantly evolving discourse between digitally mediated reality and human perception. The idea of space is a central thematic concern, whether this is a physical or numinal space that exists in digital interface, or a vehicle to transcend physical boundaries and disseminate work on a global scale. Animals of Distinction's ultimate intent is to exist as an assemblage of difference, positing and supporting mobilization, empowering performers and collaborators within the greater social body, to form a community of exchange based on fluidity, connection, research, discourse, reflection, and a degree of multiplicity that is no longer defined by traditional boundaries, be they physical and culturally bound.

About Animals of Distinction Arts Society

Established in 2006, Animals of Distinction is a Montreal-based multi-media dance company founded by artistic director Dana Gingras, co-founder of wildly acclaimed The Holy Body Tattoo, as a vehicle of artistic expression and exploration for her independent work.

"Smash Up", the company’s first full-evening work, is a collection of solos and duets conceived as a collision between dance, animation and sound. In addition, Animals of Distinction has produced three Bravo!FACT short films: "Dances for Dzama", "Auralia" and "Double Bubble". And most recently the company was invited to the Los Angeles County Museum Of Art to perform "What Is Mine Is Yours", a live performance/video installation that explores the relationship between food, art, culture and politics.