Miranda Abbott

Miranda Abbott began her professional training at the National Ballet School of Canada. Additional training includes: L’École Supérieure de Danse du Québec, Montreal; and The Canadian Children’s Dance Theatre (CCDT), Toronto, where she toured across Canada and performed original and memorable works of many choreographers including, David Earle, Carol Anderson and Keith Lee from New York City. Miranda completed her studies at The School of Toronto Dance Theatre; receiving training from many of Canada’s leading teachers. She also performed the works of several gifted dancers and choreographers such as: Sonya Biernath, Lesandra Dodson, Christopher House, José Limón, Coralee McLaren, Sharon Moore, Julia Sasso and Michael Trent. Miranda aspires to bring the vitality and diversity of the hip-hop culture into the modern dance world by combining ballet, modern, break and urban dance. She explores concepts of mathematics and science in her work and seeks to create vibrant dances that also have a subtext of social and political commentary; interesting and fun work that is accessible to all audiences.

As a choreographer, Miranda’s has been creating work since 1996; Loud Minority, Take Five, Bend, Where the City Lies, and Shades of a Painted Girl are a few of her early creations. Her first piece Fell, which was created under her company name, Event Horizon Dance (EHD), premiered at the Art Gallery of Ontario in 2002. Miranda also collaborated with Toronto choreographers Emily Law and Jesse Catibog on a piece called Souls of Rhythm, a combination of modern dance and break dance. The piece premiered at ‘In a White Room 2005’, a performance series that featured 18 Toronto choreographers. Something Within That Never Was premiered at ‘In a White Room 2006’ and was invited to the Guelph Contemporary Dance Festival in 2007. Miranda choreographed a piece called Flight for The Canadian Children’s Dance Theatre and has routinely created work for the Unionville School of the Arts. She is the choreographer for Fallen Rocks Production and has choreogrpahed Beauty and the Beast (2008), and the Wizard of Oz (2009). May 2008 marked an important year for her company, her first full evening of dance was a retrospective where she presented 5 pieces; Enter-twined (2007), Flight and Other Such Adventures (2007), Loud Minority (1996), Something With that Never Was (2006), and Ryoan-Ji to Osaka (premiere). Excerpts of the show were presented at the Guelph Contemporary Dance Festival in May 2008, and the show was taken on tour to Ontario schools and to the Registry Theatre in Kitchener.

Miranda is well known for many dance styles and has a passion for hip-hop and break dancing. As a modern dancer, she has performed for many established and emerging artists such as: Sharon Moore, Tina Fushell, Ame Henderson, Jasmine Inns, Jesse Dell, Andrea Nann and Susie Burpie. Miranda has danced at the Toronto International Dance Festival and has been invited to perform as a guest artist with The Canadian Children’s Dance Theatre. She will be performing in this year’s Nuit Blanche, a project initiated by Scotiabank in celebration of Toronto’s arts scene. As a break dancer she is a member of a dance group called the So-Be-It Union, Miranda is known as ‘B-girl Tangie’ and has appeared in music videos with Masia One and Classified. The So-Be-It Union was an opening act for Maestro Fresh Wes and has recently performed at Harbourfront’s ‘Beats, Breaks and Culture’ (2007-2008), 'The Big Norm Show', ‘Footprints’ and the 1st annual 'K-W Hip-Hop Festival'.

Miranda is a teacher and workshop leader at The Canadian Children’s Dance Theatre, an internationally acclaimed children’s dance company. She tours with the company and teaches their outreach programs across Ontario. Miranda also teaches at The York School and at The Royal Conservatory of Music. With the Conservatory, Miranda is one of many Ontario artists who are members of a unique program called Learning Through The Arts. This program places artists in schools across Toronto and beyond to teach school curriculum using the arts; in Miranda’s case, dance and movement. She has also taught with Newman Concepts in dance, Harbourfront Centre, George Brown Theatre School, Unionville School of the Arts, Cawthra Park and Artmesia Dance. Miranda has been featured in Canada’s Owl Magazine and on the CBC children’s show ‘The X’, as well as City TV and CPR 24 TV. She was the lead dancer of the Toronto Blue Jays dance team, J-Force and has created numerous dances for filmmakers Albert Hun and Rohan Bader.