Choreographer
Celebrated worldwide, Margie Gillis is one of Canada’s most influential dancers and choreographers of the 20th and 21st centuries. A bold and unconventional pioneer of modern dance, she has earned critical acclaim, built a devoted international following, and inspired a generation of performers with her naturalistic style. In 1981, she founded her own company, the Margie Gillis Dance Foundation.
Gillis has created over 150 solos, duets, and group pieces that have been performed around the globe. Her work addresses a wide range of themes, particularly feminine consciousness, nature, and transformational processes — all marked by deep humanist expression and emotional intensity. Teaching, mentorship, and the transmission of her artistic legacy are central to her vision, notably through the Legacy Project, which ensures the continuity of her repertoire.
Among her many honours, she has been named an Officer of the Order of Canada, a Knight of the National Order of Quebec, and has received an honorary doctorate from McGill University. She continues to refine her art through experimentation, teaching, creation, innovation, and performance.
I am passionate about the subtleties of movement and vulnerability. Performance and transformation are at the core of who I am. Humanity and nature are inseparable. I enter states of presence that I convey, allowing movement to emerge. Each dance, performer, and spectator charts their own path; the psyche shapes its architecture. All music calls for a response. I improvise until the choreography reveals itself, by listening. I create group solos, rituals rooted in our humanity and compassion.