Chris Pavia
Chris Pavia, Choreographer
DAiSY is delighted to welcome Chris Pavia as Associate Artist for 2020-2022. During this time Chris will be working with DAiSY Producer Callum Graham-Robertson on several exciting dance projects.
About Chris
Chris Pavia is an internationally recognised dancer and choreographer. As Senior Dance Artist with Stopgap Dance Company, he has worked with choreographers including Adam Benjamin, Betina Strickler, Hofesh Shechter, Thomas Mettler, Nathalie Pernette, Rob Tannion and Thomas Noone.
His two-decade career with Stopgap includes UK Olympiad funded SPUN Productions in 2012 and most recently The Seafarers in 2018. Also in 2018, the stage show of Artificial Things was reimagined as a film with funding from The Space, directed by Sophie Fiennes and produced by Lone Star Productions. Artificial Things the film won the IMZ dancescreen award for best screen choreography over 15 minutes, and was one of The Observers Five Best Dance of 2020 for its BBC4 screening.
Chris is currently pursuing his choreographic work as an independent artist. In 2018 he collaborated with Watts Gallery Trust to create Captain’s Duties, an artistic response to their exhibition of the work of James Henry Pullen that was performed at The British Museum and in the Watts Gallery.
In 2019, Chris received Unlimited and Arts Council England funding to work with digital agency Carousel to create the immersive and high-energy duet The Journey Between. The production toured the UK and to The Hague in The Netherlands.
Current Project
Beyond The Waves
In 2020 Chris was awarded Arts Council for England funding to work collaboratively with Watts Gallery and DAiSY, supported by Stopgap, on new project Beyond the Waves. This is a site-specific dance work exploring the permanent collection of George F Watts’s sculptures and painting. Despite lockdown’s and social distancing Chris forged ahead, and although the project was slightly delayed, some brilliant work was produced. After doing a soft launch of the dance film in October 2021, the work is now confirmed to be exhibited as a full installation at Watts Gallery in Summer 2022.
Previous Project
Captain’s Duties
Although Chris has a long standing relationship with DAiSY, Captain’s Duties was the first commission by DAiSY to really explore Chris’s work. During 2018 Chris responded to the exhibition of James Henry Pullen’s work at the Watts Gallery, to produce a solo dance work. This piece was subsequently performed at The British Museum, in the Watts Gallery and as part of Stopgap Dance Company’s Winter Platform.