contemporary. aerial. dance.
About Us
Choreographers Gabrielle Martin and Jeremiah Hughes co-founded Corporeal Imago in 2018. Brought together by their shared background in dance and theatre, they started collaborating while performing as principal characters with Cirque du Soleil’s TORUK - The First Flight. For two artists used to performing circus as entertainment, CI has become a carte blanche to explore the shadow side of our human experience. CI's work has been presented at Montréal Complètement Cirque and La Chapelle Scènes Contemporaines (2019), Assembly Festival, Edinburgh Festival Fringe (UK, 2019), Dancing on the Edge Festival (Vancouver, 2021), Toronto International Dance Festival (2021), The Dance Centre's Global Dance Connections (Vancouver, 2022) and Shadbolt Centre for the Arts (Burnaby, 2023). CI was nominated for a TOTAL THEATRE AWARD in Physical and Visual Theatre (UK, 2019), and won The Dance Centre's Isadora Award for excellence in choreography (2022). The company was also a 2021-22 Artist in Residence of The Dance Centre, and will be returning as Artist in Residence in 2024-25.
Gabrielle Martin
Gabrielle Martin is an aerial and contemporary dance artist, choreographer and artistic producer who has performed over 1,400 shows internationally. Raised on the unceded territory of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Skwxwú7mesh (Squamish) and səlil̓ilw̓ətaʔɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) Nations (Vancouver, Canada), she studied somatic movement and contact improvisation and performed fire manipulation and stilt walking before obtaining her Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) in Contemporary Dance from Concordia University (Montreal, 2009). While in Montreal, Gabrielle studied aerial arts such as aerial silks and rope. In 2010, she received a Conseil des Arts et des Lettres du Quebec Research and Creation in Dance support for her choreography, Infractions, a Sadler's Wells Global Dance Contest finalist, and from 2009-2011, she toured this and other works to: Vancouver International Dance Festival (CA, 2009), Guelph Contemporary Dance Festival (Canada, 2010 & 2011), ROMP! A Festival of Independent Dance (Victoria, CA, 2011) and WAVE RISING SERIES (NY, US 2011).
From 2011-2015, Gabrielle toured full-time with Cavalia, performing aerial rope, bungee trapeze, bungee dance and harness dance numbers. In 2015, she began working with Cirque du Soleil as part of the creation of TORUK - The First Flight. She toured with this show until it closed in 2019, during which time she was the principal female character, Tsyal, and performed a solo aerial silks number. In 2018, Gabrielle co-founded the aerial dance company, Corporeal Imago and co-created its shows Limb(e)s and Throe.
Jeremiah Hughes
Jeremiah Hughes began his training in competitive dance at the prestigious Canadian Dance Company (Toronto). After a decade of competing internationally and representing Canada on the world stage, he enrolled in the interdisciplinary Randolph College for the Performing Arts in Toronto where he expanded his craft with acting, singing, and stage combat. After touring with dance conventions, eventually being a featured soloist on So You Think You Can Dance and So You Think You Can Dance Canada, he went on to acquire a rare internship at the Broadway Dance Center in NYC. Jeremiah has had the honor of performing with artists such as Bruno Mars, Meatloaf, and Taylor Swift. During his career, he also had the honor of performing in many large-scale shows, such as PEEPSHOW, JUBILEE!, Britain’s Got Talent, Franco Dragone’s LE REVE, as well as Cirque du Soleil’s Viva ELVIS. From 2015-2019, he toured as the lead male role of Ralu in Cirque Du Soleil’s TORUK - The First Flight, where he served as the show’s original Dance Captain. When not on stage Jeremiah has found great success in choreographing and directing for such major events as Broadway Bares and the CISCO Partners Global Gala. Recently, he co-founded Corporeal Imago and worked as a choreographer and performer in the company’s first work, Limb(e)s, and co-directed its cinematic adaptation for presentation at Dancing on the Edge (Vancouver, CA). He is co-choreographer and performer in the company's second production Throe. Jeremiah is a highly dynamic mover with a diverse profile, who places great importance on storytelling in his craft.
Corporeal Imago's work is made possible by the contribution of all our collaborating artists as well as the generous volunteer hours of our Board of Directors:
Marcus Youssef, Davi Rodrigues, and Mark Douglas.