Meet Aeriosa

Choreographer Julia Taffe combines art, environment and adventure, making dances for buildings, mountains, neighbourhoods, theatres and trees, finding new movement perspectives in the realm of suspension.

Julia is the artistic director of Aeriosa, a Vancouver-based vertical dance company. She has choreographed over 25 works on location including: Stawamus Chief Mountain in Squamish BC, Taipei City Hall, Cirque du Soleil Headquarters, Vancouver Library Square, Banff Centre, Scotiabank Dance Centre and Toronto’s 58-storey L Tower.

Prior to founding Aeriosa, Julia performed across Canada with Ruth Cansfield, and around the world with Bandaloop. Julia attained ACMG Rock Guide certification in 1997. She has worked as a co-producer, choreographer, cast member, stunt performer, mountain safety rigger and creative movement consultant on various film and television productions in Canada and abroad.

Colin Zacharias is an internationally certified mountain guide and has worked in avalanche or guiding operations since 1980. He enjoys working with Aeriosa’s dancers whether on mountain cliffs, tall buildings, trees or in the theatre. Colin also guides thoughtfully designed backcountry ski touring adventures to destinations spanning the globe, from Nunavut to Antarctica.

Colin was one of the riggers for the 2000-2002 video production of Granite Ocean, that featured Julia Taffe dancing on vertical rock faces of the Stawamus Chief Mountain in Squamish, BC. Since then, he has worked with Julia and Aeriosa on more than 100 productions. His responsibilities have included site safety inspections, risk management planning and documentation, dancer safety supervision, rigging and climbing, tree climbing, training riggers and dancers, and writing the Aeriosa safety manual.

Aeriosa is one of the foremost vertical dance companies in Canada and as a result has collaborated with the Vertical Dance Forum (Europe), Gravity and Levity (England), Kate Lawrence Vertical Dance (Wales), Il Posto (Italy), Wired Aerial Theatre (England), Histeria Nova (Croatia), Compagnie Retouramont (France) and Bandaloop (USA) to support and develop risk management planning and training strategies for the art form.

Colin is a professional member of the Canadian Avalanche Association (CAA) and Association of Canadian Mountain Guides (ACMG). He is a professional level avalanche educator and operations safety consultant for ski areas, cat and heliski operations. Outside North America, his work training and mentoring mountain professionals has taken him to Europe, Iceland, Japan, New Zealand, and Argentina. His rigging and mountain safety experience also includes feature films such as iRobot and Touching the Void and TV programs including Burnett Productions EcoChallenge and Expedition Impossible series filmed in Morocco, Argentina New Zealand, Fiji and Borneo.

Colin’s certifications include ACMG/IFMGA/UIAGM (internationally recognized mountain guides associations), SPRAT (rope access), ACTSAFE Fall Protection, ACTSAFE Aerial Lift Operator, and the SAR Medic Wilderness Responder.

On the unceded traditional Coast Salish territory, Alex Tam is a Vancouver-based dance artist. A natural born thrill seeker, Alex was instantly hooked on vertical dance while gazing out, suspended, from a Grand Fir tree and has been performing and collaborating with Aeriosa since 2015. Alex studied Fine Arts at KPU (Hons.) and professional dance at Arts Umbrella and Modus Operandi. Alex has toured and performed both independently and collectively at international dance festivals in Canada, United States of America, South America, and Taiwan. He is currently advancing his education in health through the Registered Massage Therapy Program at Langara Collage.

Cara Siu is a movement artist and emerging choreographer and movement facilitator, engaged in exploring performance research and community dance. Her passion to share expression, physicality and imagination with audiences have fueled many diverse dance experiences. After acquiring her modern dance training in Vancouver, BC at Simon Fraser University, she continued her dance training in the US, winning scholarships to both Jacob's Pillow Festival in Massachusetts and Lewitzky Dance Company in Los Angeles.

Upon returning to Vancouver, she became captivated by the emerging form of dance theatre and apprenticed with Lee Eisler of Jumpstart Performance. As a collaborator/performer, she has contributed to the creation of dance theatre productions for Gambling Soles, Donna Redlick Dance Theatre, Link Dance Foundation and Raven Spirit Dance.

Originally from Toronto, Meghan Goodman is an interdisciplinary dance artist and Iyengar yoga instructor. Graduating from Simon Fraser University in 2003 with a BFA in dance and minor in mathematics, Meghan has continued to actively perform, choreograph, and teach in Vancouver for the past 17 years. In addition to her work with Aeriosa, she has performed pieces by choreographers such as Jennifer Clarke, Hanna Kiel, Justine Chambers, Michelle Olson, Rob Kitsos, and Sarah Chase. Meghan has also performed in two productions with the Vancouver Opera. Meghan is currently teaching Iyengar yoga, training with Aeriosa, and raising her two young boys.

Juan Duarte is a Brazilian Contemporary Ballet dancer based in Canada, After graduating from Bolshoi Ballet School and moving to Vancouver, they/he trained with Lamondance and Arts Umbrella Dance Company, from 2015-2019.

Juan has worked with Ballet BC, MoveTheCompany, Traverse City Dance Project, Corporeal Imago, Belle Spirale Dance Projects, Dance//Novella, Action At A Distance Dance and Hélène Simoneau Danse. They/he joined Aeriosa, in 2024.

Juan has been a powerful member of the Vancouver queer scene. An ambitious and dedicated performer, Juan is looking forward to what the future offers, and continuing to share their/his beauty and artistry with the world.

Georgina Alpen is a contemporary trained dancer who received a BFA in dance from Simon Fraser University in 2014. She is honored to live and work on the unceded territories of the Squamish, Musqeum, and Tsleil-Waututh First Nations. Gina joined Aeriosa in 2015 and has been performing with the company ever since. She is involved in the social dance community as a blues dancer, and until recently danced with the Ukrainian Folk Ensemble, the Dovbush Dancers, for over 20 years. Outside of dancing, she is attending UBC medical school to become a midwife.

Alyson Fretz grew up in Vancouver BC, and received her dance training at Arts Umbrellaon Granville Island. She has danced professionally with Ballet BC, Wen Wei Dance, andPro Arte Danza in Toronto. She has a passion for movement within the body and the connection between all living organisms in the natural world. Alyson has been working with Aeriosa since 2015, and is thrilled to be a part of the company; exploring the boundaries of vertical dance, expanding dance further than the stage, and making it available to all audiences.

Keely has been floating, swaying and dancing with Aeriosa since 2009. Throughout the years, she has been given the opportunity to be creative in many facets within the company. With a background in industrial rigging, Keely has worked with the Aeriosa rigging team on many projects. She also produces Aeriosa’s newsletters and promotional material. Under Aeriosa’s mentorship, she had opportunity to co-create two works in the trees with Julia Carr, in partnership with VanDusen Gardens and The Esquimalt Township Community Arts Council. Keely has travelled the globe over many years with her aerial circus work, performing silks, hoop, duo trapeze, and sway poles. In 2018, Keely started an aerial circus arts program for youth and adults in Powell River, where she and her husband reside. She has a passion to teach the circus arts to her community and looks forward to creating many shows! Keely also volunteers with qathet Community Justice, a restorative justice practice, as a circle keeper and in a writing capacity.