ARTIST BIOGRAPHY: 

Laura Donaldson is a tap dancer, teacher and choreographer from Calgary, Alberta. Laura continues to develop her artistic voice through practice, research, creating, teaching, and performing in Canada and abroad. Laura is an alumni of the 2021 Tap Performance Ensemble at The School at Jacob’s Pillow under the direction of Dormeshia, Derick Grant and Michelle Dorrance. She has performed in many works including Lisa La Touche’s Tap Phonics Production Fool’s Gold co-commissioned by Fall for Dance North and Harbourfront Centre, (in)sight dance’s commissioned piece Mirror/Water/Doorway at the Toronto International Tap Festival and recently she was on tour as a dancer with Danny Nielsen’s On Foot performing throughout BC.    

Laura grew up in Calgary, training in multiple styles of dance at Counterpoint Dance Academy, where she completed her RAD Advanced I exam. Later, she trained extensively with the Tri-Tone Rhythm Ensemble under the direction of Tasha Lawson and is a graduate of the Tri-Tone teacher training program. Laura also holds a Bachelor of Health and Physical Education from Mount Royal University.  

Laura recently co-founded tap dance collective Boys’ Club, which premiered their first full-length work in Belgium and Barcelona in March 2023. Through recognizing the historical male dominance of tap dance, Boys’ Club seeks to challenge this paradigm by amplifying female voices and experiences. Boys’ Club strives to shed light on the often-overlooked contributions of women in tap dance and jazz music while investigating their own lived experiences through collaborative exploration and experimentation.   With this experience, Laura is committed to providing exciting, cutting-edge, quality education that honours the beautiful legacy of tap dance and in her own artistic practice, she strives to inspire, connect, and reach. 

Instagram: @Laura_dson