RAEBOWHAY - teacher / choreographer / dancer

  • BIO
  • FLAMENCO
  • AWARDS
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How it all started..
Originally from Alberta, Rae Bowhay began her dance studies with Joy McIlwain from the Calgary City Ballet and at Grant MacEwan Collage. She moved to Los Angeles in 1991 to study with Charles Edmondson (Horton/Lewitsky technique), and worked for Christensen Dance Company (off-shoot of the industrial dance niche) and Collage Dance Theatre (site-specific dance). In 1995, she moved to NYC to study Graham and Limon, and then settled in Montreal in 1996. 
Rae worked for several independent choreographers while initiating her own choreographic pursuits. Her desire to work with live music led her to flamenco, so she applied to the Canada Council for the Arts and got a ticket to Spain...
​New folklore
As artistic director, choreographer and often co-composer, Rae has been creating and sharing her imaginary folklore since 1997. From intimate poetic fantasy to progressive 'rock band', Rae and her wonderfully inspiring collaborators have created a truly unique aesthetic and sound that reflects their own imagined and actual territory.
These works have been presented locally at Tangente/Studio 303/Sala Rossa/ Casa Del Popolo, at Toronto International Dance Festival, and internationally in Scotland, India and China.
FLAMENCO
Rae's transition into flamenco has lead her through a long and eclectic career as both traditional and contemporary flamenco artist. 
She has collaborated with incredible musicians from around the world (Caroline Planté, Oscar Guzman, Richardo Garcia,Marcos Marin, Juan Carranza..) and performed extensively throughout Quebec (TOHU/Festival Classique des Hautes-Laurentides/Camp Musical du Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean/XIIe Sommet de la Francophonie), and across Western Canada at numerous folk festivals. 
Tablao 
Within the Montreal Flamenco Tablao scene, Rae has been a regular artist at the Centro Gallego, Casa Galicia, El Gitano and Sala Rossa since 2001. ​
Awards +
Rae Bowhay has been:
  • ​funded by Canada Council for the Arts and FACTOR
  • recipient of the Victor-Martyn-Lynch-Staunton Award for outstanding achievement in dance in 2005
  • flamenco coach for the Cirque du Soleil
  • ​jury member for the Canada Council for the Arts and The Conseil des arts et des lettres du Québec