Lisa Mariko Gelley is an artist  and mother, dedicated to  sharing experiences through dance and art, and across generations. She is a mixed race settler of Japanese and European descent, living and working on the traditional, ancestral, unceded territory of the Coast Salish Peoples, including the territories of the Musqueam, Squamish, and Tsleil-Waututh Nations. Lisa is Artistic Co-Director of Company 605, a contemporary dance company in Vancouver, creating original works for live performance and film through collaborative processes with artists in dance and other disciplines. Lisa has worked and collaborated with artists including  Justine A. Chambers, Cindy Mochizuki, Amber Funk Barton, Miwa Matreyek, Maiko Yamamoto,  E. Kage, Ziyian Kwan, Vanessa Goodman, Jeanette Kotowich, Aryo Khakpour, Dana Gingras,  Martha Carter, Karen Jamieson, Aeriosa (Julia Taffe), and The Chop Theatre (Anita Rochon and Emelia Symington Fedy).  In addition to her work as a performer and choreographer, Lisa teaches in the Dance Area at Simon Fraser University’s School for Contemporary Arts.  Lisa is the recipient of the 2015 Vancouver International Dance Festival Choreographic Award, and the co-recipeint of the 2024 Lola Award.

Photo by Maxine Tamoto