JENNIFER NICHOLS
DIRECTOR & CHOREOGRAPHER
When you understand movement, you can make a scene breathe. Even in stillness…
Jennifer Nichols (she/her) is an award winning Canadian director, choreographer, dancer and movement educator with a portfolio of over 20 years of work for both stage and screen. Her extensive portfolio highlights a broad range of disciplines and styles and has established her as a trusted professional with knowledge of all aspects of production.
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For television and film, Jennifer's work has been featured on Netflix, Amazon, CBS, CW, Hulu, Crave, HBO Max, CBC and Global. She holds Head Choreographer/Dance Consultant credits for the Netflix original series ‘Tiny Pretty Things’ and was Choreographer for all four seasons of ‘Reign’ (CW), cementing her reputation as a specialist in historic dance.
Frequently in demand for her movement work in opera, art song and choral music, both for singers and trained dancers alike, she is known for giving performers of all backgrounds agency and confidence to speak with their bodies. Her choreography and guidance empowers artists to use their individual physicality to tell stories with honesty and vulnerability.
Jennifer draws on her extensive choreographic background for her work as a television and film director. An exciting new directorial voice, her style is known for its dynamic energy, a dance between the camera and its subject.
PHOTO: TD FOTO
PHOTO: SHALAN & PAUL
PHOTO: Darryl Block
ABOUT
An award winning choreographer, director, dancer and movement educator, Jennifer Nichols has successfully bridged the worlds of stage and screen. Her extensive portfolio highlights a broad range of disciplines and styles and has established her as a trusted professional with knowledge of all aspects of production. For television and film, Jennifer's work has been featured on Netflix, Amazon, CBS, CW, Hulu, Crave, HBO Max, CBC and Global. She holds Head Choreographer/Dance Consultant credits for the Netflix original series ‘Tiny Pretty Things’ and was Choreographer for all four seasons of ‘Reign’ (CW), cementing her reputation as a specialist in historic dance.
MY APPROACH
Movement transcends words. It is unflinching in its honesty, raw, vulnerable. As Martha Graham said, it doesn’t lie.
There is a misconception that a choreographer’s role is solely to create dance sequences. In reality it is so much more… It’s the shaping of a character’s particular gait that defines a period in history, a specific posture that reveals illness. It’s the suggestion that a living creature is perhaps not human, or the collapse of composure that tells the story of unbearable heartache. Much like a dialect coach, the choreographer assists with language-the body’s language.
Dance tells the story of social evolution, of celebration, of ritual. It utilizes shape and form to express collective emotion, where words fall short.
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I believe we underestimate the capacity of those not trained in dance to speak with their bodies. It takes care and support to empower everyone to be comfortable in their own unique physicality. By democratizing movement in performance we can elevate storytelling for everyone involved.
My directorial voice is heavily informed by my background as a dancer and choreographer. For years I’ve worked closely with DOP”s and camera operators to create a ‘dance’ between the subject and the lens, where point of view is often fluid. I’m excited by the equal possibilities of intimacy and grand geometries that the camera can explore.
When movement is your first language, you intuitively know how to make a scene breathe, even in stillness.
ACHIEVEMENTS
WINNER OPERA AMERICA DIGITAL EXCELLENCE IN OPERA
SWEAT (2024)
Bicycle Opera
Director, Producer, Choreographer
WINNER BEST NARRATIVE FEATURE
LA INDEPENDENT WOMEN FILM AWARDS
SWEAT (2023)
Bicycle Opera
Director, Producer, Choreographer
DORA MAVOR MOORE NOMINATION
OUTSTANDING PRODUCTION-OPERA DIVISION
PANDORA (2020)
FAWN Chamber Creative
Choreographer & Dancer
Feature film directorial debut, ‘Sweat’ (Bicycle Opera)
Where fitness meets art
Jennifer is the Founder and Director of the renowned ballet fitness and wellness program, The Extension Method™, founded in 2003. The first of its kind in Canada, the program offers a balanced, safe approach to dance conditioning with a focus on posture, alignment, strength and flexibility. Students of all levels of experience will find their new favourite ‘barre’ class in Extension Method™ and so much more with this comprehensive program of seven different ballet fitness classes.
Photo: Karolina Kuras
Dance belongs everywhere
Jennifer is also Co-Artistic Director of Hit & Run Dance Productions, a Toronto based entertainment firm specializing in custom dance performance for live events, installations and commercial campaigns. In operation for over 20 years, Hit & Run’s expansive client list include MAC Cosmetics, NIKE, TIFF, Chanel, The Rolling Stones, Stratford Festival and more!
Photo: Darrin Klimek