Allison Nichol Longtin

Allison Nichol Longtin is an artist and educator whose transdisciplinary practice combines dance, video, installation and sound, offering audiences immersive experiences.

A graduate of the dance department at the Etobicoke School of the Arts with a BFA with honours in Contemporary Dance from Concordia University, Allison began her professional life as a choreographer. She moved to the Belleville area from Toronto in 2020 and quickly immersed herself in the local arts community. In addition to being a freelance teacher, choreographer, and rehearsal director with the Quinte Ballet School of Canada in Belleville, she has enjoyed teaching both writing and dance workshops and classes to learners of various skill levels in the Quinte and Prince Edward County areas.

As a writer, she contributes to online publications and works with clients in the non-profit sector. Her creative non-fiction work, which includes carefully crafted prose about her life and experiences, has been presented in Montreal, Toronto and throughout Europe. “The common thread in my work is language,” she says. “Whether through words in my work as a writer, through movement as a dance artist and educator, or in the work I do with non-profit organizations, I am ultimately always playing with and carefully crafting language.”

This summer, Allison took on the role of Program Lead for County Arts’ Youth Craft Academy program. This fall is an exciting time for the program with a textiles course beginning in September, followed by a 4-week Ceramics Level II course led by Rebecca Heasman and Amy Beaudroit and a field trip to the Gardiner Museum in Toronto to give students a guided tour of the museum followed by a hands-on learning experience in the studio.

This September, Allison is leading Moving Bodies of Water, an inclusive, site-specific, participatory creative movement workshop where participants will come together within view of Lake Ontario to move in community. Part of Ontario Culture Days, this free workshop is open to adults (ages 16+) as well as youth (ages 12+) who are accompanied by a participating adult. Pre-registration preferred. Join Allison for Moving Bodies of Water on Friday, September 18th, 2026 from 5-6 PM at Wellington Main Street Park, 243 Main Street, Wellington. Prince Edward County will be among 19 municipalities that will serve as a provincial festival hub during Culture Days, which is the nation-wide celebration of arts and culture taking place between September 18 to October 4, 2026.

Read on to learn more about what Allison has coming up this fall, her recent projects and more.

Tell us about your upcoming projects:

I recently stepped into the role of Program Lead for the Youth Craft Academy (YCA) program with County Arts and am thrilled to be playing a supporting role in bringing together skilled, practicing PEC-based artists to deliver high-quality programming to youth in our community. The first course of our 26-27 season is a textiles offering with Andrew Phua and Bill Stearman. I can’t wait to welcome youth into the County Arts Lab to kick off our season on September 16th.

I’ve been invited by County Arts to create and lead an inclusive creative movement workshop as part of Ontario Culture Days. Moving Bodies of Water is a participatory workshop through which we will explore the many ways that water moves and co-create a short, site-specific, original composition on the shores of Lake Ontario.

I’m also offering inclusive dance classes for adults in Picton this Fall after the successful pilot we held in June. It’s a VERY exciting and creative time.

What have you worked on recently that has you excited, either personally or professionally?

I’ve had the great fortune to work with The Department of Illumination for a second year to make magic for the Delhi Park Pageant. Creating site-specific original choreographies set to music by local musicians and composers and working with our cast to bring the community together and celebrate the beautiful place we call home is an absolute pleasure.

I’m particularly excited about inviting adults into my dance practice, whether they’re seasoned professionals returning to the studio and the stage, folks trying on something brand new, or anyone in-between, I have a profound respect for adults who gift themselves time to dance and move in community to great music.

Where in the County do you find the most creative inspiration?

I’m ever and always inspired by my students and by lifelong learners, whether in my movement and writing courses at the County Arts Lab, in my adult dance classes, or the young people engaging in craft as part of the Youth Craft Academy.

I also draw inspiration from the elements, particularly water. I recently created a choreography called Ways of Water that has led to the creation of somatic exercises, accessible movement phrases, and structured improvisations inspired by water and its many qualities and ways of being and moving that form the basis of my upcoming Ontario Culture Days workshop, Moving Bodies of Water. Our lake Ontario is a major source of inspiration that feeds my creative process.

Where is your favourite place to work on your art?

I realized my dream of creating a small studio in my own home when I moved to the area in 2020 and I always delight at looking out onto my backyard from the light-filled space. I love to make dances, read, and write in my home studio, preferably with my cat by my side (or winding around my feet). He’s a big fan of the picture window too.