Christopher House

Born and raised in St. John’s, Newfoundland, Christopher House is a movement artist active as a performer, choreographer, director, educator, curator and writer. “I work intuitively and architecturally with time, space, liveness, presence, anticipation and ambiguity,” he says, touching upon his over 40-year career that has spanned the globe and various disciplines.

Getting his start at Toronto Dance Theatre as a dancer in 1979, he became the Resident Choreographer just two years later, and by 1994 he was the company’s Artistic Director, a position that he held for 26 years. In his time there, he created over 60 choreographies, including a dozen full-length works. His works have been performed in 19 countries worldwide.

In 2020, Christopher shifted gears and left the Toronto Dance Theatre to focus on new aspects of his artistic practice and mentorship, and he currently splits his time between Prince Edward County and Toronto. Since 2020, he has been engaged in research as the curator of the exhibition Still With Us: Stories and HIV/AIDS and Dance in Canada, presented by Dance Collection Danse.

Still With Us is a reflection and contemplation on the devastating impacts of HIV/AIDS on Canada’s dance world, acting as an archive and as a memorial, at times a celebration and, ultimately, a call to action. Christopher’s work as a choreographer and as a dancer has explored meditations on memory, the creative process, he often takes inspiration from his own life in addition to visual arts, film and literature.

From April 17th-19th, 2026, Christopher will be one of sixteen artists participating in Hotel Confidential, a three-day contemporary art exhibition presented by County Arts and The Royal Hotel. Curated by Christina Zeidler and Stacey Sproule, Hotel Confidential will transform The Royal’s Annex Building into a series of temporary site-specific installations. Each artist has been invited to create new work within the building’s guest rooms and shared spaces, re-imagining the hotel as both setting and metaphor. Learn more about Hotel Confidential by clicking here.

Read on below to learn more about Christopher’s part in this special exhibition, what he’s recently worked on, and more.

Tell us a bit about your upcoming projects:

I am presenting a durational solo performance as part of Hotel Confidential on April 17-19. My piece is called Room 104, which is where I will be staying as a guest! This playful site-specific work interacts with the physical/imaginative space and its contents, riffing on the history of hotels as sites of refuge, privacy, fantasy and transgressive acts. Unfolding for 48 hours, Room 104 will become part of the palimpsest of past and future guests.

What have you worked on recently that has you excited?

Last summer in Berlin, I collaborated with visual artist Young-jun Tak on his film titled Love; I recently taught a workshop with County Arts, and I just participated in book launches in Toronto and Montreal for a publication I edited called Still With Us: Stories of HIV/AIDS and Dance in Canada. Each of these experiences was very satisfying, and exercised a different aspect of my creative interests.

What advice would you give to artists just starting out in their careers?

Find pleasure in the daily work. Remember that failure can be generative. Follow your interest and what your work is telling you. Trust your instincts– hesitation is a trap. Practice life-long learning. Don’t confuse career development with finding your voice.

Name a piece of media you’ve been loving lately:

I’ve recently finished Dag Johan Haugerud’s Oslo Trilogy (Love, Sex, Dreams). All three films have stayed with me: they’re simple, surprising, charming and quietly brilliant.