Gabreïl Spiegelschrift INFORMATION

Raised on the family pig farm outside his birthplace of Fergus, Ontario, this country-boy-cum-street-punk dropped out of Art School at 16 to begin a continuing journey in contemporary dance. Combining high art conventions with folk metaphor and eastern dance ideals with western idioms into his signature raw brute force, Spiegelschrift started creating what Dance International called “gutsy and distinct” live performances and award winning dancefilm projects that have been presented and broadcasted through out Canada, the United States and Europe.

Some early notable collaborations and performances include; Canadian Industrial rockers Malhavoc, the acclaimed ethnopunk world music ensemble Rhea’s Obsession, American cellist Elinor Frey(Montréal), SuckerPunch, Ashley MacIsaac & the Paper Boys for the CBC / Queen Elizabeth Theatre Concert Series in Vancouver, a multi project award-winning collaboration with visionary filmmaker Justin Stephenson(Toronto), various features in Canada on TVO(CA), MuchMUSIC / MusicPLUS(CA), presented as the original "Appointment with Dance" Series for Bravo!(CA). Some festival highlights include Canada's Moving Pictures Festival(1994/95), Dance on the Edge(Vancouver), and the IMZ Dansescreen'96 Lyons(FR) - all by the time he turned 22!

Working under the ensemble name THEVARS (1991) - with a mandate to perform with live music- the creation, teaching and research of various works has had Spiegelschrift adventurously relocate often to Toronto, Guelph, Hamilton, Vancouver, Baile Átha Cliath(Dublin, Ireland), NYC(US), Montréal, and returning in 2019 to the west to settle in New Westminster, part of greater Vancouver.

Spiegelschrift has been teaching his acclaimed and often sought after Tap Dance classes since he was a teenager in the 80s as well as returning to his step dance roots with strong collaboration Irish Step Dancing through the 90s. In the 00s he teamed up with Elaine Laken to offer their lauded Urban Tap and Stomp. In the mid 1990s while rehearsing an operatic project in Toronto, Spiegelschrift was asked to substitute for an injured instructor at Dancing on King. The temporary position grew rapidly to the Good Cop, Bad Cop schtick of the Ballroom and Latin Dance with Dancing on King owner Andrea Chumak and the expansion of his infamous Sinful Sunday Swing classes, with the relocation of fellow instructor Lisa Jacobs to Vancouver, to the multi-styled Swing courses that were a fixture in the Toronto 90s Swing Revival. Ignoring the Revisionists and not particularly interested in the fads, Gabreil has continue to teach his comprehensive Swing and Latin Courses to literally tens of thousands of students, age 5 to 85 across Canada and abroad. Continue reading a brief history of the journey.

Since 2005 a frequent collaboration with dance creator Karen Rose(Regina) has been featured to his work specifically the "Tangó dTuaitiníní Uimh.4 - Bogmen’s Tango #4" - for bickering couple and marching Band(2005) and the soon to be released dancefilm "Caoineadh Pheirsephine". Long awaited film versions of early theatre works are in post-production along with two new works in production; a 30 year anthology dancefilm based on the 7th century seanghaeilge (Old Irish) poem, “Diambad messe bad rí réil - If I was an illustrious king,” and a theatre production inspired by the medieval Behenian stars entitled, “Aldebaran” to be showing in 2020/2021.