Barbara Kaneratonni Diabo Receives the 2025 Clifford E. Lee Choreography Award at Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity
By
Banff Centre Communication
Posted on
August 20, 2025
Barbara K Diabo. Photo by Damian Siqueiros, Visual Artist.
The biennial award at Banff Centre recognizes outstanding emerging Canadian dance choreographers or companies and includes a cash prize along with two residencies for the creation and production of a newly commissioned work.
BANFF, AB, AUGUST 21, 2025 – Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity is thrilled to announce that Barbara Kaneratonni Diabo, the Montreal-based award-winning dancer, choreographer, and artistic director, is the recipient of the 2025 Clifford E. Lee Choreography Award. Established in 1978 by the Clifford E. Lee Foundation, the biennial award was created to encourage the development of Canadian choreographers or companies exploring new voices, ideas, and approaches to dance.
As the 2025 recipient, Diabo will receive a cash prize of $14,000 CAD to commission a new work, along with two fully supported residencies at Banff Centre: one for creative research and development (taking place in December 2025), and another dedicated to production and performance (taking place at a date to be determined in 2026). Both residencies include accommodation, meals, and technical support, and the final residency will conclude with a public performance at a Banff Centre venue.
“I’m very excited to work with Banff Centre to create my new work, I Dream in Wampum, an Indigenous futurism piece that will combine three of my passions: dance, science fiction, and my Kanien’keha:ka culture. It will allow us to imagine our powerful place in the stars, the place of our origins, which will also reflect on the strength of our people here.”
Barbara Kaneratonni Diabo
Originally from Kahnawake, Barabara Kaneratonni Diabo is Kanienkeha:ka of mixed heritage. Classically trained in ballet, Diabo moved to Montreal at 18 to study at Concordia University. She has spent many years creating dances that highlight her Indigenous culture. Her work often combines powwow, Haudenosaunee, and contemporary dance styles, creating a unique artistic fusion that appeals to a wide range of audiences. She is the Artistic Director and Choreographer of A’nó:wara Dance Theatre, an Indigenous-run dance company that has presented award winning works such as Sky Dancers, My Urban Nature, Smudge, and What We Carry. In 2021, Diabo was the first Indigenous dancer to win the Prix de la Danse de Montréal for most notable dancer of the year.
“Barbara’s new work feels so unique and truly inspiring, with ideas leading us into the future of dance. I was constantly surprised and delighted by the ideas and images. It promises to be a stunning joyous piece, and we are so looking forward to hosting her second big production.”
Amiel Gladstone, Director, Theatre Arts at Banff Centre
The most recent recipient of the Clifford E. Lee Award was Daina Ashbee (2022). Past recipients include Crazy Smooth (2020), Andrea Peña, Allen Kaeja, Andrew Giday, Bengt Jörgen, Benjamin Hatcher, Christopher House, Constantine Patsalis, Crystal Pite, D.A. Hoskins, David Earle, Donald Sales, Edward Hillyer, Gabrielle Lamb, Gaetan Gingras, Gioconda Barbuto, Heather Myer, Howard Richard, Jennifer Mascall, Joe Laughlin, Judith Marcuse, Lola MacLaughlin, Mark Godden, Martine Epoque, Mauryne Allan, Michael Downing, Peter Quanz, Randy Glynn, Renald Rabu, Robert Glumbek, Robert Stephen, Sabrina Matthews, Shaun Hounsell, Simone Orlando, Stephanie Ballard, and Wen Wei Wang.
For more information about Banff Centre Dance programs, visit banffcentre.ca/dance.
To learn more about funding opportunities for artists at Banff Centre, visit banffcentre.ca/funding-opportunities-artists.
For photos, information or interview requests, please contact:
Carly Maga
Director, Communications
Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity
tel: +1.403.763.6210
cell: +1.403.431.3423
carly_maga@banffcentre.ca
About Barbara Kaneratonni Diabo
Barbara Kaneratonni Diabo is Kanien’keha:ka (Mohawk), originally from Kahnawake. She now lives in Montreal, where she is the artistic director and choreographer for A’nó:wara Dance Theatre. Award-winning choreographer and dancer, she creates pieces to bring Indigenous themes, stories, and perspectives to light. She takes pride in sharing her culture and performs across Canada and internationally. Her show, Sky Dancers, won Outstanding Touring Production in the Dora Mavor Moore Awards 2022, and her piece My Urban Nature won Best Choreography of an Outdoor Show in Festival Quartiers Danses in 2019. She was also the winner of the prestigious Prix de la danse de Montréal for most notable dancer of the year in 2021. She has been featured on several TV shows, including Revolution (TVA) and Pulse (APTN). Barbara also collaborates with several organizations with whom she helps educate populations, create “safe spaces” and support Indigenous artists around the world. Barbara performs and creates for generations to come, to honour, for her ancestors, for a sense of community, for those who cannot dance, to inspire, to communicate, to encourage cultural pride, and to uplift spirits.
About Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity
Founded in 1933, Banff Centre is a post-secondary institution built upon an extraordinary legacy of excellence in artistic and leadership development. What started as a single course in drama has grown to become a global organization leading in arts, culture, and creative decision-making across dozens of disciplines, from the fine arts to Indigenous Wise Practices. From our home in the stunning Canadian Rocky Mountains, Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity aims to move everyone who attends our campus - artists, leaders, thinkers, and audiences - to unleash their creative potential and realize their unique contribution to build an innovative, inspiring future through education, performances, convenings, and public outreach. Banffcentre.ca