“Please Hold is an endurance sport realizing the intimacy of space. This piece was invented within/surrounding a house that is now demolished in a neighbourhood that was unfamiliar to me, learning the space by spending time.”

Lauren Runions is a contemporary dance artist, facilitator, choreographer and educator based in Toronto, ON. Lauren is the artistic director of contemporary dance project I/O Movement, joining body and site. Founded in 2013, this project has performed at many locations around Toronto and choreographed/appeared in music videos for New Fries (direction Maryanne Casasanta), The Weather Station (direction Colin Medley), Ian Daniel Kehoe (direction Colin Medley). Lauren has participated in process and creation-based residencies including Banff Centre: The Creative Gesture, Connection Dance Works: PERSPECTIVE, The Creative Practice Project, The Roundtable Residency, Dancemakers: Plug & Play, The Living Room Series and Anda Residency. She has also facilitated her own dance residency titled This is Our Place. This residency is an opportunity for dance artists to investigate their practice
and present their work within unique spaces. In November of 2017, she facilitated This is Our Place within an empty house. This October of 2018, This is Our Place was fostered by The Bentway’s Community Incubation program inviting 5 artists for a full week to examine public art culminating with a traversing site-responsive performance. Lauren hopes to pursue more opportunities to foster work of her own and of the community.