We honour the life and legacy of Peter Bingham — dancer, teacher, choreographer, and one of Canada’s most enduring champions of Contact Improvisation.
A pioneer of Contact Improvisation in Canada, Peter co-founded the performance trio Fulcrum in the mid-1970s and, in 1982, co-founded EDAM
@edamdance (Experimental Dance and Music) with a collective of independent artists. Under his sustained artistic leadership from 1989 onward, EDAM became a vital studio, rehearsal hub, and performance home for Contact and improvised dance in Vancouver’s Western Front, nourishing generations of dancers, teachers, and creative collaborators.
At EDAM, Peter insisted that improvisation be taken seriously as art — not as mere warm-up, not as anecdote, but as choreographic material in its own right. His practice explored flow, shared weight, precise listening, and the interplay of strength with softness — bringing together athleticism and a generous, human tenderness that stayed with everyone he taught and danced with.
EDAM’s impact extended far beyond its studio: it presented performances and workshops with local and international innovators in Contact and movement research, and became a stable platform for creative risk and cross-disciplinary exchange.
It was a privilege for dance: made in canada | fait au canada Festival (d:mic/fac) to present Peter's work, Dead Weighting, in the 2025 Morrison Series. His work reminded us that technique can be tenderness, and virtuosity can be care built moment by moment, through attention, touch, and trust.
Thank you, Peter. Your influence continues in the bodies, practices, and friendships you set in motion, and in the ongoing life of EDAM as it carries forward the questions you lived with so fully.
