Founder, Artistic Director + Choreographer

Alyssa Martin (she/her) is a choreographer and director based in Toronto/Tkaronto. She uses a joy-centered process to spin irreverent works from a high-energy anti-patriarchal perspective. She's working on using an absurdist approach to bake wonky imaginative coping mechanisms into psychedelic contemporary spectacle. Determined to help blur the distinctions of dance and theatre, she founded Rock Bottom Movement in 2012. The group has since shared full-evening works in the city and abroad; including their more recent award-winning productions, hollow mountain, DINO and Sex Dalmatian.

Outside of Rock Bottom, she’s been commissioned to create new work for Toronto Dance Theatre (Bin Chicken), Canadian Contemporary Dance Theatre (STARSEED), The National Ballet of Canada's Apprentices through the MicroCommission Program (Sugar Water), Susie Burpee and Linnea Swan (PUS) as well as numerous professional post-secondary training institutions (DinoLand - Toronto Metropolitan University, CHALANT - SUNY Purchase Conservatory (Steph Harkness), château remorse - Dance Arts Institute (Formerly The School of Toronto Dance Theatre), deconstructed funny girl and DECK - George Brown College).  

In addition to concert dance, Alyssa works in theatre and musicals as a choreographer and movement director having worked at The Stratford Festival for multiple seasons, as well as at Tarragon Theatre and Theatre Sheridan. She’s worked in residence at The Banff Centre, Canadian Stage and Stratford Festival LAB as well as through programs such as adelheid’s re:research, Toronto Dance Theatre’s Emerging Voices Project, and The National Ballet of Canada's CreativAction Open Space Program. Her dance films have been featured at the Portland Film Festival, Sydney Women’s International Film Festival (Bin Chicken) and dance : made in canada fait au canada (this is not a passion project). She teaches at many post-secondary institutions as well as through her community-based NONDancer workshops.

In 2023 Alyssa created and premiered two new productions: the multi-disciplinary work PUS for and with Susie Burpee and Linnea Swan and Kid Sister with Rock Bottom. She was also the Metcalf Intern in Artistic Development at The National Ballet of Canada for the 23/24 Season. During that time Alyssa was commissioned by the NBOC to create Desperate Drama of Red, which premiered at the Four Seasons Centre as part of the company's annual Mad Hot Ballet Gala in June 2024. Alyssa's latest creation with Rock Bottom, Big Time Miss, had its world premiere in October 2024 in Toronto as a featured production of Fall for Dance North's 10th Anniversary Season.

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Alyssa and her company have garnered numerous accolades, including five Dora Mavor Moore Awards: Outstanding Original Choreography -Sex Dalmatian (2023), Outstanding Production and Ensemble - Sex Dalmatian (2023), and Outstanding Production and Ensemble - hollow mountain (2020), as well as nine nominations. Alyssa is the recipient of the Bulmash-Siegel New Creation Award, Canadian Stage Award for Direction, Jack McAllister Award for Alumni Achievement and was nominated for the 2023 Joanna Metcalf Award. 

Alyssa approaches dance with an openness for spontaneity and deep consideration for the collaborators and audiences who come to play. She believes new work should be created from a place of joy and curiosity in a down-to-earth process that worships the collaborators in a collective quest for glittering catharsis. She believes audiences should be trusted as co-conspirators in our mission to achieve escapist moments of wonky joy.