E N S E M B L E

LIA WITJES POOLE

Photo: Jubal Battisti

Lia Witjes Poole was born in 1979 in Ontario, Canada, and received her formal dance education at Arts Umbrella in Vancouver, British Columbia.

Lia’s professional career began in Toronto, where she joined Desroisiers Dance Theatre. In 2000, she relocated to the Netherlands and quickly made a name for herself as a versatile independent artist. Over the years, she collaborated with well-known choreographers such as Pieter de Ruiter, Jennifer Hanna, Itzik Galili, Omar Rajeh, and Heather Ware, and worked with filmmaker Ivar Hagendoorn on two dance films.

In 2002, Lia became a regular artist with the acclaimed Dutch dance company LeineRoebana, where she performed in a variety of productions. Her work continued to evolve and she later took on teaching roles in contemporary and ballet dance at the Dutch National Ballet Academy, the Amsterdam Academy for Theater and Dance, Codarts, and Arts Umbrella.

In 2019, Lia joined Dance On Ensemble, and has performed in works by choreographers Nicole Beutler, Christos Papadopoulos, Jan Martens, Lucinda Childs, Colette Sadler, Ginevra Panzetti, Enrico Ticcino, and Rabih Mroué.