‘Spicey’ is a Montreal choreographer, a performer, a teacher, a curator and a major player on Canada’s hip-hop dance scene. She is recognized as a pioneer and an artist with unparalleled vision, drawing her raw material from hip-hop culture, whose field of exploration she is constantly expanding.
‘Spicey’ presented three works in Quebec between 2008 and 2015 including Retrospek (9 performers), which influenced a generation of street dancers. At the same time, the Bust A Move Festival, which she founded in 2005 (active until 2015), became the largest street dance competition in Canada.
Eager to further expand her artistic aspirations and to actively promote street dance and its performers, ‘Spicey’ founded the dance company Ebnflōh in 2015. With the support of collaborators and peers, her approach to hip-hop as choreography evolved, becoming more exploratory, radical and authentic. Faithful to intention and form, she continued to pursue research and experimentation. Music, theatre, cinema and visual arts have been sources of inspiration for her choreography. Her works powerfully probe our social and intimate relationships. In recent years, she has trained in filmmaking for dance.
‘Spicey’ created Complexe R in 2015, a piece for five female dancers inspired by our existential obsessions. In-Ward, her 2019 piece featuring six dancers, was awarded Prix Révélation at Les Prix de la Danse de Montréal. The jury emphasized “the power of the choreography” and “an artistic style imbued with depth”. The piece was a finalist for the 35th Grand Prix du Conseil des arts de Montréal and was presented 50 times in Canada, Scotland and Germany from 2019 to 2023.
During the pandemic, she created two works for webcasting: Hanging by a Thread (8 dancers) and the duo Ever Endeavor – commissioned by the National Arts Centre. Danse Danse presented her most recent work, La Probabilité du Néant (8 dancers), in October 2021 at Place des Arts. It has also been presented in Vancouver at the end of 2023. She is currently working on a new piece that will be featured at La Chapelle Scènes Contemporaines in 2024. She is also directing and choreographing her first dance film entitled Le Néant.
Deeply committed to supporting street dance, ‘Spicey’ designs and directs B‑Side, an event produced by Ebnflōh since 2019. She mentors emerging artists and is regularly invited to teach master classes in Canada and abroad.
Ebnflōh dance company was founded in 2015 by choreographer Alexandra ‘Spicey’ Landé. Its original language and aesthetic are rooted in hip-hop dance and culture and developed through research and innovation. The company is recognized for its involvement in the street dance community and its contribution to the development of the discipline and its dancers. It creates, produces and presents its work to large audiences, and is active in Canada and internationally. Ebnflōh was finalist for the 35th Grand Prix du Conseil des arts de Montréal in 2020 with In-Ward.
Ebnflōh (pronounced Ebenflo) comes from the English expression “to ebb and flow” denoting action and reaction, rising and falling, the constant and everchanging movement of the tides. As with waves lapping up and receding, the company’s choreographic language is steeped in its fluidity of movement. With meticulous precision and laying bare the multifarious details and nuances found in its choreography, these densely layered works possess an informed commentary. ‘Spicey’s singularly insightful outlook sharply contrasts with what most of us usually dismiss as being trite, and superficial. With theatre and cinema as influences, among other intersecting disciplines in the arts, music holds a special place for her.
Ebnflōh offers a unique choreographic language and artistic vision. The company promotes creative exploration by broadening the field of research for street dance. It imagines new creative processes and new ways to share its ideas about social, political and artistic issues. It is fundamentally committed to creating dynamic, and uncompromised original work.
Ebnflōh has created and produced 5 choreographic works (including 2 for webcasting), and has presented them across Quebec and Canada, in New-York, Amsterdam, Düsseldorf and Edinburgh. It also produces the annual B‑Side event, a two-week Exploration and Research Lab for the street dance community.