Lydia Zimmer, a graduate of The Boston Conservatory (BFA ’11), is a dancer and choreographer in Halifax, NS. Lydia has created several works supported by Canada Council for the Arts and Arts Nova Scotia. These include 'Bonne Nuit,' Live Art Dance (2016); 'Embankment,' Votive Dance (2017, 2021); 'Sonderlings,' Nostos Collectives (2018), 'Sonderling,' Festival of Dance Annapolis Royal (2019) & 'Extremophile,' FODAR (2021).

Recent creations include 'Mercurials' commissioned by Mocean Dance (2022), a work for The Boston Conservatory's First-year students (2023), and 'Xenofauna', which was created for Atlantic Ballet Theatre's ImpactFest 2023 during a residency with the company. In the summer of 2023 Lydia launched ZIMMERDANS at Festival of Dance Annapolis Royal where an excerpt of The Devil’s Intervals was performed, a full-length work that premiered through Live Art Dance in December 2023.

Presented by Arts Nova Scotia and the Creative Nova Scotia Leadership Council, the Creative Nova Scotia Awards celebrate excellence in artistic achievement.

Award categories are as follows:

• Creative Community Impact
• Prix Grand-Pré
• Established Artist
• Emerging Artist
• Black Artist
• Indigenous Artist
• And finally, The Portia White Prize that is given to a person who has made outstanding and significant contributions to Nova Scotia’s creative community over a sustained career – much like the incredible woman that the award is named after. The winner will also choose an emerging artist or cultural organization that they feel deserve recognition.

Collectively, the awards are worth $75,000! Visit artsns.ca to nominate your favourite Nova Scotian artist or be a boss and nominate your self!

This series would not be possible without the fantastic production work of Heist and Keke Beatz.