Classically trained and gloriously unruly, Aszure Barton is at the vanguard of contemporary choreography. In the words of the New York Times, her work "takes ballet technique and dismantles it to near-invisibility." Born in Canada and now an American, Barton is a director who has been active in the field for over 25 years. Her work has been described by the U.S. National Endowment for the Arts as "watching the physical unfurling of the human psyche."

It has been presented at the Palais Garnier, Mariinsky Theater, The Kennedy Center, Studio 54, Lincoln Center, and Sadler's Wells, as well as in exhibitions such as the Smithsonian's Cultural Expressions. Barton has also choreographed for theater, film, opera, and Broadway. Upcoming projects include collaborations with the Paris Opera Ballet, Teatro Colón in Buenos Aires, and San Francisco Ballet.

In the early 2000s, Barton founded Aszure Barton & Artists | AB&A in New York, reimagining the choreographer–company model as “a mobile home for trusted humans.” Born out of rebellion and a desire to bring people together, AB&A serves as an autonomous, interdisciplinary, and collaborative laboratory for creative process.

Through AB&A, Barton has collaborated with celebrated artists—including Mikhail Baryshnikov, Jessica Chastain, Misty Copeland, Alan Cumming, and Cyndi Lauper—and with companies and institutions such as American Ballet Theatre, Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, Bayerisches Staatsballett, English National Ballet, Grand Théâtre de Genève, Martha Graham Dance Company, National Ballet of Canada, Nederlands Dans Theater, Sydney Dance Company, and Teatro alla Scala, among many others.

While AB&A remains her creative home, Barton also holds residencies and ongoing collaborations with leading companies, including her role as Resident Artist at Hubbard Street Dance Chicago and House Choreographer for Gauthier Dance | Theaterhaus Stuttgart.

Barton premiered Mere Mortals at San Francisco Ballet with British musician and DJ Floating Points, longtime collaborator Michelle Jank, and mixed-media artists Hamill Industries. Curated by Director Tamara Rojo, the piece marked the first evening-length work by a woman in the company's history. This summer Mere Mortals will be presented at the legendary Edinburgh Festival and at Sadler’s Wells in London.

Barton shares an ongoing artistic collaboration with trumpeter and composer Ambrose Akinmusire, whose worlds have come together in creations for Limón Dance Company, Malpaso Dance Company, Hamburg Ballett, and The Juilliard School. Their most recent work, A a | a B : B E N D, premiered at Germany's Kampnagel, had its U.S. premiere in 2025, and has since debuted in Canada. The work continues to tour internationally through Pomegranate Arts. Tanz Magazine called it "a refusal of categorization that draws its appeal from two artists who, completely secure in their fields, playfully unsettle each other.”

Barton recently returned to the Baryshnikov Arts for its 20th-anniversary season alongside Benjamin Millepied as an inaugural choreographer commissioned by the organization, in recognition of her longtime collaboration with Mikhail Baryshnikov and the Center.

Among her accolades are Canada’s prestigious Arts & Letters Award, joining the likes of Margaret Atwood, Karen Kain and Oscar Peterson, a Bessie Award, and her appointment as the inaugural Martha Duffy Resident Artist at Baryshnikov Arts. A laureate of the Ken McCarter Award for Distinguished NBS Alumni, she was named Official Ambassador of Contemporary Choreography in Canada, and the German magazine tanz recognized her work in its yearbook in the category “Most Interesting Choreographer.”

As an educator, Barton is Creative Partner with Boston Conservatory at Berklee and was formerly Artist-in-Residence at USC Kaufman during William Forsythe’s tenure as Artistic Advisor. She and her team also maintain longstanding educational collaborations with The Juilliard School, Arts Umbrella, Canada’s National Ballet School, and other institutions, frequently returning to work with students and faculty.

A prolific and visionary leader, Barton consistently produces unmatched craft through a mindful and rigorous process, bringing ambitious visions to life across the globe, rooted in care.

“While widely celebrated, Barton’s work is deserving of every honour—and more—for its imagination, rigor, and its capacity to inspire awe through a rigorously transformative vision of the art form.”

“Be soft. Choose where.”

- Aszure Barton