My name is Keaton Leier. I am originally from Saskatoon SK, and received my professional training in classical ballet at the Royal Winnipeg Ballet School. I have now had a professional career as a leading dancer with the Atlanta Ballet for the past 5 years. I am currently transitioning back to my Canadian roots, and will be joining the ranks on the National Ballet of Canada this summer. I have taken a few courses in environmental studies and I am extremely passionate about the conservation of our earths ecosystems.
I am one of 3 founders of the Artists Climate Collective, an initiative created to unite the arts community (specifically dance) with environmental science and the climate crisis. We commission projects that are collaborative and involve many different artists around the continent using the climate crisis as the inspiration for the work. Examples of past projects would be creating a upcycled dancewear line, curating a climate crisis inspired visual arts gallery, or creating an award winning choreographic dance film. (check our website’s “project page” for a more in depth look.
At ACC, my hope is to use our tools and abilities as artists to support climate activists pushing this cause forward by donating the profits from these projects to 3 on the ground, community driven, and socially responsible organizations. (These organizations are not permanent partners of ACC).
My original inspiration to begin this journey was amplified by the feeling of being constantly helpless with large world problems. Reminding myself that every action matters is what sparked me to think about what I could do personally to have an impression on climate change. Using my craft as an artist and involving my community to create a mass impact became my answer, and since then I haven’t stopped working.
My personal involvement within the collective is constant. Alongside my co-founders, my role in the collective is deeply revolving around the artistic decisions we make that move ACC forward. The majority of projects are led/directed by myself and I have been involved as a dancer in some of the choreographic creations as well.
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