sam penner

Sam Penner is an independent dance artist of mixed settler heritage living and working in Kjipuktuk/Halifax. A graduate of the School of Contemporary Dancers, she performed extensively in her home province of Manitoba before relocating to the East Coast in 2021. Across her performance career she has worked with Mocean Dance, Winnipeg’s Contemporary Dancers, and Gearshifting Performance Works, with choreographers including Peggy Baker, Susanne Chui, Alexandra Elliott, Brent Lott, and Jolene Bailie. Recent creative highlights include remounting her short work Nothing Doing for Coastal Currents (2025), presented by Live Art Dance & Kinetic; premiering her first short dance film Cumulus (2023) in Shifting Tides: Dance Films from Atlantic Canada, as well as Skylines Dance and Film; and performing in Sea Unseen (2024) a multidisciplinary collaboration between Mocean Dance and the Sable Island Institute. Sam is thrilled to have the opportunity to expand her connection and understanding of jazz dance in working with Rooted Dance Projects this season.