The Vault @ Coal Mine Theatre presents their first ever dance lab as their final Public Lab of their 25/26 season. The Channel is a Rock Bottom Movement Production starring Spencer Hack of The National Ballet of Canada. Directed and Choreographed by Alyssa Martin. Eight nights only March 11th-21st. Seating is limited, book today, tickets are selling fast!

The exciting collaboration between The Vault/Coal Mine Theatre continues as Rock Bottom movement presents a brand new original work from the wild and genius choreography brain of Alyssa Martin, with principal ballet dancer of the National Ballet of Canada Spencer Hack. Rock Bottom Movement takes over The Vault this Spring to rip up the floor with a Public Lab of The Channel. What does this entail? You’ll have to find out.

Synopsis:

Intimate yet unbridled, The Channel creates a non-stop dance fantasia starring Spencer Hack, who attempts in real time to ascend past the boundaries of ballet hierarchy and into an unprecedented new rank. Hack auditions for his ghosts, turns himself into a garden snake and dances his heart out all in the hellish pursuit of “keeping the channel open.” We’re thinking about emotional and physical desperation, big ballet, the immensity of personal change, and the dangers of artistic silos. We’re considering surreal transformation as a model for hope, and impossible pursuit as a model for ambition.

About Alyssa Martin and Spencer Hack:

Choreographer Alyssa Martin and dance artist Spencer Hack met at The National Ballet of Canada, where they instantly connected through a kindred collaborative bond. With a shared passion for hyperbolic theatricality anchored in aching honesty, they have crafted a collaborative process based in an osmotic back-and-forth of intensely vigorous physicality and deep emotional reckoning. Spencer and Alyssa have collaborated on three works so far: Big Time Miss (2024, Rock Bottom Movement/Fall for Dance North Festival/Festival of Dance Annapolis Royal/Fredericton Playhouse), Desperate Drama of Red (The National Ballet of Canada), and Be the Bird (Rock Bottom Movement/dance:made in canada). 

As a principal dancer with The National Ballet of Canada, Spencer has originated roles in Angels’ Atlas by Crystal Pite and Orpheus Alive by Robert Binet and has performed in works by Wayne McGregor, James Kudelka, Helen Pickett, Justin Peck, George Balanchine and William Forsythe. Alyssa is the founder and Artistic Director of Rock Bottom Movement, the creative home for her works including Sex Dalmatian and hollow mountain. She has created work for Toronto Dance Theatre, The National Ballet of Canada, Alberta Ballet as well as many independent artists and companies spanning theatre, dance, circus and opera. She recently collaborated with Diana on People, Places and Things at The Coal Mine Theatre.

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THE CHANNEL

Created by Alyssa Martin with Spencer Hack

Choreographed and Directed by Alyssa Martin

Starring Spencer Hack

Presented by Rock Bottom Movement in association with The Vault Creation Lab

March 11-14 & 18-21, 2026

For tickets visit www.zeffy.com

Photo: Alyssa Martin and Spencer Hack.