A recent creation residence with the National Circus School and its resulting performance (co-produced by TOHU, La Cité des Arts du Cirque) propelled Jerry Snell’s audacious creativity before an audience in Montreal of over 5,000 spectators in only 6 days. In this same period Snell transformed over 25 years of groundbreaking creation, performance, direction and international touring with Carbone 14 and STP into his own new company: JERRY SNELL INDUSTRIES.

Snell is like a chameleon, able to fuse diverse cultures and mediums from dance and theatre to rock concerts and film acting. He is a composer, musician, singer, political activist and circus director, and often combines all these elements in a single event.

This first non-stop year for the company JERRY SNELL INDUSTRIES is a perfect illustration of this vital one-man industry. His latest circus performance Angels of the Storm created a unique relationship with the directors of TOHU and the National Circus School and also gave rise to a number of new opportunities, one of which is to create a new martial arts/acrobatic performance entitled The Art Of War in a residence planned for 2006-7.

Spring 2005 finds Snell in residence in Montreal at the Society for Arts and Technology (SAT) along with close collaborator Michel F. Côté. They will direct an event that will bring the voice of Montreal’s immigrant community together through a multimedia examination of how the year 1975 changed the lives of a vast number of Montreal residents of Asian and South American origin.

Following this event, Snell will return to Asia on an exceptional invitation from renowned choreographer Lin Hsiu Wei to compose and perform music for her company Tai Gu Tales Dance Theatre for a work that is to open the Taipei Arts Festival in October 2005 and then tour across Taiwan. The directors of the National Chiang Kai Shek Cultural Centre: National Theatre of Taiwan have also invited Snell for a residence in 2006 to create an acrobatic performance piece with local Taiwanese artists.

Considered a pioneer in Canadian-Asian cultural development, Snell’s close contacts with artists and respected institutions in Macau, Hong Kong, Beijing, Guangzhou and Taiwan allow him to develop important artistic ties that channel the flow of ideas between Canada and Asia.

JERRY SNELL INDUSTRIES has a long-term vision: to bring foreign thought, philosophy, artists and performances to Canada, and through its internationally esteemed creators, bring Canada across the globe to spectators around the world.