In Loving Memory of dallas & Deborah

2025

In memory of Dallas (Cowichan) & Deborah Charlie (Lillooet)

It is with broken hearts that we honour and remember (Dolores) Dallas and Deborah Charlie who were members of the Carnegie Dance Troupe since the beginning in 2006 and lost to us suddenly in 2025.

Deborah was the very first dancer to join the Carnegie Dance Troupe. Over the years Deborah became the matriarch of the troupe and a consummate example of the healing power of dance. She was always recruiting new members and introducing new artists; she shared her culture, her songs, her dances, and her art. Deborah loved dance; she shone with an inner light, she was a radiant star, with a radiant glow that inspired us all.

Recently she was awarded a Downtown Eastside Small Arts Grant to create a choreographic work, with assistance from the DTES community, fellow Carnegie Dance Troupe members, KJD, The Dance Centre, and SFU, she debuted “Deer Dance” in 2024. A ‘60s Scoop Survivor, Deborah had at last reached a beautiful place in her life, she was healing and creating stunning art. She was the embodiment of what our program wanted to achieve, to seed dance into the community, to bring artists together, and to create a platform for individual and community success.

Dallas became interested in the arts early in life. She first studied performance art at Spirit Song, she earned a scholarship and attended Native Earth theatre school in Toronto and achieved a two-year certificate from the En'owken International School of Creative Writing and Fine Arts in Penticton. She earned her B.A. in Fine Arts with a Media Arts major from Emily Carr University of Art + Design. Dallas was an extremely active member of the DTES through such organizations as Indigenous Women Artists Collective, DTES Women’s Centre, Culture Saves Lives, Molson’s Overdose Prevention Site, Downtown Eastside Centre for the Arts, Vancouver Moving Theatre, and Puppet Theatre .

Dallas originally joined us in 2006 as a filmmaker, documenting performances with her unique ‘inside view, putting herself right inside the dancing. Inspired by the work of the dancers, she joined the workshops and started to dance. She was a magnificent visual artist and poet, bringing those gifts to the troupe’s performances and taking her place as a beloved and respected elder.

They were truly loved by all of us at Karen Jamieson Dance and will be deeply missed.

“One of the revelations of past engagement with the Downtown Eastside community is that art might be the most potent tools for survival that human beings have come up with to date and dance might possibly be the most powerful of these tools.”
- Karen Jamieson

All photos and videos below by Chris Randle