About Us.
Lofty Goal Project emerged from a desire to explore, collaborate, create, and ultimately provide a platform to present that work. Our vision is to take a daunting artistic venture and go for it!
Founded by Elise Tigges and Alexandra Woodley, Lofty Goal Project began with the goal of producing their first show - a rather lofty goal. Moving Forward: Untitled premiered in September 2019, selling out both performances and bringing together new dance works and visual art. Since then, Lofty Goal Project has continued to explore new ways of creating and sharing art, including film projects and a site-specific dance creation.
At its heart, Lofty Goal Project is about pursuing big ideas and helping others do the same. Alongside developing original work, we create opportunities for emerging artists of all disciplines to collaborate, experiment, and pursue their own lofty goals. Through programs such as the Rossland Emerging Artist Residency, we aim to foster creative connections, support artistic development, and build a community where new ideas can take shape.
Meet the team.
Alexandra Woodley
Co-FounderAlexandra Woodley is a multidisciplinary performing artist who was born and raised in South Alberta who is now based in BC. She is an honours graduate of George Brown College’s Dance Preparation and Dance Performance programs. Upon graduation, Alexandra was the recipient of the GBD Leadership, Acting, and Choreography awards which led to a one-year mentorship under Hanna Kiel, director of Human Body Expression. Alexandra has choreographed and performed with The Garage TO dance collective, and George Brown Dance’s Ensemble program, having her work featured in In Haüs. Alexandra also performs and choreographs in musical theatre. Past credits include Robin Hood and His Merry Men (Morpheus Theatre), Ella Enchanted the Musical and Elf Jr. the Musical (StoryBook Theatre), and What’s In A Name and Trapped at the Murphy Inn (Gold Fever Follies). Today Alexandra can be found teaching, choreographing and performing throughout Canada.
Co-FounderElise Tigges
Elise Tigges is a dance artist, educator, administrator, and researcher currently based in B.C. Elise is a graduate of the George Brown Dance Performance program and has performed with REAson d’etre dance and Ballet Jörgen. She has supported dance creation and research processes in various roles, including as a choreographic assistant, rehearsal director, scribe, and researcher/documentor. Elise is a co-founder of Lofty Goal Project, which runs the Rossland Emerging Artist Residency. She has extensive arts education and administration experience, developing and delivering programming across Canada, and has had her writing published in The Dance Current. In 2026, Elise holds an Honours Bachelor of Arts from the University of Toronto, and is currently a Research Associate with the Gatherings Partnership. Her research and artistic interests center intergenerationality, memory, and embodied research practices, and her current work considers this in relation to early German modern dance history.
Associated Artists
Olivia Armstrong
Olivia grew up dancing in London, Ontario and moved to Toronto to further her training in the Performance Dance program at Ryerson University. During her time at Ryerson, Olivia had the opportunity to work and collaborate with many wonderful choreographers such as Louis Laberge-Cote, Kate Hilliard, Matjash Mrozewski and others. Olivia has had the opportunity to dance and perform with Release Dance Project and continues to dance around the city. Most recently, she has trained with Northwest Dance Project this summer in Portland, Oregon.
Jamaica Fraiser
Jamaica is a dance coach, choreographer, and emerging dance artist. Throughout her dance training, Jamaica focused on ballet, contemporary, and jazz. Jamaica is a 2019 graduate of the George Brown College Dance Performance program. During her time at George Brown, Jamaica had the privilege of being taught by notable teachers and choreographers such as, Hanna Kiel, Derek Sangster, Ryan Kelly, Ryan Lee, Tina Fushell, Nicola Pantin, Cindy Macedo, Laetitia Clement, and Kathleen Rea, and has performed in productions of In Haüs and Unleashed. She also performed in the Toronto 2015 Pan Am/Parapan Am Games.
Sierra Goldak
Sierra grew up dancing in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan under the direction of Hazel-Ann Stark, Linda Erickson, and Heather Myers. She trained in various genres and competed in regional and provincial competitions. Over the years she attended several summer intensives including, Canada’s Ballet Jörgen, Joffrey Ballet Chicago, Goh Ballet, and the Trisha Brown Dance Company summer intensive. In 2018 she graduated from the Dance Performance program at George Brown College. Following her graduation, Sierra joined Canada’s Ballet Jörgen as a mentorship student for their 2018-19 season, appearing in productions of Coppélia: A Comedy with Love, The Nutcracker: A Canadian Tradition and an original work by Alysa Pires entitled THAW.
Eleanor Parks
Alana grew up dancing in Oakville, Ontario where she began studying with various studios and summer programs. She attended high school at Etobicoke School of the Arts as a dance major where she was exposed to more in-depth training in ballet and modern. Alana went on to earn a BFA degree at Ryerson University, and has had the opportunity to work with choreographers such as Alysa Pires, William Yong, Hanna Kiel, and James Kudelka. Alana is honoured to be a part of Lofty Goal Project.
