DanceWeekend
 Our New Year's gift to Toronto was a great success due, of course, to Ontario's fabulous dance artists.
To those who make it all run smoothly - Janelle Rainville (Production Director), Ron Snippe (Lighting Director), Bob Greene and his great tech crew, Rob Downes and Harbourfront's FOH team, the DOYB and Heather Saum's wonderful students from Oakwood Collegiate - Donnalee Smith, Maya Zapparoli, Allissa Robinson, Tamara Clarke, Marian Omar, Beverley Morrison, Oyinkansola Taiwo, Micah Champagne, Daniella Sterling, Raphan Noel, Christelle Broux, Elisa Mola, Angela Mei, Shahana Srikanthan, Tessa, Nicole Malcom, Chenoa Koke, Raphan Noel- THANK YOU!
And finally to videographers Rick Fronik and Yumi Otagaki and to YOU, our patrons!
Please send your comments to contact@danceontario.ca.
What The Public Says
"I just wanted to say how much I enjoyed the fabulous weekend at Harbourfront. The selection was amazingly diverse and a great joy."
"I particularly appreciated the two sponsored works by Lacey Smith and William Yong. These were a wonderful complementary set of dances that epitomized the feminine and masculine sides of our world. Well done in enabling this creativity." Terry Davies
"I've looked forward to this for a long time and I am not disappointed - best event in dance!"
"Keep having this spectacular event please."
"Top calibre talent!"
"A truly enriching, unique, fun and educational experience"
Scotiabank's Nuit Blanche!
Groups performing at The Distillery for Scotiabank's Nuit Blanche'09 (Oct 3) are
Gadfly, AX-S Dance, Eroca Nicols, Jay9 Dance Projects and HerciniArts.
MARK YOUR CALENDARS! For more information, see home page or Shows!
Commissions & Creative Partnerships
Commissioning of new works or Creative Partnerships from both established and emerging choreographers. Works are presented at DanceWeekend in January. To date choreographers commissioned include Nenagh Leigh, Meagan O'Shea, Terrill Maguire, Lucy Rupert, Vivine Scarlett,Jenn Goodwin, Sasha Ivanochko, Marlee Cargill, Malgorzata Nowacka, Nova Bhattacharya & Louis Laberge Cote,Sashar Zarif & Holly Small, William Yong, Lacey Smith, Amy Hampton & Keiko Ninomiya, Jessica Westermann, Lucy Rupert and Barbara Pallamino, Pamela Rasbach and Robert Stephen.
2009 Recipients
 The Dance Ontario Selection Committee is delighted to announce that the Creative Partnerships for 2009 will be awarded to Robert Stephen and Sashar Zarif.
These artists will receive support to create and premiere their work at Dance Ontario's DanceWeekend 2010 running January 23 and 24, 2010 at the Fleck Dance Theatre, part of Harbourfront Centre's NextSteps Series.
National Ballet of Canada dancer, Robert Stephen will present In The Cantina inspired by selections from electronic musician Daedelus' brilliant 2002 album Invention. Set on six dancers, the work delves into the basic human need for an outlet for escape with the word "cantina" providing interpretations that may veer from a bar to an underground cellar or bring a Star Wars science-fiction undertone. The wildly inventive score evokes non-specific settings where events may take place in the past or the future.
BIOGRAPHY: Robert Stephen trained at Canada's National Ballet School and has been a member of the National Ballet of Canada since 2004 during which time his roles have included solos in Crystal Pite's Emergence, Sabrina Matthews' Dextris, Christopher Bruce's Rooster, Eliot Feld's A Footstep of Air and William Forsythe's the second detail.
His choreographic works include Rubato and Ravel Duets for The National Ballet of Canada's Choreographic Lab; City of Dusk for the Richard Bradshaw Amphitheatre Concert Series; At A Loss: Larghetto for Creating Dance For A Cure Fundraiser; as well as works presented at The Regent Theatre in 2003, Picton and for the Stephen Godfrey Choreographic Workshops in 1999, 2000 and 2001.
 Choreographer, Sashar Zarif continues work with seasoned dance artists initiated in 2006 with co-choreographer Holly Small for the award winning piece In The Letters Of My Name - also a Dance Ontario Creative Partnership.
For Solos Of My Life he sets two short works on Holly Small and Sylvie Bouchard, interwoven and connected by a brief transitional piece performed by Zarif. The work for Small will touch on issues regarding gain, birth and emergence into new chapters of his life whereas the solo for Bouchard will centre around the loss he has experienced - that of family members in war and revolution, or of youth and childhood in refugee camps, and the loss of innocence.
Personal and intimate, Solos Of My Life will provoke a deeper understanding of and sympathy for the early struggles of some of this country's newcomers.
BIOGRAPHY: Sashar Zarif, BFA, MA, PhD Candidate Middlesex University (UK), is the artistic director of Sashar Zarif Dance Theatre, The Canadian Academy of Azerbaijani Dance and Dancers for Peace International Festival and Centre for Dance Studies. Inspired by a strong artistic family background, recipient of numerous awards for excellence in arts, Zarif is an internationally renowned multi-disciplinary artist, educator and researcher in the field of dance ethnology and ethno musicology. He was the recipient of Toronto International Dance Festival's Paula Citron Award in 2006 and a winner of the 2008 Skills For Change New Pioneer Award for the Arts as an artistic ambassador for multiculturalism and diversity. Zarif was nominated for a Dora Mavor Moore Award for Outstanding Performance in 2008.
...creative partnerships @ DanceWeekend'10...essential viewing!
Community Dance Partnerships & Dance For Youth Forums
...so much to celebrate!
 With major funding from the Ontario Trillium Foundation, Dance Ontario's Community Dance Partnerships have been off and running over the last several months in several cities across the province. A natural extension of our Dance For Youth Forums, funded by the Department of Canadian Heritage and Trillium, we have worked with some wonderful dance enthusiasts who are partnering to develop innovative dance hubs in their local communities.
In LONDON, the November forum, facilitated by Debbie Kapp of the Lester B. Pearson School for the Arts , brought together educators from local school boards, venue and studio operators including Dance Extreme's Rebecca Brettingham, dance artists Menaka Thakkar,Michael DeConinck Smith of CCDT, Lacey Smith and Allen & Karen Kaeja, and the London Arts Council represented by Rebekah Morrison-Wize. Discussion was lively after a performance by Kaeja d'Dance. One of the attendees was London Community Players' board member, Barrie Tepperman,whose group was in the final stages of renovating The Palace Theatre and were considering developing a dance series for young people in order to reach a new demographic for their events. They later hired General Manager, Karen Killeen, and, under Dance Ontario's Community Dance Partnership Program, presented a SOLD-OUT gala performance to an enraptured audience featuring Esmeralda Enrique Spanish Dance Company on February 7. Next month, Canadian Children's Dance Theatre will perform matinees (also almost sold out)representing the first in London Community Player's series of dance concerts for young people.
Forums in PARRY SOUND, SAULT STE MARIE and NORTH BAY facilitated by educator/artist Peter Ryan also brought together terrific local artists, school board representatives, enthusiastic venue operators and presenters. Kudos to the Charles Stockey Centre's Dave Golden who worked so hard in Parry Sound. Canadian Children's Dance Theatre performed prior to a forum .JPG)
that included dance artist Santee Smith, Jocelyn Bell of the Near North District School Board and Tia Pearce of the Huntsville Festival of the Arts. We have since worked with Jocelyn in North Bay. Ballet Creole brought young audiences to 
their feet after a show at the Kiwanis Theatre Centre in the Soo. Again the forum that followed generated a raft of fresh ideas from enthusiasts across the region and our thanks go to Louisa Van Lith of the Algoma Fall Festival and Greg Marshall at the theatre for their help. At the instigation of the indefatigable Jocelyn Bell with her  other 'hat' - that of head of the Dance Dept at Widdifield Secondary School), forum participants joined students for delightful performance by Motus O Dance Theatre at North Bay's Capitol Centre on a cool and sunny Friday the 13 of February. Afterwards, we talked with many of the area's dance movers and shakers.The Capital Centre's Dee Adrian joined Jocelyn, Jack Langenhuizen, James Croker, William Plumstead (CBACH/North Bay Arts Council) and Tia Pearse who we hope to work with over the next few years.
And, finally, in HAMILTON, a forum in 2008 followed a performance by AKA Dance  and The Chimera Project at the Downtown Arts Centre (DAC)brought together local groups interested in increasing dance activity in the area. This month's Community Dance Partnership saw fledgling alternative presenter Public Utility Performance and McMaster Dance (aka Patrick Brennan and Dave Wilson) collaborate on an innovative performance Krima...what a shame! choreographed by acclaimed choreographer Maxine Heppner presented @ the Downtown Arts Centre's Citadel 28 Gallery. First performed in Greece, it brought together approximately 40 performers, all but six from the local area. Krima premiered in Toronto on March 1 at the Young Centre for the Performing Arts where Heppner set her work on approx 100 Toronto performers.
Dance Ontario recognizes and thanks the Ontario Trillium Foundation for its commitment to increasing access to dance across the province.
The Ontario Trillium Foundation is an agency of the Government of Ontario.
For 25 years, the Foundation has supported the growth and vitality of communities across the province. OTF continues to strengthen the capacity of the volunteer sector through investments in community-based initiatives. For more information, please visit www.trilliumfoundation.org
Dance Ontario's Community Dance Partnerships...building vibrant dance communities across the province!
[Images: Esmeralda Enrique Spanish Dance Company, Canadian Children's Dance Theatre and Ballet Creole by David Hou, Motus O Dance Theatre by James Croker and AKA Dance by Malgorzata Nowacka]
Dances From A Distance
Watch this space for information on this NEW project!
Publication of Dance Ontario Directory
Publication of an annual Directory, a "who's-who" of the Ontario dance community. You can purchase the current Directory for a cost of $15. Plan to advertize in the next Directory ! See also the Directory-on-the-web.
Publication of Headlines
Publication of Headlines, a quarterly newsletter
Telephone Hotline
We field enquiries from agents/producers
looking for choreographers or performers for film,TV and live
performance; members of the general public looking for classes
and events; and dancers looking for venues, rehearsal spaces,
competitions and auditions. Five days a week, 52 weeks per year!
Youth Moves
The organization also partners with Dance Umbrella of Ontario, Dancer Transition Resource Centre and Canadian Alliance of Dance Artists (CADA), The Dance Current, Canadian Actors' Equity Association and the Actors' Fund of Canada for a project designed to assist young dancers in the transition from training institution to the professional dance milieu.
Dance Ontario Award
The Dance Ontario Award is given in recognition of the unique contribution of individuals to the development of dance in the province.
See more about the Award and recipients.
LOCATION & CONTACT INFORMATION
Office Hours:
Monday-Friday
9:30 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.
Dance Ontario Association
The Distillery District
55 Mill Street
Case Goods Bldg.,(74) #304 Toronto, Ontario, Canada
M5A 3C4
Tel: 416. 204 1083
Fax: 416. 204 1085
E-mail contact@danceontario.ca
The Association gratefully acknowledges our funding partners:
| |
DANCE ONTARIO Association was founded in 1976 as the regional arm of Dance In Canada Association (DICA), and incorporated not-for-profit in 1985. Since the demise of DICA, our membership-based association has developed into a dynamic cross-section of all areas of the dance sector from internationally renowned companies to local dance clubs, technicians and agents.
DANCE ONTARIO is key to Ontario's dance milieu and central to the diverse sector's communications and networking, providing management training, advice and industry information. We interact with the general public on a daily basis promoting members' services and events.
MISSION
- To promote and support the advancement of all forms of dance in Canada, and in particular, dance in the Province of Ontario, and create a unified voice on regional and Canadian dance issues;
- To serve the needs and interests of the Ontario regional dance community;
- To aid in communication amongst the Ontario dance community, between it and other regional dance communities in Canada, and throughout the dance community worldwide;
- To promote the development of performance facilities in Ontario;
- To generate funding through contributions, fundraising activities and donations, the said funds to be used to achieve the objectives of the Corporation;
- To act as a producer of dance programs, and/or conferences, educational seminars etc;
- To engage in any lawful activities necessary to carry out its purposes as a non-profit service organization.
We are an active and thriving force in the dance community with over 600 members across Ontario including 74 professional companies, independent dancers, choreographers and teachers, over 120 schools, as well as writers, administrators, technicians and other members of Ontario's dance industry.
|
|
