Across the Board
Dance Ontario Board members are active across their sector.
Download Dance Ontario's Annual Report To The Members here:
Annual Report 
|
Who's Who @ Dance Ontario
Chair Catherine Carpenko has been involved in the dance and arts community in Ontario as teacher, choreographer, performer, producer, administrator and coach/consultant for over 20 years. She holds a BFA in Dance from York and a M.A. in Education and Psychology.
Samara Thompson (Vice Chair) is a choreographer, educator, and Radio host for CIUT's EviDance. She holds a Master of Arts from York University's Dance Department where she is occasionally a guest lecturer, has performed her own choreographer at fFIDA, and is interested in dance as it relates to technology and film.
Peter Ryan, Past Board Chair, is fluently bilingual and has been involved in theatre and dance across North America and Europe as a teacher, performer and writer since 1975. He has taught and performed across North America and Europe and was a founding member of EDAM, Vancouver's innovative dance and music collective. Currently, he teaches in the Theatre Department at the University of Ottawa, trains dancers and actors in improvisation for performance in Ottawa and Athens, Greece and teaches public classes in Improvisation at Ottawa's Dance Network. Peter also works extensively in the schools, teaching dance and movement. He has served on the board of the Council for the Arts in Ottawa, and was a member of the Arts Advisory Committee to the Ottawa-Carleton District School Board.
Allison Cummings (Treasurer) is a performer/choreographer based in Toronto where she has worked as an actor or dancer for Hammerhead, Tanya Crowder. D.A. Hoskins, Michael Trent, The Four Chambers Dance Project, DNA Theatre, Nation of Aslan, Hope Terry and Kate Alton among others. Her choreography has been shown at Summerworks, fFIDA, Rhubarb Festival, 7a-11d Performance Art Festival, Before During After Festival, Hysteria, and was featured as part of the 2002 seasons residency program at the Theatre Centre. She was the 2000 recipient of The Toronto Emerging Artist Award in Dance.
Jennifer Watkins (Secretary) holds a B.F.A. degree from York University with special honours in dance. Following graduation she continued her dance training at the School of Toronto Dance Theatre as well as exploring other modern and jazz styles in Toronto and New York City. She has served in administrative capacities for the Danny Grossman Dance Company, the Young Audience Division for R.H. Entertainments, Dance Umbrella of Ontario, Theatre Direct and CADA, as well as Interim Grants Officer for the Toronto Arts Council. She received a Harold Award in 2000, worked with Moving Pictures Festival, and currently works with the Esmeralda Enrique Spanish Dance Co. and Arabesque Dance.
Emily Cheung received her B.F.A., B.Ed. and M.A. from York University. She is the Artistic Director of Little Pear Garden Collective, a company that promotes high calibre Chinese performing arts. Emily Cheung is an educator, performer, curator and choreographer. Emily has performed world-wide including United States of America, Hong Kong, India, and China. Recent works include Ghost Story, a Chinese Contemporary dance with the use of long sleeves; The Road, a collaboration with Rina Singha commissioned by the Harbourfront Centre and Within…, a first Sino-Indo collaboration with Hari Krishnan. She is now working on a new work, The Phantom Rose, with Gary de Matas. Emily has performed with inDANCE since 2004.
Jacque Foesier L.I.S.T.D., C.S.B., was director of the Koffler Centre of the Arts School of Dance from 1958-September 2002. He is director of the Etobicoke School of Dance, a former Chair of Dance Ontario, and past President of the Ontario Branch of the Canadian Dance Teachers Association (CDTA).
Helen Barbalias (Georgas) holds an MA in Dance from York University and currently works for Canada's National Ballet School. When starting with the school she was part of the Project Grand Jete fundraising team, the School's $100 million expansion project. Currently she is the Alumni Relations and Community Development Coordinator. Helen participates in many disciplines of the arts, as well as education conferences, with an aim to help the community value the importance of the arts in the curriculum. In her spare time she coaches the Dance Team at York University.
Debbie Kapp has been teaching Dance at L. B. Pearson School for the Arts, London, Ontario for the past 16 years. L. B. Pearson is an Arts Enriched school, where students from ages 8 to 14 study and learn through all the Arts. She is a graduate of York University's Dance Program (1979)and previously taught ballet and Creative Dance at the Thornhill School of Ballet. Debra has been writing Dance curriculum for the Thames Valley District School Board for 12 years and regularly presents workshops for teachers on how to teach Dance in the school setting. She is the Producer and Artistic Director of the show "Art Harvest", an annual showcase of Dance Education programs in Southwestern Ontario. As a member of the National Dance Educator's Organization, Debra travels throughout the United States and Canada participating in conferences, workshops and Master Classes. She won an Award of Excellence in 2005 from the Jewish Community Centers Association of North America for the innovative and creative programming of the presentation "Resilience in the Face of Trouble and Despair". Debra is a co-founder of The London Alliance of Dance Educators, an organization whose mission is to bring together studio dancers and school dance program dancers for Master Classes and performances.
Kaylynne (Kate) Lowe has taught Dance/Drama to primary and junior classes for 19 years. She has directed and choreographed over 20 school musicals, coached school dance teams and initiated an annual dance festival on International Dance Day
Greg Milosh is the General Manager of Star Attractions in Oshawa. The company lists Ballet, Tap and Competitions as areas of interest and I understanding that Greg takes Tap classes. His nomination form simply says " I am a dance presenter, enthusiast, student and amateur historian. I constantly endeavour to promote dance as an important performing art form".
On the Dance Ontario Board since 1996, Yasmina Ramzy is founder and Artistic Director of Arabesque Dance Company, Orchestra, Academy, Boutique and Agency. She has toured extensively as a soloist and with Arabesque Dance Company, teaching workshops and performing internationally since 1981. Yasmina's Instructional DVD series sell world wide and she has many dance articles published internationally. She is responsible for presenting over 15 different dance related events each year in Toronto as well as founding Dancenet and Gypsy, both culture specific educational events. Yasmina initiated the 1st International Bellydance Conference of Canada in 2007.
Rina Singha came to Canada in the mid-1960s. Originally from Calcutta (India), she trained in Kathak under the legendary guru, Shambhu Maharaj of Lucknow (Northern India). A professional soloist since 1961, Ms. Singha has danced throughout India, Europe, North America and Asia, earning wide acclaim for the purity of her technique and the contemporary wisdom and beauty of her interpretive powers. Ms. Singha has choreographed both traditional and experimental dance works, using Kathak to explore societal and environmental issues. She specializes in the interpretation of Western Biblical stories and is recognized internationally as a leader in Christian dance. Founder of the Rina Singha Kathak Institute (Toronto), and a leading Canadian dance ethnologist, educator and author, she holds an M.A. (Geography) and an M.Ed. (Arts Education), and has developed dance-based educational programmes for the deaf and for cross-cultural understanding. She is a recipient of awards and honours from UNESCO, duMaurier Arts Award (1994), Dance Ontario (1991), Raag-Mala Performing Arts of Canada (1992), Hindu Federation of Canada, Bharatiya Kala Kendra (New Delhi Award for Significant Contribution in the Field of Dance), the Government of India, and the Title Award for Excellence in Teaching Kathak (1984) by the Federation of Indo-Canadians.
Dave Wilson has been dancing for over 40 years and has founded or co-founded several modern dance companies that have performed in Canada, the USA and overseas, such as Australia and Sweden. His present companies are - Parahumans Dance Theatre, Dream Dancers, Hamilton Dance Company and McMaster Dancers. He is an Associate Professor in Kinesiology at McMaster University in Hamilton and directs the Centre for Dance which offers over 30 recreational dance classes to the campus and city communities. He has an M.A. from York University and is presently a Ph.D candidate at the University of Leeds in England. Dave's primary interests in dance are: dance community; the leadership development of young professional dancers; dance and the internet; improvisation; text and interdisciplinary performance; dance as a spiritual practice. He can be reached at dcwilson@mcmaster.ca
Originally from Azerbaijan, Sashar Zarif is an acclaimed dancer, choreographer and teacher who has studied many dance forms. Artistic Director of Sashar Zarif Dance Company, he was a member of the Azerbaijan State Joshgoon Dance Ensemble, and received the title "Artist for People of Azerbaijan". A Chalmers Award recipient, he is the founder of Dancers For Peace and recipient (with Holly Small) of the Paula Citron Award for the Best New Choreography at fFIDA for his presentation of a work commissions by Dance Ontario.
| |
|
| Dance Ontario Youth Board (DOYB) |
|
The Dance Ontario Youth Board (DOYB) is welcoming new members! Are you someone with a passionate heart for dance and a mind bubbling with ideas about how to share dance with others? Join us, share your enthusiasm for dance with others and, along the way, promote dance to other youths, pick-up valuable skills, and experience a wide range of dance opportunities. If you're interested, fill out an application form and join in turning our thoughts into action and dreams into reality!
DOYB members: Bonnie Ip, Natalie Walker and Kimberly Savage.
They meet regularly with Board Development Chair, Catherine Carpenko to set priorities and plan events, specifically those related to International Dance Day
Congratulations to the Dance Ontario Youth Board
 
Dance Ontario's Youth Board (DOYB) organized and presented 11 terrific dance groups to celebrate International Dance Day at Pearson Airport's Terminal 1 in two locations on April 29th. Bonnie Ip, Natalie Walker and Kimberly Savage with funding from the Department of Canadian Heritage, in association with Lee Petrie of the GTAA and Rosco Floors, delighted and surprised travellers and staff with performances by Oakwood Collegiate Institute, Randolph Dance Crew, Quinte Ballet School, Pure Essense, Moving Art, The Dance Place*, Lady Janitor*, Diana Viselli & Dancers, YMI Dancing, AX-S Dance and Missed Connections Collective.
[images by Catherine Carpenko]
...you make us so proud!
Part of presentations by The Toronto Dance Day Committee & DUO.
Download DOYB application here!
Application Form
|
|
