Staff

Rosslyn Jacob Edwards
Executive Director

Rosslyn Jacob Edwards has played a significant role in the dance sector for almost 20 years serving as General Manager for DanceWorks, presenter of Toronto's longest running dance series, and with the U.S./Canada Performance Initiative and The Canadian Network of Dance Presenters/CanDance. The organization's presentation activities are a result of her outreach into communities across Ontario, as well as networking and collaborations with other dance service organizations. She is committed to providing activities for a broad range of the organization's membership and to bringing them together to strengthen the sector. Her programming decisions are developed and backed by a 16 member board, all of whom are dance professionals from various sectors across Ontario. Rosslyn moved to Canada following a liberal arts education and career in the public service and politics in the UK. She worked in the corporate, private and not-for-profit sectors. Since 1969, she has held management positions of increasing responsibility in the theatre, visual arts and dance sectors including the SAW Gallery and Ottawa School of Art (Ottawa), Inner City Angels where she programmed artists in schools across the GTA, and DanceWorks (Toronto). Jacob Edwards has also worked with the U.S./Canada Performance Initiative and The Canadian Network of Dance Presenters/CanDance and with consultants, HPFM Associates. She served on the board of COBA, the Collective Of Black Artists, as an advisor to arts councils and independent dance artists, and as a Dora Mavor Moore juror in 2006/07.

Amy Hampton (August 2010 - on maternity leave until January 2013) Project Coordinator is a graduate of L'Ecole Superieure de Danse du Quebec. Amy has worked with The Chimera Project, CORPUS, Kaeja d'Dance, Anandam and Larchaud Dance Project. Independently, she has originated roles in works by Robert Desrosiers, Kathleen Rea, Yvonne Ng, William Yong, Lydia Wagerer, Meagan O'Shea, Keiko Ninomiya, and Lincoln Shand. Amy is currently Co-Artistic Director of AKA Dance.

Kate Cornell Program Manager has twenty years' experience of teaching novices to love dance and create movement. She began by teaching ballet in a private studio and then moved to the Education department of the National Ballet of Canada and Toronto Dance Theatre. In 1998, she published her first book with Nadine Saxton entitled Toronto Dance Theatre: Stages in a Journey. In 2000, Kate began teaching with the Royal Conservatory of Music's innovative arts program, Learning Through the Arts (LTTA). In LTTA, Kate taught the entire Kindergarten through Grade Seven Ontario core subjects such as math, science and history using dance and drama. In 2003, she toured with the National Ballet and conducted movement workshops for underprivileged children in Saskatchewan, Alberta and BC. Kate has lectured at Ryerson University, York University and Charles Sturt University and her research has been published in magazines, newspapers, journals and anthologies. She is an historian and academic with a PhD in Communication and Culture and serves as the Director of the Canadian Society for Dance Studies as well as Education Manager at DanceWorks. Kate sits on several committees including the Board of Directors of the Society of Dance History Scholars.

Kathy Lewis, Administrative Assistant is a performer, dance teacher and arts assistant. This past year, Kathy has sung/ danced/acted with Jasmyn Fyffe's dance company, Toronto Operetta Theatre, Theatre Scarborough, Opera in Concert, Opera by Request, Bird Entertainment, and various film/TV/viral spots. Kathy teaches creative movement and tap at the Movement Lab, and a musical theatre program at Morse Street Public School. Kathy holds a BFA in dance and is a graduate of the Canadian College of Performing Arts. She is thrilled to be on the Dance Ontario team!