The Board of Directors is pleased to announce that Frances Shakov joins Dancemakers as General Manager, effective January 19, 2016. She will be working in collaboration with Curator Amelia Ehrhardt who came on board in September 2015.
With over 30 years in cultural management, Frances has primarily led small- to mid-sized budget arts organizations, including arts education organizations, theatre and dance companies, orchestras and music schools. She was the Co-Executive – Operations for ArtsSmarts and she has recently been working with Reelworld and the emerging independent theatre companies PLAYINGwithCRAYONS and Girls with Bow Ties in implementing public and private sector fund development strategies.
Said Dancemakers Co-chair Lena Sarkissian, “We are delighted that Frances Shakov has joined DM. We are confident that Amelia and Frances are a strong team, full of energy and ideas, in developing further and delivering the IPH model along with all the other programs of Dancemakers.”
Frances added, “I am delighted to join Dancemakers, an organization I have admired for many years. I am especially pleased to support Amelia in her artistic vision around the Incubation Performance House (IPH) model; developing and sustaining Dancemakers’ resources that will allow our community of dancers to artistically thrive in today’s economic climate; and to continue to forge Dancemakers’ relationships with both existing and new stakeholders.”
About Dancemakers
In 2014, Dancemakers launched the robust Incubation Production House (IPH) model which was developed by the Artistic Director Michael Trent who envisioned a re-framing of the company’s dance-making and its relationship to the public. With the implementation of IPH, the position of Curator replaced the role of Artistic Director: Benjamin Kamino and Emi Forster were the inaugural Co-Curators, with Amelia Ehrhardt taking up the sole Curator position in September 2015. Founded in 1974 by a group of independent dancers led by Andraya Smith and Marcy Radler, Dancemakers initially created, commissioned and performed new choreography. Early company members included Canadian dance icons Peggy Baker and Robert Desrosiers. Company Artistic Directors have included Anna Blewchamp, Carol Anderson, Pat Miner, Baker, Pat Fraser, Bill James, and Serge Bennathan who, with the then General Manager Andrea Vagianos, established Dancemakers’ The Centre for Creation in its current home in Toronto’s Distillery Historic District.