Features

Writing With a Sharp Pencil

On top of fraught politics, dance critics have to figure out how to fit into the fold during -- and after -- the pandemic By Grace Wells-Smith

As a part of our series, Dance Criticism: Perceptions, challenges and the future, Grace Wells-Smith speaks to four Canadian dance critics about how dance criticism fits into the current fold.

Posted April 13, 2021

Advertisement: Summer Dance Directory

A directory of Canadian and US dance programs scheduled to take place in Summer 2021.

Posted April 7, 2021

Dovercourt House To Close After 21 Years as Toronto’s Dance Hub

The lease has changed hands, leaving uncertainty in both social and professional dance communities By Emily Latimer

The three dance production companies housed at Dovercourt House at 805 Dovercourt Rd. released a statement in March 2021 that the dance hub has been forced to close after more than 20 years. They call the closure “the city’s latest cultural casualty”.

Posted March 29, 2021

Clicking Refresh

Can COVID-19 emergency granting measures make the funding game more equitable? By Kallee Lins

Kallee Lins speaks with three professionals from very different organizations about what they think the legacy of COVID-19 will be on the relationship between funders and those they support and whether they think these positive shifts in granting practices will continue longterm.

Posted March 12, 2021

Mensah / Photo by E. S Cheah Photography

When Love is the Driving Force of Revolution Part II

A Q & A with Esie Mensah, choreographer of A Revolution of Love By Joy Henderson

Filmed at Toronto’s Fort York in partnership with Soulpepper Theatre, A Revolution of Love tells the story of a young Black woman considering her ancestral history and the current violence wrought upon her community. In Part II, Mensah talks about how colonialism has disconnected dance and spirituality.

Posted March 10, 2021

Still from A Revolution of Love / Photo courtesy of Mensah

When Love is the Driving Force of Revolution Part I

A Q & A with Esie Mensah, choreographer of A Revolution of Love By Joy Henderson

Filmed at Toronto’s Fort York in partnership with Soulpepper Theatre, A Revolution of Love tells the story of a young Black woman considering her ancestral history and the current violence wrought upon her community. In Part I, Mensah talks about including a spiritual advisor in the process, how not to colonize a space and how life can unknowingly seep into art.

Posted March 10, 2021

On the Brink

Can collective action save Dancemakers, one of Canada’s most influential contemporary dance companies? By Dylan Schoenmakers

Dancemakers is one of the oldest dance organizations in Toronto, and the losses associated with its closure are so great that they inspired collective action from many unwilling to accept them as inevitable.

Posted March 9, 2021

Nerves And Thrills: A Q & A with Crystal Pite

Pite’s work Body and Soul will stream next week, just for audiences in Canada By Grace Wells-Smith

The Dance Current speaks with Pite about Body and Soul, watching dance meant for the stage on a screen and the “slight sense of terror” that comes with choreographing. Body and Soul will stream for Canadians from Feb. 17 through 23.

Posted February 12, 2021

The Chaos of Possibility

Kevin Jesuino explores how Queerness, liveness and failure might provide insight into reinvention, approximately one year after the onset of COVID-19 By Jillian Groening

Jesuino examines Queerness, liveness and failure in his work, Cruising at 30 Kilometers a Second and Attempting Not To Crash. The work asks what might emerge if we embrace failure and collapse.

Posted February 11, 2021

Honing Resiliency

While the pandemic has put constraints on post-secondary training, dance programs are working to future-proof students’ careers By Lee Slinger

Lee Slinger speaks to students and instructors about how dance educators can encourage resilience in a generation of students.

Posted February 2, 2021

Empty Seats at the Table

For artist-mothers, the pandemic has magnified the lack of support By Tracey Norman

Tracey Norman interviews artist-mothers about how the pandemic has magnified the lack of support for artist-caregivers.

Posted December 1, 2020

That's a Wrap II

Dancefilms created during the COVID-19 pandemic

A collection of 2020 dancefilms as showcased in our Nov/Dec issue.

Posted November 2, 2020

Loud and Brave

Alyssa Martin’s company, Rock Bottom Movement, won two Dora Mavor Moore Awards this year, but she now realizes that they may not be as transformational as she once thought. By Tessa Perkins Deneault

Rock Bottom Movement’s Alyssa Martin reflects on her art and her career in the light of Rock Bottom’s recent double Dora Mavor Moore Award win.

Posted August 26, 2020