Features
Fundamental Questions
How conflicting ideas about the goals of a mature dance collaboration derailed Banff Centre's Creative Gesture Residency in 2016 By Mark MannIn July of 2016, Banff Centre ran a residency designed to answer the need for professional development opportunities for mid-career dance artists. By the end of the program, only five of the original ten participants remained. This is what happened.
Posted March 17, 2017
Movement Memory
How we learn, retain and remember dance By Carolyn HebertHow do we learn, retain and remember dance? What happens when a dancer forgets well-known choreography? How can we improve our recall for movement sequences? Carolyn Hebert spoke with diverse dance professionals about memory and the verbal cues, mental imagery and bodily experiences that shape their memory.
Posted February 17, 2017
Contemporaneity
Coming together to decolonize dance space By Aparita BhandariBrandy Leary and Soraya Peerbaye launch a project looking to make understandings of contemporary dance performance more inclusive and diverse.
Posted January 26, 2017
Memorable Moments, Methods and Mediums
Celebrating Canadian Dance in 2016 By Emma KersonIs there a work or a collection of Canadian dance works that stand out as highlights to you from 2016? Are there any themes or ways of working that stand out to you as interesting or unique? We asked this question to dancers and dance enthusiasts from around the country and this was their reply.
Posted December 22, 2016
Dancing to the Music
What you need to know about music licensing tariffs and fees By Lee SlingerWhat dance artists and instructors need to know about SOCAN and Re:Sound license fees
Posted December 13, 2016
Mind the Gap
Two dance artists discuss bridging the divide between training and a professional career By Brittany DugganFor many dancers in Canada, there’s a disconnect between training and the professional world. Melanie Kloetzel and Amber Funk Barton discuss fostering the next generation of creative independent dance artists.
Posted November 25, 2016
Rallying for Change
The past, present and future of the status of the independent dance artist in Canada By Molly JohnsonHow can we improve the working and living conditions of independent dance artists in Canada? Thirty years ago three dance artists founded the Canadian Alliance of Dance Artists to educate and advocate on behalf of dancers. How have working conditions of dancers changed since then? And what are the pressing issues that need to be addressed in the present?
Posted November 10, 2016
Diving Deep: Sarah Ludi
A series of conversations with mid-career contemporary dance artists By Danielle BaskervilleToronto dance artist Danielle Baskerville speaks with contemporary dance artists in their mid-career and beyond about how they sustain themselves and how they move forward – physically, creatively, psychically, practically. In this conversation, she captures the life of Roasa company member Sarah Ludi who is a freelance dance artist, new teacher of the Alexander Technique and mother.
Posted November 2, 2016
Moving Bodies
How does the centrality of bodily experience affect interdisciplinarity in dance? By Helen SimardIt is perhaps the presence of the body – and a desire to express one’s self through and from the body – that continues to define dance as an art form.
Posted October 26, 2016
Pursuing Pauses with Patience at Angikam Seminar
Kathak guru Nahid Siddiqui advises students to slow down while chasing the beat By Aparita BhandariPatience might be the last word that many kathak dancers think of when either practising or preparing for a show. After all, for the most part, kathak is known these days for fast, stomping footwork and pirouettes that leave the audience dizzy in their seats. But for Nahid Siddiqui, one of the foremost proponents of kathak today, patience is the key to unlocking the potential – of both the form and the dancer.
Posted October 14, 2016
Diving Deep: David Zambrano and Mat Voorter
A series of conversations with mid-career contemporary dance artists By Danielle BaskervilleToronto dance artist Danielle Baskerville speaks with contemporary dance artists in their mid-career and beyond about how they sustain themselves and how they move forward – physically, creatively, psychically, practically. In this conversation, she captures the life and experience of dance artists David Zambrano and Mat Voorter in their home in Anderlecht, Brussels, in Belgium.
Posted October 6, 2016
Diving Deep: Valerie Calam
A series of conversations with mid-career contemporary dance artists By Danielle BaskervilleToronto dance artist Danielle Baskerville speaks with contemporary dance artists in their mid-career and beyond about how they sustain themselves and how they move forward – physically, creatively, psychically, practically. She recorded chats from Brussels, Belgium, and Berlin, Germany, and continues the conversations back home in Canada.
Posted September 26, 2016
New Season Reads
By Emma KersonWhether you’re headed back to school or not, the September air always brings about the feeling of education. If you’re looking to expand your horizons with dance literature this fall, here are a couple of new books we feel are worth adding to your reading list.
Posted September 14, 2016
The Creative Gesture
Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity By Sarah ToddThe Creative Gesture, the inaugural contemporary dance residency led by sessional Banff dance director Emily Molnar and program head Stephen Laks, demonstrates responsiveness within a very ambitious and structured four weeks in the mountains.
Posted August 27, 2016
