News

A Second Year for Alberta Ballet II

The 2015-2016 season marks the second year for Alberta Ballet II. Last year’s inaugural program saw all seven dancers successfully gain employment across North America.

Posted October 9, 2015

Toronto’s Series 8:08 Ends

On September 30, 2015, Series 8:08 ceased its activities after twenty-two years of operation. According to an announcement on the Series 8:08 website, the decision follows Artistic Director Yvonne Ng’s resignation and a subsequent “discussion about 8:08’s place and future in the Toronto arts community.”

Posted October 7, 2015

End of Summer Dance Awards

Canadians collect awards from SummerWorks Festival in Toronto, The School of Dance in Ottawa, the World Highland Dance Championships, dance: made in canada/fait au Canada festival, CNE’s Rising Star Talent Competition, Canada Council for the Arts and more.

Posted October 5, 2015

The Final Curtain

September 2, 2015 was a sad day for Canada’s dance community and a sign of bleak times in a shifting economy as world-renowned company La La La Human Steps founder and Artistic Director Édouard Lock had no choice but to cease operations due to a lack of financial support.

Posted September 21, 2015

New Toronto Dance Festival Modelled After New York Example

A new dance festival makes its way to Toronto this fall, running from September 29 to October 1 at the 3000-seat Sony Centre for the Performing Arts.

Posted September 21, 2015

Two Dance Industry Expos Come to Toronto

This past August, two dance expos launched in Toronto. Each had a distinct approach in the makeup of the day, but both served to build community, educate participants and inspire for the season ahead.

Posted September 18, 2015

Quinte Ballet School of Canada Secures its Future

The Quinte Ballet School of Canada, a full-time professional ballet school in Belleville, ON, is poised to progress its already established dance programs and offer new opportunities for talented, young dancers after recent success in raising funds through public grants and private donations.

Posted September 7, 2015

Awards and Acknowledgements

Ginette Laurin was appointed a Member of the Order of Canada, Vancouver’s Goh Ballet students win at the 2015 Seoul International Ballet Competition in Korea, East Coast choreographer Randy Glynn selected as a finalist for the 2015 Lieutenant Governor of Nova Scotia Masterworks Arts Award, Vancouver’s The Dance Centre announces Jennifer Mascall as this year’s recipient for the Isadora Award for Excellence in Dance and Deanna Peters the recipient of the biennial Iris Garland Emerging Choreographer Award, and Edmonton’s Ainsley Hillyard accepts the 2015 Elizabeth Sterling Haynes Award for Outstanding Choreography.

Posted August 15, 2015

Breakdancing at its Best

On July 23, youth and professional dancers competed in the Bboy/Bgirl and All Styles Dance Battles as part of UNITY Festival 2015.

Posted August 6, 2015

Circus Stories Residency

An unusual initiative for cultural journalists just wrapped its second edition in Montréal. Circus Stories, Le cirque vu par … is modelled on a European residency called Unpack the Arts and is designed to offer arts journalists an immersive crash course in circus culture.

Posted July 28, 2015

Winners announced at Toronto’s 2015 Dora Mavor Moore Awards

The dance division saw a total of thirty-five nominees in seven categories.

Posted June 23, 2015

Awarding Distinction, Innovation, Contribution and Commitment to Dance in Canada

Ballet BC’s Emily Molnar receives a Women of Distinction Award, Dance Victoria’s Chrystal Dance Prizes went to emerging dancers Sasha Beardmore and Candace Gordon and independent dance artists Meredith Kalaman, Josh Martin and Lisa Gelley, the City of Hamilton Arts Awards went to performance artists Learie McNicolls and Robin “Zee” Zilberg, and Montréal’s Culture Action Award went to Pierre Paul Savoie.

Posted June 18, 2015

St. John’s Gets New Dance Space

On May 24, internationally renowned ethnomusicologists joined local St. John’s, Nfld., scholars and dancers for a symposium on “Embodiment, Gesture and Dance” at Memorial University’s Research Centre for the Study of Music, Media and Place.

Posted June 2, 2015

The Future of Dance in B.C.

Ballet BC and Arts Umbrella BC have issued a memorandum of understanding formalizing a relationship between the two Vancouver-based organizations – an affiliation that has been developing informally over the last decade.

Posted May 29, 2015

René Highway Scholarship is Presented for the First Time in Over 15 Years

On April 14, Toronto’s Canadian Contemporary Dance Theatre (CCDT) honoured thirteen-year-old Thée Winddancer by awarding her the René Highway Scholarship to attend their school, after seeing her perform in a March Break Performance Camp led by Indigenous performing arts company Kaha:wi Dance Theatre.

Posted May 15, 2015

Arts Organizations Tentatively Optimistic in Wake of 2015 Federal Budget

Most every government decision involving taxpayer money is met with frustration, doubt and debate. The 2015 federal budget is no different. Announced on April 21, 2015 by Finance Minister Joe Oliver, the pre-election budget failed to address certain aspects of life in Canada. The arts was one of them.

Posted May 11, 2015

Dancer Transition Resource Centre Announces Trillium Funding and Sports Partnership

Funding will support a substantial three-year initiative uniting the dance and sports communities. This exceptional collaborative opportunity will explore challenges unique to high-performance athletes and professional dancers transitioning to new careers.

Posted April 6, 2015