News
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
Lisa Gelley Receives 2015 VIDF Choreographic Award
On March 11, at the opening night reception of the Vancouver International Dance Festival, Lisa Gelley was awarded the 2015 VIDF Choreographic Award.
Posted March 27, 2015
Jack Udashkin Retires After a Rich Artistic Journey
Jack Udashkin, the current director of Théâtre La Chapelle in Montréal, will be retiring at the end of March after a rich, remarkable and diverse forty-year career in the arts.
Posted March 24, 2015
Dance Takes Over the Musée de la civilisation in Québec City
Rebel Bodies exhibit opens at the Musée de la civilisation in Québec City.
Posted March 17, 2015
Choreographers in the Making at RWBS
On February 14, the Professional Division of Canada’s Royal Winnipeg Ballet School (RWBS) hosted the twenty-fifth anniversary of their First Steps Choreographic Competition.
Posted March 17, 2015
