Goulish dancers deliver "Thriller-Grams" in St. John's

>> by Cynthia Brett
From October 26-30, 2009, St. John's contemporary dancers delivered live presentations of the famous Michael Jackson "Thriller" dance for a Neighbourhood Dance Works fundraiser. The "Thriller-Grams" cost $25 to order for friends and family and all proceeds will be used to provide programs for the local dance community and to fund the 20th annual Festival of New Dance in 2010. Neighbourhood Dance Works is Newfoundland's primary source of contemporary dance and production.

Cirque du Soleil performer succumbs to injuries

>> by Cynthia Brett
On October 17, 2009 Cirque du Soleil performer Oleksandr Zhurov (Sacha) died of injuries suffered after a fall from the Russian swing during a regular training exercise. The twenty-four-year-old Ukranian artist was immediately taken to hospital following the accident where he succumbed to his injuries the next day. Cirque du Soleil issued a press release in which CEO Guy Laliberté said, "Today, it is all of Cirque that is in mourning ... An incident like this reminds us of the courage and determination displayed by our artists each and every day. They are exceptional human beings who share their talents with great generosity."

DSW launches new initiatives to develop Alberta choreographers

>> by Naomi Brand

Calgary's Dancers' Studio West (DSW) is gearing its 2009/10 season towards developing choreographers with three newly envisioned programs. First, Alberta Dance Explosions, now in its thirtieth year, has accepted twelve choreographers to create new works for the festival with the mentorship of DSW Artistic Director Davida Monk. Second, with the support of the Canada Council and the Alberta Foundation for the Arts, DSW is launching a six-week choreographic lab modelled after the work previously done at Le Groupe Dance Lab. Alberta choreographers Helen Husak and Jason Stroh will each have three weeks of lab time in spring 2010. Auditions are being held on November 7th for dancers for the lab. Third, DSW and New Dance Horizons in Regina have teamed up to initiate the Prairie Dance Circuit. Both organizations will present two artists from the other city thus providing prairie artists the opportunity to tour, gain exposure and get feedback from new audiences. Negotiations are underway with the Feats Festival and Brian Webb in Edmonton, Springboard Performance in Calgary, and Winnipeg Contemporary Dancers to grow the Prairie Dance Circuit into a larger network of presenters for next season. www.dswlive.ca

Husky Energy donates $1-Million to the Banff Centre

>> by Naomi Brand

Husky Energy Inc. made a $1-million donation to the Banff Centre for the Arts. The donation will be directed to continued support of the Midsummer Ball, the centre's flagship fundraiser, and to the revitalization of the centre's campus. Husky has been a supporter of the centre since 1986, and presenting sponsor of the Midsummer Ball since 1998. As part of the Banff Centre Revitalization project, the largest meeting space in the new Kinnear Centre for Creativity & Innovation, set to open in July 2010, will be named the Husky Great Hall.

Fluid Movement Arts Festival celebrates physical performance

>> by Naomi Brand

Calgary's Fluid Movement Arts Festival wrapped up its fourth year on October 25th. The week-long festival presented by Springboard Performance merges contemporary dance and physical performance from local, national and international artists. This year's festival presented Calgary artists in a small-stage cabaret; two showcases of artists whose work has been imprinted by Alberta, including Helen Husak, Tania Alvarado and Lin Snelling; as well as Montréal Danse and the international headliner The Hofesh Shechter Company from the UK. The festival was rounded out by a full schedule of classes, workshops and artist talks.

http://www.springboardperformance.com/

Zata Omm Dance Projects seeks tech specialists

>> by Samantha Mehra

William Yong's Zata Omm Dance Projects in Toronto is currently seeking up to three technological specialists for its one- to two-week research and exploration residencies. The residencies will occur once a year over the next three years, and will focus on exploring relationships between movement, dance and technology. Zata Omm will provide a venue, dancers, artistic direction and technical needs. Applications will be accepted until September 2012. The first-year artists awarded the residency will be announced in May of 2010. zataomm.org

IMPACT 09: Waterloo Region's theatre festival

>> by Brittany Duggan

The Waterloo Region of Ontario hosted a ten-day festival featuring theatre, physical theatre and dance from September 24th through October 3rd in various performance venues. The festival included artists from four continents and incorporated more than twenty programs and over seventy public presentations. Co-created by over twelve arts organizations, IMPACT 09 catered to a range of artists, from local to international, emerging to established, and traditional to contemporary.

Ribbon-cutting ceremony for newly restored The Cultch

>> by Brittany Duggan

October 15th marked the official opening of the newly restored Historic Theatre and Vancity Culture Lab studio theatre at The Cultch. Executive Director Heather Redfern was joined for the ribbon-cutting by dignitaries from municipal, provincial and federal governments in the space’s East Vancouver location. With programming in theatre, dance and music, The Cultch plays host to local, national and international artists. Past dance guests have included Lola Dance, Paul André Fortier, La La La Human Steps, La Compagnie Marie Chouinard, O Vertigo and The Holy Body Tattoo. The space is an important cultural landmark for the city of Vancouver.

New "Healthy Dancer" organization may be on horizon

>> by Jacqueline Hansen
Canada may soon be home to a new healthy dancer organization. Medical professionals, dance instructors and dancers came together to share and discuss ideas at the second annual Healthy Dancer Canada symposium on September 26th, 2009. The conference was centered on how to foster healthy dancers in Canada, and the importance of doing so. The full-day event, complete with a warm-up to start and a dance performance halfway through, hosted eight short presentations focussed on topics such as full-body wellness, injury prevention, nutrition, training and rehabilitation. The symposium attracted specialists from across Canada as presenters and attendees. But the coordinators aren’t satisfied just yet. A goal of this years’ meet was to decide if the creation of an organization focussed on fostering healthy dancers is needed; the answer was yes. Coordinators and delegates of the event recognized that the success of the symposium, a future association, and the application of dancer-specific health information relies heavily on the ability to communicate and work together. The consensus of the group was that not one party, whether it be dancers or medical professionals, can further advance healthy dancing alone; there is a need to work as a team, be aware of each other and be comfortable seeking guidance from one another. Symposium coordinator, Stephanie Pilley-Correia, is looking for ideas as to how a Healthy Dancer conference can benefit dance artists; she can be reached at healthydancercanada@gmail.com.

Dance Centre announces Isadora Awards recipients

>> by Brittany Duggan
Isadora Awards for Excellence in Choreography, Excellence in Performance and Excellence in Teaching were awarded to Rosario Ancer, Natalie LeFebvre-Gnam and Barbara Bourget, respectively. Ancer won for her piece Mis Hermanas: Thicker Than Water, My Sisters and I, which was premiered by her company, Flamenco Rosario, in 2008. LeFebvre-Gnam won for her performance in endORPHIN, an evening-length choreography by husband James Gnam as part of their company, the plastic orchid factory. Barbara Bourget, artistic director of Kokoro Dance, won for her long-standing role as a teacher of contemporary dance throughout BC. The Isadora Awards, named after the late dance pioneer Isadora Duncan, were instituted by The Dance Centre in 1999 to acknowledge and celebrate the achievements of the dance profession in BC. Each recipient is chosen from a jury of professionals working in the field after having been nominated by members of the dance community. The award includes fully subsidized rehearsal space at the Scotiabank Dance Centre to the value of $1000 for the year.

La danse sur les routes du Québec announces Objectif Danse

>> by Brittany Duggan

La danse sur les routes du Québec, a network dedicated to the development of dance through the support of fourteen presenters in the region of Québec, has just announced the launch of Objectif Danse. Objectif Danse is the first initiative to program professional dance in Saguenay-Lac Saint-Jean. This development has come from the collaboration between Objectif Scène, a not-for-profit organization responsible for the development of the arts in Saguenay-Lac Saint-Jean, and four presenters in the area.