New creation centre for Québec

>> by Jaimee Horn
The Montréal-based company Par B.L.eux is initiating the new Centre International de Recherche et de Création (CIRC), set to open in Sutton, Québec, by the summer of 2011. Under the direction of Par B.L.eux's Artistic Director Benoît Lachambre and its General Manager André Malacket, CIRC will be devoted to research, creation, training and innovation in the performing arts with a strong connection to the avant-garde. The project is valued at approximately $3.8 million and will be mainly funded by the Ministère de la Culture, des Communications et de la Condition Féminine. In a press release, Par B.L.eux states that it hopes the CIRC will provide a rich cultural exchange between Canadian and international artists through meetings, artist residencies, workshops and programs to guide emerging artists in their careers.

New book provides tools for writing about dance

>> by Naomi Brand
International publisher Human Kinetics recently released dance educator and author Wendy Oliver's new book Writing About Dance. Oliver's book is a comprehensive guide to dance writing designed for both students and teachers by providing tools to help the process of writing. Wendy Oliver is a professor in the department of theatre, dance and film at Providence College in Providence, Rhode Island.
www.HumandKinetics.com

New international dance festival in Toronto

>> by Brittany Duggan
This summer, Toronto will host a new annual international dance festival for emerging, mid-career and established dance artists. Curated by Artistic Director Sion Irwin-Childs, Dance 2 Danse Festival 2010 will run from August 18th through 22nd at the Winchester Street Theatre and The Rivoli. Proposals to the artistic director will determine the works for Eros, Thanatos & The Avant-Garde – The Cabaret Series; while a lottery, drawn on June 1st, 2010, at The Rivoli, will determine the participating artists for D2D Dance Duels, an interactive program with audience voting, as well as the artists for the longer programs, D2D DLX! and D2D DIVERGE / DIVERSE. The deadline for applications is May 27th, 2010.
DanceTODanseFestival@hotmail.com.

NBS and Aszure Barton launch artistic mentorship

>> by Samantha Mehra
Canada's National Ballet School (NBS) recently announced the creation of a mentorship program with New York-based choreographer and NBS alumni Aszure Barton. Students in the mentorship program will have the opportunity to observe rehearsals of Barton's company, Aszure & Artists, in New York City. They will also take movement classes and have the chance to discuss issues related to emerging dance artists with Barton. The first student to partake in the mentorship program will be Robert Binet, a student enrolled in the Post-Secondary Program at NBS. As part of the mentorship, Binet will initiate most of the contact and correspondence with Barton in order to encourage the administrative skills needed to run a company, and to prepare for entrance into the professional world. The idea for the mentorship arose from the Student Forum and Ideas Exchange held during one of the National Ballet School's 50th anniversary celebrations. Barton's company will give performances of BUSK & Blue Soup on April 17th and 18th, 2010, at NBS's Betty Oliphant Theatre. http://www.nbs-enb.ca/about/events/other.aspx.

Firebird 2011 receives $60,000 production fund

>> by Naomi Brand
Vancouver's Turning Point Ensemble has been named the winner of the Tinto Alcan Performing Arts Award for music/opera 2011. The award comes with a $60,000 production fund for their new work Firebird 2011, which showcases a new Firebird choreographed by Simone Orlando featuring six dancers from Vancouver's Move: the company with new music by Vancouver composer Jocelyn Morlock written for the Turning Point Ensemble. The award rotates annually among the disciplines of dance, theatre and music/opera. Past recipients of the award include The Holy Body Tattoo (Circa), battery opera (Cyclops), Kidd Pivot (Lost Action) and Wen Wei Dance(Cockpit).

Beverley Miller 1939 – 2010

>> by Susan Keen
Beverley Miller, long serving teacher at Canada’s National Ballet School (NBS), died February 21st, 2010 at the age of seventy-one after a courageous battle with cancer. Miller studied dance from an early age in Edmonton with Laine Mets. She taught ballet in her late teens and early twenties and her passion also included drama and theatre. Miller obtained a B.A. in Drama from the University of Alberta and a Master’s degree in Theatre Arts from the Pasadena Playhouse in California in the 1960s. Throughout this period she performed extensively in Alberta, California and Toronto. In 1966, Miller’s career path shifted to teaching when she joined the staff of NBS in Toronto. For the next forty-two years she taught Theatre Arts, Creative Drama, Theatre Orientation and History of Ballet. She also taught for a number of years at Ryerson Polytechnical Institute and briefly at George Brown College. She inspired the artistic development of generations of students with her contagious energy, passion, kindness and overall zest for life. “I would not be where I am today were it not for Bev Miller,” say NBS graduate David Nixon, currently artistic director of Northern Ballet Theatre in Leeds, UK, and a recent recipient of the Order of the British Empire. Miller is survived by her husband Dr. Richard (Rick) Miller and two sons. A tribute to Miller is planned for Sunday April 25th, 2:30pm at NBS.

Édouard Lock to receive Governor General's award

>> by Brittany Duggan
Édouard Lock has been named one of the 2010 recipients of the Governor General’s Performing Arts Awards (GGPAA) for Lifetime Artistic Achievement. Through his company La La La Human Steps, which he founded in 1980, Lock has garnered both popular and critical attention for his choreographies and has received numerous awards. He is a Knight of the National Order of Québec, a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada and an Officer of the Order of Canada. Notable collaborators include musician David Bowie, as well as Lock’s former principal dancer and muse for over fifteen years, Louise Lecavalier. Joining Lock at Rideau Hall to receive this honour on April 30th will be Walter Homburger, former manager of The National Ballet of Canada from 1951 to 1955 and one of Canada’s most famous impresarios. This year's GGPAA recipients include Bryan Adams, Françoise Faucher, Robin Phillips and Buffy Sainte-Marie. The awards will be presented by Governor General Michaëlle Jean with each recipient receiving $25,000 and a medallion struck by the Royal Canadian Mint.
www.dancepassport.ca: "A Few Minutes of Lock" by Edouard Lock, a re-visitation of three works from Louise Lecavalier’s final years with La La La Human Steps

Danny Grossman receives tribute and launches choreographic intensive

>> by Cynthia Brett

Dance Adelphi of Adelphi University's Dance Department, where former National Ballet dancer Frank Augustyn is chair, is performing repertoire from Danny Grossman Dance Company this spring. The program, A Tribute to Danny Grossman, will feature several of Grossman's signature pieces including his first work, Higher (1975), plus Ecce Homo (1977), Endangered Species (1981) and Human Form Divine (1992). The performances will take place April 22nd through 25th, 2010 at the Olmsted Theatre in Garden City, New York. Later this spring Danny Grossman Dance Company and Patricia (Trish) Beatty will launch a three-week choreographic initative designed for eight to twelve aspiring choreographers. "The Choreographic Intensive" will be held May 3rd through 21st at York University, where Grossman is an adjunct professor. Danny Grossman Dance Company began in Toronto in 1977. In 2005 it began its transition from a performance company to an institute for licensing and teaching Grossman repertoire.