New book on history of National Ballet School

>> by Cynthia Brett

The Ballet Class: A History of Canada's National Ballet School by Norma Sue Fisher-Stitt is now available at the National Ballet's School's store, The Shoe Room. The book details the evolution of Canada's National Ballet School (NBS) and contains interviews with former students, as well as academic and artistic staff. Its launch came during the school's 50th Anniversary Alumni Reunion Weekend, April 23rd through 25th, where Dr. Fisher-Stitt was inteviewed by fellow NBS graduates Vanessa Harwood and James Baidacoff. Fisher-Stitt danced with The National Ballet of Canada and is currently an associate professor in the dance department at York University.
www.theshoeroom.ca

Canada's cultural program at Expo 2010

>> by Brittany Duggan
On April 30th, the Canada Pavilion in Shanghai, China, officially opened for Expo 2010. The six-month long event, running from May 1st to October 31st, 2010, is set to welcome over 165 Canadian performing, visual and media artists as part of Canada’s cultural program. Cirque du Soleil, along with Canadian Heritage, has been responsible for the planning, organization and management of this international showcase of Canadian culture. Companies representing the dance community include Red Sky Performance of Ontario, and two companies from British Columbia, the Dancers of Damelahamid and MOVE: The Company. Emerging and renowned artists were chosen from over 1,000 applications from artists across the country and will perform at the Canada Pavilion as well as at various locations throughout the duration of what is expected to be the biggest exposition to date.

Festival of New Dance celebrates 20 years

Members of the early performance collective Neighborhood Dance Works (NDW): Lois Brown, Beni Malone, Mandy Jones, Peggy Hogan and Cathy Ferri / Photo courtesy of NDW

>> by Naomi Brand
St. John's-based presenter Neighbourhood Dance Works (NDW) celebrates the twentieth anniversary of its Festival of New Dance from September 16th through 25th, 2010. Festival highlights include: Peggy Baker, Gwen Noah, Lee Su Feh, Daniel Léveillé, Heidi Strauss and Mira Hunter among others. Newfoundland-based artists will include Louise Moyes and emerging artist Mark Bath; two remounted works are included as part of a retrospective look at NDW's history.
NDW was founded in 1981 by Cathi Ferri and Agnes Walsh as a performance collective creating innovative dance pieces for the stage. In 1990, the organization shifted its focus towards presenting, introducing the first Festival of New Dance curated by Ann Anderson and later by Lois Brown, Anne Troake, Sarah Joy Stoker and now by a committee made up of board and community members. NDW is a member of the CanDance Network and programs local, national and international new dance for St. John's audiences, and supports the careers of dance artists in Newfoundland and Labrador through professional development programs.

Sinha Danse wins Roots Canada/Radio Canada contest

>> by Naomi Brand

Monteal's Sinha Danse has won the popular vote for the Roots Canada/Radio Canada contest in the multimedia document category for their music/dance video Haters 'n' Baiters. Using dance, music and rap Haters 'n' Baiters tells the story of choreographer and artistic director Roger Sinha's experience with racism upon arriving in Saskatoon in the late 1960s. The Roots Challenge is a national competition of short films and multimedia productions launched by Radio Canada International aimed at showing the contributions of all cultures to the Canadian mosaic.

www.sinhadanse.com

www.roots.rcinet.ca/index.php

NBS to perform in The Hague

>> by Samantha Mehra
Canada's National Ballet School (NBS) will perform in The Hague at the Lucent Danstheater on May 22nd, 2010, as part of the 65th anniversary celebrations of the liberation of The Netherlands at the end of World War II. NBS students will perform alongside students from the Rotterdam Dance Academy. The performances are at the invitation of Lucent Danstheater, which is home to the internationally acclaimed Nederlands Dans Theater. The joint performance is symbolic of the close relationship between the two countries; Canadian soldiers played a significant role in the liberation of The Netherlands. The ballet schools have worked closely together, establishing an exchange program for senior NBS students to study at The Rotterdam Dance Academy, Amsterdam's National Ballet Academy, and the Royal Conservatory in The Hague.

Warner Brothers launches new reality dance series

>> by Cynthia Brett
Warner Bros. International Television Production (WBITB) is launching a new reality-competition series: "One Mass Dance", which will follow two people from different cities as they rally their communities to produce two mass dances each: a surprise flash mob and a larger mass dance for the end of the show. The winning city will receive a large cash prize for a community improvement project that is close to the heart of the team leader.