Calling all teachers - we want your input!

This past season The Dance Current partnered with Canada's National Ballet School to bring you a regular column Tips for Teachers.

We are looking for your input on the topics we have covered and suggestions for next season.

The link below will take you to a five question survey.

http://tiny.cc/zbp7y

Please forward or share this email with anyone you feel may have suggestions for this column

New production centre for National Ballet of Canada

>> by Cynthia Brett

The National Ballet of Canada recently acquired a new building for its production centre, where the sets and props for the company are created, maintained and stored. Purchase of the 59,000 square foot Scarborough building, which will be called the Gretchen Ross Production Centre, was made possible with funding from the federal government and gifts from board members Gretchen Ross and Jerry Lozinski. The company will launch a Ballet Building campaign to raise the remaining $1.65 million needed.

LGBCM announces its "Nutcracker Market"

>> by Brittany Duggan
Les Grands Ballets Canadiens de Montréal is looking to new initiatives to increase revenues. Under the direction of Executive Director Alain Dancyger, the ballet has announced it will host an annual, non-profit Christmas market, the Nutcracker Market, from November 25th through December 5th. The event will sell one-of-a-kind items from local artists while promoting the ballet’s performances of The Nutcracker at Place des Arts later in December. "In the current political context, we have to completely rethink our business model and find ground-breaking, innovative solutions that involve all those who contribute to the city's development," Dancyger explained in a June 15th news release. "In creating this market, we're showing the tremendous versatility and flexibility that a major non-profit cultural organization must have to adapt to the new reality." The concept was inspired by the Houston Ballet’s Nutcracker Market, which is currently in its 30th year.

Jeanne Robinson, 1948-2010

Jeanne Robinson and Kathleen McDonagh in Zero-G / Photo by James Sposto

Jeanne Robinson / Photo by Beth Gwinn

>> by Brittany Duggan

Jeanne Robinson, writer, dancer, choreographer, lay-ordained Buddhist monk and zero-gravity dance visionary, died at Lion’s Gate Hospital in North Vancouver, BC, on May 30th at the age of sixty-two. A native of Boston, Robinson studied at the Boston Conservatory, the Martha Graham, Alvin Ailey and Erick Hawkins schools, Nikolais/Louis Dance Theatre Lab, Toronto Dance Theatre and the American Dance Festival, among others. In 1980, Robinson moved to Nova Scotia where she founded Nova Dance Theatre, one of the province’s early modern dance companies. The company became nationally recognized in 1985 when CBC devoted the final twenty minutes of its hour-long broadcast of highlights from the Dance in Canada Gala to the performance of Robinson’s FICTION. In 1987, Robinson re-located to the west coast with her daughter and husband, author Spider Robinson, with whom she co-wrote The Stardance Trilogy. A set of award-winning science fiction novels, The Stardance Trilogy led to the concept and basic principles of zero-gravity dance, a lifelong project of Robinson’s which she realized with her film Stardance. For the film, Robinson and dancer Kathleen McDonagh experimented with dancing aboard a flight by Zero Gravity, a provider of commercial weightless flights. In 1980, NASA invited Robinson to join its Civilian In Space Program to dance in space, but the Challenger explosion ended the program.

ESBCM appoints Anik Bissonnette Co-CEO

>> by Cynthia Brett

The École supérieure de ballet contemporain de Montréal (ESBCM) recently appointed Anik Bissonnette as its new co-CEO, artistic and pedagogical director. In collaboration with Alix Laurent, co-CEO and administrative director, she will be responsible for directing educational services and for the outreach and international status of the school. Bissonnette trained at the Ballet de Montréal Eddy Toussaint and was a principal dancer with Les Grands Ballets Canadiens de Montréal from 1989 through 2006.
www.esbcm.org

New social networking site for dancers

>> by Cynthia Brett

A new social networking site for dancers, ChoreoClip, has been launched. Using ChoreoClip, dancers can create a portfolio to showcase their work, join similar-interest groups and search events such as performances and workshops. Louise Henry, a dancer from Toronto and creator of ChoreoClip, told The Dance Current, "We created ChoreoClip because we thought there should be a social network where dancers could connect, share information and showcase their work. We hope ChoreoClip grows into a useful tool for the dance community."

http://www.choreoclip.com

CADA hosts "Copyright for Choreographers" session

>> by Cynthia Brett
On May 15th the Canadian Alliance of Dance Artists (CADA) hosted a "Copyright for Choreographers" session with Artists' Legal Advice Services (ALAS) and Dance Ontario. Eight people attended the two and a half hour event at the Centre for Social Innovation in Toronto where presentations included an overview of copyright by Ed Reinbergs, music copyright by Rosslyn Jacob Edwards and current commission and royalty practices by Christine Moynihan, Meredith Potter and Andrea Vagianos.

Day Helesic announces her resignation from MovEnt

>> by Naomi Brand
Day Helesic has announced her resignation from Vancouver's Movement Enterprises Society (MovEnt), the company she co-founded with Julie-anne Saroyan and for which she has been the co-artistic producer and choreographer since 2001. In her nine years with MovEnt, Helesic produced twenty-three installments of the series Dances for a Small Stage in Vancouver and at Ottawa's National Arts Centre, and created ten original choreographies in addition to performing the roles of dancer, programmer, administrator, publicist, writer and web designer. She is moving on from the company in order to pursue new opportunities.

New ballet ensemble in Winnipeg

>> by Brittany Duggan
Choreographer Peter Quanz officially launched his new ballet ensemble Q Dance / Quanz Danse with a triple bill evening on May 28th and 29th, 2010, at the Gas Station Art Centre in Winnipeg. The inaugural event revealed two world premiers as well as the Canadian premier of In Tandem, a piece commissioned by New York’s Guggenheim Museum in September 2009 for the launch of its 25th anniversary season of Works & Progress. A former student of the Royal Winnipeg Ballet School, Quanz has been choreographing for over eight years for some of the world’s leading ballet companies. Joining Quanz in Q Dance / Quanz Danse are Vanessa Lawson, Jo-Anne Sundermeier, Amanda Green, Maureya Lebowitz, Alexander Gamayunov and Yosuke Mino; all dancers from the Royal Winnipeg Ballet.

New executive director at New Works

>> by Brittany Duggan
Vancouver’s New Works has recently appointed Joyce Rosario, of Made in BC, Dance on Tour, as its new executive director. Rosario will be joining the New Works team as former Executive Director Barb Clausen departs the organization she founded and continues her work with DanceHouse, where she has been one of the producers, with Jim Smith, for the past several years. A graduate of UBC Theatre Production/Design Program, Rosario has been involved with arts and culture in Vancouver for over ten years, working as an arts administrator for various dance organizations, serving on peer juries, advisory committees and boards, and most recently joining the board of directors for CanDance – The Canadian Network of Dance Presenters. "This is a tremendous opportunity,” commented Rosario on the organization’s website. “I am thrilled to be joining the fantastic team at New Works, not only to be a part of an organization that is deeply rooted in the community, but also to be leading the very organization that has had such a tremendous impact on my own life, both personally and professionally. I've had the great privilege over the years to have Barb Clausen as a role model, mentor and colleague. We've got some very BIG shoes to fill, but I'm totally up for the challenge!" Replacing Rosario at Made in BC, Dance on Tour will be Sarah Moore, who will be transitioning into her new role over the summer and officially in the Vancouver office as of September 2010.

Room named in honour of Iro Valaskakis-Tembeck

>> by Samantha Mehra
A new multi-function room at Montréal's future Notre-Dame-de-Grâce Cultural Centre has been named in honour of late dance artist, teacher and historian Iro Valaskakis-Tembeck. At a Côte-des-Neiges―Notre-Dame-de-Grâce Borough meeting, members voted unanimously in favour of the name. Tembeck, who was a resident of the neighbourhood, helped found the dance department at the Université du Québec à Montréal, where she became a dance historian in 1980.

Dance Collection Danse publishes biography of Peter Boneham

>> by Naomi Brand
Dance Collection Danse Press/Presse announces the release of Sara Porter's new book Peter in Process: Peter Boneham's Sixty Years in Dance. With a foreword by Jeanne Renaud, the book paints a picture of Boneham as artist, teacher, mentor and influential leader in Canadian dance. Boneham holds the title of Canada's longest serving artistic director in dance; he is a founding member of Le Groupe de la Place Royale and the founding artistic director of Le Groupe Dance Lab. The publisher describes Boneham as having established an unparalleled legacy of choreographic mentorship over his career. He has received numerous awards for his lifetime of work including the Order of Canada in 2008. Author Sara Porter is a writer, teacher, choreographer and performer with a twenty-year career in the field. She has taught at universities and colleges in Canada and Scotland and has written for numerous magazines, newspapers and anthologies, including The Dance Current. Book launches with Porter and Boneham are scheduled in Ottawa on June 10th and Toronto on October 21, 2010.
www.dcd.ca/shopdcd

DanceDanceRevolution Music and Motion Video Contest

>> by Naomi Brand
Konami Digital Entertainment announces the first DanceDanceRevolution music and motion video contest. Participants can submit a 30- to 60-second video of their best DanceDanceRevolution routine for the chance to win prizes including a one-year membership to Bally Total Fitness, a Nintendo Wii console and a DanceDanceRevolution Hottest Party 3 Bundle. Videos will be judged on creativity, originality, skill and fitness. The contest is aimed to inspire and challenge fans of the game and to promote fitness and activity.
www.konami.com/DDRVideoContest/

Ballet BC's matching pledge campaign reaches $300,000 goal

>> by Cynthia Brett

Dr. Kevin B. Leslie, chair of the board of directors of Ballet BC, recently announced that the company's matching pledge campaign reached its $300,000 goal. The campaign, which ran from January to April 2010, puts the company in a secure financial position for the 2010/11 season. In a press release, Executive Director Jay Rankin expressed his gratitude to "the contributors who represent wide support for the new direction of the company under Artistic Director Emily Molnar."

http://www.balletbc.com/

Canada Council for the Arts to oversee Canada Prizes

>> by Brittany Duggan
As proposed last year in Canada’s Economic Action Plan 2009, the Government of Canada has reiterated its commitment to create the Canada Prizes for the Arts and Creativity. The Honourable James Moore, Minister of Canadian Heritage and Official Languages, announced on May 3rd, 2010, that the Canada Council for the Arts will be responsible for administering the new cultural awards. "As promised, the Government of Canada is delivering on its commitment to create the Canada Prizes for the Arts and Creativity," said Minister Moore in a Canadian Heritage news release. "These Prizes will recognize outstanding Canadian artistic achievements and will help brand Canada as a centre of excellence. We are confident that the Advisory Panel, composed of prominent Canadians from the cultural sector, will contribute to the successful future of this initiative." Members of the advisory panel are set to meet with key figures in the arts and cultural sector, as well as receive feedback from Canadians through an online consultation process regarding the best model for the Canada Prizes.

New dance science book released

>> by Brittany Duggan
Human Kinetics Publishers has recently released Dance Anatomy, a new dance book by author Jacqui Greene Haas. The book provides a view into how muscles contribute to improved technique, injury prevention and artistic expression for dancers. Each chapter focusses on a specific region of the body and the book includes over 200 full-colour illustrations to represent various exercises designed by Haas. A former professional ballet dancer, Haas holds a BA in dance from the University of South Florida and an athletic training certificate from the University of Cincinnati. She is currently the athletic trainer for the Cincinnati Ballet (and has been since 1989) as well as the director of the dance medicine division of Wellington Orthopedics in Cincinnati, Ohio. In addition to her book, Haas’ writing has been published in Dance magazine and Advance Rehabilitation magazine.