SWAP IT! event aims to satisfy community's needs

>> by Samantha Mehra
On September 25th, the first SWAP IT!, an arts resource-sharing event hosted by The Alliance of Independent Mid-Career Dance Creators (AIM-CDC), took place at Dancemakers Centre for Creation. The purpose of the initiative was to bring members of the dance community together to exchange skills, props, time to donate towards administrative work, transportation, and other valuable assets that might aid another artist/organization/company in artistic or other endeavours. Dancemakers donated its space for the event. To make these exchanges, the participants' needs and desires are first recorded, and then times are allotted for arranging the "swaps" between artists. Inspired by a similar event, "Sweet and Tender", which takes place in European arts communities, SWAP IT!'s exchange initiative intends to lessen the burden on artists and their costs, while simultaneously aiding them in building relationships within the artistic community. SWAP IT!'s initial event attracted approximately twenty participants. Members of the AIM-CDC include Kate Alton, Susie Burpee, Tanya Crowder, Allison Cummings, Susanna Hood, Meagan O'Shea, Sasha Ivanochko and Heidi Strauss.

FTA names new co-executive and administrative director

>> by Samantha Mehra
Festival TransAmériques (FTA) recently announced the appointment of Christine Bouchard as co-executive and administrative director. Bouchard, who is replacing Caroline Lussier (now the head of the Dance Section at the Canada Council for the Arts), will share general management roles with Marie-Hélène Falcon, the festival's co-executive and artistic director. Bouchard's past experience includes serving as cultural programming director at the Bibliothèque et Archives nationales du Québec, as general manager of LADMMI school of contemporary dance, and as general manager of the Société de développement des arts et de la culture in Longueil, where she was also head of that city's arts and culture division.

SYTYCD Canada cancelled

>> by Jacqueline Hansen
The cast and contestants of So You Think You Can Dance Canada (SYTYCDC) have taken their final bow. The reality dance show will not be renewed by Bell Media for a fifth season. The finale, which will undoubtedly send the show’s final winner, Jordan Clark, to dance fame, was watched by 903,000 viewers. That is twenty-seven percent fewer than in 2010. Dancers will now need to look elsewhere for a high-exposure stage. SYTYCDC judge Jean-Marc Généreux gauged the impact, as reported in the Toronto Star: “[The show] was about one thing: culture and dance. I’m really, really sad, but dancing just lost its platform in Canada.” Scott Henderson, vice-president of communications at Bell Media, insists that the consequences SYTYCDC’s cancellation could have on the country’s dance community and culture was taken into consideration; however, high production costs along with a drop from number three on the list of most-watched programs in Canada in 2009 to twenty-two this year, has CTV, the division of Bell Media that airs the show, saying no to an encore. “You can't make a TV show that is not economically viable, just to be a supporter of the arts,” Henderson told The Dance Current. Henderson could not comment on whether CTV has specific plans to air another dance show, but said it is a “definite possibility.”

Canadian dancers make on-screen splash

Laurieann Gibson / Photo courtesy of E!

Nico Archambault and Mylène St-Sauveur in Sur Le Rythme / Photo courtesy of Seville Pictures

>> by Jacqueline Hansen
Canadian dancers Laurieann Gibson and Nico Archambault were on-screen stars this summer. Gibson, a Toronto native known for her choreography for artists such as Lady Gaga, Katy Perry, Diddy and So You Think You Can Dance Canada’s Luther Brown and Natalli Reznik, headlined a new series on E! called The Dance Scene. The show gave viewers an inside look at the intensity with which Gibson, a former student of The National Ballet of Canada, choreographs in order to create her eye-popping works. Along with the cast's talent and intensity also comes drama; the show intertwines the complicated personal lives of Gibson and her dancers. Archambault, winner of the first season of SYTYCDC, stars as Marc Painchaud in Charles-Olivier Michaud’s French dance film Sur Le Rythme. Archambault helps Delphine Lamarre (Mylène St-Sauveur) in making a choice between following her dreams of dancing or her parents’ plans for her to attend medical school. Sur Le Rythme was released in theatres August 10th, and has thus far brought in nearly $1 million in ticket sales.

Dance Matters. And now, it is official.

>> by Jaimée Horn
Toronto-based Tanya Crowder’s HOWDARESHE Productions has been the umbrella for a number of her creative collaborations. Among these endeavours is Dance Matters, a sustainable, community-based, curated performance series, featuring original choreographic works from Canadian dance artists of all disciplines. Originally existing under Crowder’s HOWDARESHE production name, Dance Matters has officially been incorporated as a not-for-profit organization under the name of Dance Matters Dance Productions since October 2010, and is now headed into its sixth season.

American dance icons honoured with U.S. postal stamps

>> by Naomi Brand
Four influential American choreographers will appear on a series of stamps issued by the U.S. Postal Service in 2012. The set includes Isadora Duncan, José Limón, Katherine Dunham and Bob Fosse. The stamps were designed by art director Ethel Kessler and illustrated by James McMullan. A large number of Canadian dancers throughout the twentieth-century studied or worked with Limón, Dunham and Fosse. The current Limón company includes Canadians Kristen Foote and Belinda McGuire, both from the Greater Toronto Area.

Tré Armstrong gives back

Tré Armstrong teaching Hip Hop during The Give Back

>> by Jaimée Horn
Tré Armstrong, choreographer, dancer and judge on CTV’s So You Think You Can Dance Canada, is giving back to the dance community. Her company, A New D.A.E.I., recently hosted The Give Back on July 10th, 2011 at Canada’s National Ballet School. The day’s purpose was to provide youth, teenagers and adults the opportunity to be a part of the dance world at no cost. More than twenty teachers offered workshops in various disciplines including Salsa, Contemporary and Bollywood, while Armstrong taught both basic and master hip hop classes. The Tré Armstrong Give Back Foundation was officially launched on August 15th, 2011.
http://anewdaei.com/and/

Sonia Rodriguez co-authors children's book

>> by Cynthia Brett

Sonia Rodriguez, principal dancer at The National Ballet of Canada, and her husband Kurt Browning have co-written a new children's book: T is for Tutu: A Ballet Alphabet, illustrated by Wilson Ong. Intended for children aged six to ten, T is for Tutu explores the art and history of ballet. Though a first book for Rodriguez, Browning has also co-written A is for Axel: An Ice Skating Alphabet.

NAC Foundation announces CEO's National Fund

>> by Samantha Mehra
The National Arts Centre Foundation recently announced the creation of the CEO's National Fund, which will support national performing arts and education programs. The fund honours Peter Herrndorf, president and CEO of the National Arts Centre since 1999, whom the foundation acknowledged for strengthening the centre's national character, setting high artistic standards and prioritizing education. Made possible by contributions from donors across Canada, the CEO's National Fund stands at $1.2 million, and aims to support the NAC's creation and sustenance of country-wide programming, such as national tours by the NAC orchestra, attracting artists from across Canada to take part in NAC-supported national showcases, and engaging Canadians via live NAC webcasts and podcasts.The National Arts Centre also announced the extension of Herrndorf's contract until 2013.
www.nac.cna.ca/foundation