Margie Gillis receives Governor General's Award

Margie Gillis / Photo by Tamara Fiset

>> By Cynthia Brett
Dancer, choreographer and teacher Margie Gillis is among six recipients of the 2011 Governor General's Performing Arts Awards (GGPAA) for Lifetime Artistic Achievement. A veteran Canadian artist, Montreal-based Gillis has created and performed more than 100 solos in her nearly forty-year career. She has also choreographed works for companies such as Alberta Ballet and Cirque du Soleil, and has been a guest artist with The National Ballet of Canada, Les Grands Ballets Canadiens de Montréal and Paul Taylor Dance Company. This is not the first time Gillis' artistic contributions have been recognized; she has been a Member of the Order of Canada since 1988, a Knight of the Ordre National du Québec since 2009 and has been made honorary Cultural Ambassador by both the federal and Québec governments. For her most recent honour, she will receive $25,000 from the Canada Council for the Arts and a commemorative plaque from the Royal Canadian Mint. The GGPAA also provide a mentorship program between former Lifetime Artistic Achivement Award winners and mid-career artists. This year, Evelyn Hart will mentor Heather Odgen, principal dancer with The National Ballet of Canada.

Across Oceans Choreographic Marathon

>> by Naomi Brand

Across Oceans' Choreographic Marathon took place December 17th through 19th at the Pia Bouman Studio in Toronto. The intensive workshop offered choreographic training for emerging and established choreographers and the opportunity for mentorship by established choreographers. After 26.32 hours of constant creation the w-i-n-s (Works In Nascent States) were shown to the public. Participating choreographers Claire French, Lisa Weiler, Ida Meftahi, Tracey Norman and Janine Saarinen were mentored by Across Oceans Artistic Director Maxine Heppner along with Takako Segawa, Jessica Runge and Susan Lee.

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.