Phase one of mapping study released

>> by Jaimée Horn
The dance section of the Canada Council for the Arts has released findings for Phase One of the Canada Dance Mapping Study. The Literature Review confirms that information is still missing, and that many gaps have yet to be filled before the full spectrum of dance in Canada has been outlined. The findings have, however, provided data about professional dance practices and infrastructure, dance that is of European origin, and the professional landscape in specific parts of the country. As research continues throughout the coming months, dance communities already connected to the study as well as those that have yet to be mapped will help to fill in more of the missing pieces. Read more about the study here.

Historic costume to be conserved

 Postcard of Maud Allan in her work Vision of Salomé, c. 1908 / Photo courtesy of Dance Collection Danse

 Brassiere portion of Maud Allan’s Vision of Salomé (1906) costume / 

Photo by Andreah Barker, courtesy of Dance Collection Danse

>> by Catherine Singen

Dance Collection Danse (DCD) recently announced that Maud Allan’s historic Salomé costume will receive treatment from the Canadian Conservation Institute (CCI). Once conserved, the costume will provide the focal point for future exhibitions that could include other Maud Allan artifacts in the DCD archives including a bisque nodder, Salomé cigarettes, Salomé corn plasters, postcards, photographs, Allan’s diaries and papers, and other pieces of her Edwardian-era clothing. Amy Bowring, DCD’s Director of Collections and Research, comments, “This restoration project not only highlights an important Canadian cultural artifact but also signifies the importance of dance history within the shared heritage of Canadians.” Maud Allan, a native of Toronto, first wore the costume in 1906 when she debuted her choreographic work The Vision of Salomé in Vienna. Allan’s performance was later seen by King Edward VII who recommended her to the management of the Palace Theatre in London. Allan took London by storm giving over 200 performances in the city beginning in March 1908. Her sensational Vision of Salomé with its risqué costume spawned a Salomania craze that led to dance imitators and a variety of unique merchandise. A pianist by training and highly musical, Allan’s dances were moving interpretations of music by such composers as Chopin, Mendelssohn and Brahms.

Canadian awarded Prix de Lausanne 2013

Caroline Gravel and Danny Desjardins in Catherine Gaudet's Je suis un autre / Photo by Louise Leblanc

>> by Jaimée Horn
This year, event coordinators welcomed nearly 1400 people to the twenty-sixth Prix RIDEAU, held in Québec from February 17th through 21st. Among those recognized was Jacques Poulin Denis, choreographer, dancer, actor and composer, who received the PRIX RADARTS/RIDEAU, an invitation to present his work at the next FrancoFête in Acadia. Also celebrating were Cas Public's Director of Development Marc-Antoine Arrieta, recipient of the PRIX BIS-LA SCÈNE; and choreographer Catherine Gaudet. Gaudet received the PRIX LOJIQ MONDE, a $2000 award for her piece Je suis un autre. Every year Les Prix RIDEAU honour professionals from the performing arts, recognizing those who work tirelessly to make creative work accessible in our communities.

André Gingras, 1966-2013

André Gingras / Photo by Jochem Jurgens

>> by Jaimée Horn
After having battled colon cancer for several years, dance artist André Gingras died on February 17th at age forty-six, in Breda, The Netherlands. Born in Canada, he studied theatre, English literature and contemporary dance in Toronto, Montréal and New York City. Gingras began his work as a choreographer in The Netherlands in 1999. His desire to explore a highly physical and visual language, drew inspiration from martial arts, free running, and the physical symptoms related to specific medical conditions. His work has been commissioned by several prestigious artists and companies worldwide, and has toured internationally to great acclaim. In March 2010, he became artistic director of Dance Works Rotterdam, bringing new life to the company through his international network. A public memorial service will be held on March 22nd in The Netherlands, to celebrate his life and honour his numerous artistic contributions. According to Dance Works Rotterdam, Gingras' friends in New York and Canada will be sharing in the celebrations from a distance.

Round dances used in Idle No More

Idle No More on Parliament Hill / Photo by Nadya Kwandibens/Red Works

>> by Naomi Brand 
The ongoing Idle No More (INM) protest movement has brought flash mob round dances to streets, shopping malls and public spaces across Canada over the past couple of months. The protest movement led by First Nations in response to the Harper government’s Bill C-45 has garnered the support of many artists including Santee Smith, artistic director of Kaha:wi Dance Theatre. "The flash mob round dances we are seeing as a part of INM comes from Powwow Intertribal, meaning all Nations are welcomed and encouraged to dance," says Smith who is actively involved in the INM movement. “For me the round dance represents a kinetic and spiritual commitment to unity and harmony. To dance you must commit to the energy of the circle, make contact by holding hands, witness others around the circle, unify to the heartbeat pulse of the drum and power of the song. It makes sense at this time of Indigenous awakening and resurgence that the round dances have become a significance part of the movement.” Hundreds of musicians, writers, theatre artists and dancers have signed the Canadian Artists Statement of Solidarity written by Winnipeg musician John K Samson calling for "healthy, just, equitable, and sustainable communities."

More: www.idlenomore.ca

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Canadian-Artists-Statement-of-Solidarity-with-Idle-No-More/317069378411312

Nancy Kilgour receives Order of Canada

>> by Samantha Mehra
Nancy Kilgour, senior pedagogue at the School of Alberta Ballet, was invested into the Order of Canada in 2012 to recognize her contributions to dance in Canada as a teacher of the Cecchetti method of ballet and her fifty-year career in dance. After her early training with Betty Oliphant and Celia Franca, Kilgour taught for both the National Ballet School and the National Ballet, while also performing with the latter. In addition to being the first Canadian awarded a Canada Council grant to study educational techniques at the Bolshoi Ballet in 1967, she was one of the first Canadians to obtain the highest Cecchetti examination levels in England. Kilgour's investiture also recognizes a vast career of international teaching and professional development. In addition to teaching in China, England, Sweden and Belgium, Kilgour studied ballet education techniques at the School of American Ballet, the Kirov School in St. Petersburg, and the School of the Paris Opera. Some of her pupils include Karen Kain, Darcey Bussel and Veronica Tennant.

Government cuts close the doors on the CCA

>> by Brittany Duggan
After sixty-seven years of service, the Canadian Conference of the Arts (CCA) announced the end of its operations on October 30th, 2012. The decision comes a year and a half after news broke that the government was not intending to continue its funding to the nation’s largest member-based arts advocacy agency. National Director Alain Pineau commented in a press release, “This was not the way I was hoping to end my time with the CCA, but I leave knowing that all of us at the Secretariat have given everything we had to make this transition a success. I can only hope that someone else will pick up the challenge. The Canadian cultural sector needs and deserves a CCA if it is to be effective and thrive.” The advocacy group recently put together a five-year business plan and requested two years of transitional funding from the government. Denied this funding in the spring of 2012, the CCA continued with support from Canadian Heritage and from its membership. However, it was not enough to re-invent the CCA under a new business model and the group is now left in a state of suspension, maintaining charitable status so as not to lose the accumulation of advocacy throughout the years and to leave the door open for new leadership. CCA was founded in 1945, even before the Canada Council for the Arts, and has been a voice for all disciplines in arts, culture and heritage. Their disappearance prompts the question: what next? Who will lead policy development at the federal level and advocate for Canadian artists and art in Canada?

I Love Dance Awards

>> by Kathleen Smith
On Sunday, October 21st, as part of the Canadian Dance Assembly’s Step in Time Conference in Ottawa, twelve awards were given out to deserving members of the Canadian dance community during a gala dinner in the Panorama Room at the National Arts Centre. With Tré Armstrong hosting, performances from Supernaturalz, Mandoline Hybride and Vanessa Shaver and presenters such as Alberta Ballet’s Jean Grand-Maître, BJM’s Jay Rankin and Les Grands Ballets’ Alain Dancyger handing out the glass statuettes, the evening was a true celebration of committed contribution.

Here are the awardees:

Organization Award – Dance Collection Danse (Toronto)
Donors Award – Jeanne Lougheed (Calgary)
CPAMO Pluralism Award – Menaka Thakkar (Toronto)
Audience Member Award – Henry Kim Wong (Vancouver)
Corporation Award – TD Bank Group
Innovation Award – Julia Taffe/Aeriosa Dance Society (Vancouver)
Seniors Award – Charmaine Headley/COBA (Toronto)
Aga Khan Museum International Award – RUBBERBANDance Group (Montréal)
Healthy Citizens Award – Erica Ross/Dance Our Way Home (Toronto)
Award for Creative Economy – École Christiane Bélanger Danse (Québec)
EnPointe Youth Award – Julia Gutsik/Luv2Groove (Ottawa)
Rosco Floors Community Award – Karen and Allen Kaeja (Toronto)

More information about the awards and conference (including posting of a number of the documents presented in Ottawa) is available at cda-acd.ca.

Dance awards across the country

Daelik in his own work Tempus Fugitive / Photo by Chris Randle

>> by Cynthia Brett
Toronto's Nova Bhattacharya is this year's winner in the dance division of the Victor Martyn Lynch-Staunton award, which celebrates mid-career artists. For her artistic achievement, Bhattacharya received $15,000. Meanwhile Patrick Lavoie, first soloist for The National Ballet of Canada, has won the David Tory Award recognizing his many positive qualities. He received $2,500 in memory of David Tory, former vice-chair of the company's board of directors. Tap dancer Danny Nielsen, from Edmonton, was awarded the third annual Santa Aloi Award, given to help choreographers create new works. The $4,500 he received will contribute to a new full-length work he is co-producing with the Vancouver International Tap Festival this fall. This year Dance Victoria announced two winners for its second annual Chrystal Dance Prize of $14,000; Tessa Charlesworth, an emerging artist from Victoria, receives $4,000, and Vancouver's Daelik receives $10,000. In Toronto, Harbourfront Centre's Next Steps and the Chimera Project announced that Toronto-based dance artist Angelica Scannura won both the Paula Citron FRESH BLOOD Award and an Audience Choice Award for her work After the Fall. Finally, Neighbourhood Dance Works recently announced a new annual award for a Newfoundland/Labrador dance artist (or artist collaborating with a dance artist). The Roberta Thomas Legacy Award will fund up to $1,000 for a project to be presented at the Festival of New Dance each year. Applications are due July 31st.

Canada celebrates its first National Dance Week

Alison Denham and Billy Marchenski in AdamEve/Man-Woman / Photo by Steven Lemay

by Samantha Mehra
On April 22nd, Canada began a celebration of its first National Dance Week, an initiative made possible by the Canadian Dance Assembly (CDA). The inaugural initiative aimed to engage communities by giving increased presence to Canada’s diverse dance scene through a series of events throughout the week. Highlights included a family-friendly Bollywood-inspired presentation by Canada’s National Ballet School at the Distillery District in Toronto; Les Grands Ballets Canadiens de Montréal performed Au nom de la rose / In the Name of the Rose, a sixty-person flash mob at Montréal's Square Victoria-métro station. Dance NL used social media to post a video series of local celebrities promoting dance.

On April 29th, National Dance Week ended with the UNESCO-sponsored International Dance Day, an event celebrated annually since 1982. Events took place across the country such as the Winnipeg performances of Winnipeg’s Contemporary Dancers, the Royal Winnipeg Ballet, The Aboriginal School of Dance and the Young Lungs Dance Collective. For the fourth year in a row, the event received a proclamation from the Government of Manitoba. In Vancouver, the Scotiabank Dance Centre hosted a day of studio showings by local artists including Raven Spirit Dance, Modus Operandi, the Contingency Plan Collective, Kinesis Dance and Mandala Arts and Culture, as well as workshops and classes in flamenco, Pow-Wow and bharatanatyam. The celebration ended with a double-bill featuring ADAMEVE/Man-Woman (Part 1) by Vancouver’s Alvin Tolentino of Co.ERASGA and COCOONDANCE’s Another You, a work by Rafaele Giovanola of Bonn, Germany.

Celebrating Canada as a dance nation

>> by Jaimée Horn
On April 19th the Canadian Dance Assembly launched the I love dance / J’aime la danse campaign. The event was held at Canada’s National Ballet School with approximately sixty people present. Among the attendees were Guillaume Côté, a principal dancer at The National Ballet of Canada, and City of Toronto Councillor Josh Matlow, who had the joint honour of unveiling the much anticipated dance manifesto. Celebrating the values of dance, the manifesto expresses the core messages of the campaign and encourages support for dance as an art form integral to our Canadian identity. The campaign was a kick-off to National Dance Week, which promoted dance activities across the country culminating in International Dance Day on April 29th. For information about the I love dance/J’aime la danse campaign, visit www.ilovedancecanada.ca.

Dance Communities Across Canada Celebrate Multiple Awards of Excellence

Hélène Langevin's L’atelier/The Studio / Photo: Hélène Langevin

>> by Jaimée Horn
Montréal company Bouge de là received the Prix RIDEAU Touring Award for its work L’atelier/The Studio, during the Bourse RIDEAU gala on February 16th. The award distinguishes an arts company for successful audience development and promotional activities throughout the tour of one of its shows. L’atelier/The Studio combines dance with visual art, and has been acclaimed by more than 105 audiences across Québec and Toronto ... Crystal Pite internationally renowned BC choreographer and artistic director of Kidd Pivot Frankfurt RM, was presented with the inaugural Lola Award on March 1st. The $10,000 grant that will fund Pite’s next research period, was created in memory of beloved choreographer Lola MacLaughlin, supporting the work of mid-career and established choreographers with hopes of contributing to the growth of a Vancouver aesthetic abroad ... Principal dancers Guillaume Côté and Jillian Vanstone of The National Ballet of Canada are being recognized for contributions to dance and culture. Côté, born in Lac-Saint-Jean, Québec, received the Medal of the National Assembly of Québec on February 28th. Vanstone, from Nanaimo, BC, will receive the Excellence in Culture Award from the City of Nanaimo on March 28th.

New Works invites you to #sharedance with the world

>> by Jaimée Horn
New Works, the Vancouver-based arts organization that presents dance and also provides mentorship and management to a roster of clients, initiated the new hashtag #sharedance on February 1st. New Works is encouraging everyone to post, upload and tweet their daily encounters with dance using #sharedance, in order to make dance more accessible and to share dance with the world. In addition, New Works will feature some of the #sharedance stories in its e-newsletter, offering contributors the opportunity to win a New Works Dance Card that provides discounts to performances in Vancouver.

Miriam Adams appointed to Order of Canada

Miriam Adams / Photo by Cylla von Tiedemann

>> by Cynthia Brett

Miriam Adams, Co-Founder/Director of Dance Collection Danse (DCD), was recently appointed to the Order of Canada for her contribution to Canadian dance history. Adams and her late husband Lawrence, both former dancers of The National Ballet of Canada, founded 15 Dance Lab in the 1970s and published magazines such as SPILL and Canadian Dance News. The Adamses' commitment to preserve Canadian dance was foreshadowed by the establishment of Visus Foundation in 1974, to videotape dance in Canada. They created DCD, Canada's national dance archives and publishing house, in 1986.
www.dcd.ca

Canadian dance studies society adopts new name

>> by Samantha Mehra
The Canadian Society for Dance Studies/La Société canadienne d'études en danse (CSDS/SCDD) recently changed its name in order to be more inclusive of Canada's dance community. This change intends to reflect founder Amy Bowring's mission to "encompass a broad range of research areas including history, anthropology, movement analysis, ethnology, creative process studies, dance education, notation, dance writing and criticism." Formerly the Society for Canadian Dance Studies, under the new directorship of Kate Cornell and a transitional board, the society is in the process of incorporating federally under its new moniker. In addition to the name change, CSDS created a new set of by-laws and selected a new board of directors. CSDS will host the first conference under its new name in Montréal in 2012. The conference, titled "Collaboration: Intersections, Negotiations, Mediations in the Worlds of Dance", will be held in collaboration with the Festival Transamériques and the dance department at the Université du Québec à Montréal; the conference runs from May 31st to June 3rd, 2012.
http://people.uleth.ca/~scds.secd/English/home.html

Jeanne Holmes appointed artistic producer of CDF

Jeanne Holmes / Photo by David Hou

>> by Cynthia Brett
On December 1st, Jeanne Holmes will take her post as the new artistic producer of the Canada Dance Festival (CDF). With a background in performance, production, programming and arts management, Holmes brings over twenty years of diverse experience to the position. She is currently the producing director of Dancemakers and the Centre for Creation in Toronto as well as the chair of Dusk Dances Toronto. Recalling her personal experiences at the festival, Holmes told The Dance Current: "It is close to my heart and where some of my best Canadian dance memories have been created. I have been inspired in the past by the hard work and dedication of Brian Webb and Cathy Levy and am honoured by this opportunity to build on their incredible legacies." In 2012, the CDF will celebrate its twenty-fifth anniversary. Board Chair Pamela Fralick commented in a press release that "Jeanne's extensive experience in the world of the performing arts, her reputation as a collaborator and community builder, coupled with her enthusiasm for the future of dance in Canada is exactly the right combination to lead us onward into the next quarter century."

DTRC turns 25

>> by Jacqueline Hansen
Canada’s Dancer Transition Resource Centre (DTRC) is turning twenty-five years old, and the occasion is being commemorated with a night of performances titled Choreographing Change, at the Norman & Annette Rothstein Theatre in Vancouver on December 1, 2011. In a quarter century, the DTRC claims it has acted as a "springboard for more than 10,000 dancers to make inspired, educated, and productive new beginnings." More information and tickets for Choreographing Change are available at www.dtrc.ca.

New director to lead SCDS

Kate Cornell / Photo by Tal Schacham

>> by Brittany Duggan
Kate Cornell was recently appointed the new director of the Society for Canadian Dance Studies/La Société des études canadiennes en danse (SCDS/SECD). Members of the Society met in Toronto on June 23rd to discuss the future of the organization after founder/director Amy Bowring announced her decision to step down from her decade-long leadership role. Bowring founded the Society in 2000 to support and publish Canadian dance research. The Society, via its website, provides resources to members and publishes scholarly articles about dance in Canada, while also engaging in collaborative dance literacy projects and hosting national conferences. At the same meeting, members of the society decided that the next SCDS/SECD conference will be set to coincide with the Festival TransAmériques 2012 in Montréal.

Yvonne Chartrand wins Victor Martyn Lynch-Staunton Award in dance

photo courtesy of Yvonne Chartrand

>> by Naomi Brand
Contemporary choreographer, dancer and Métis jigger Yvonne Chartrand won the Victor Martyn Lynch-Staunton Award for dance. Chartrand is the artistic director of the Vancouver-based contemporary and Métis dance company Compaigni V'ni Dansi, which performs both traditional Métis dance and selected contemporary works. Her ancestors come from the Métis community of St. Laurent, Manitoba. The annual awards recognize outstanding mid-career artists in the seven disciplines funded by the Canada Council for the Arts. Winners are chosen from the pool of applicants from the Grants to Professional Artists programs. The prizes were created with funds bestowed to the Canada Council by the late Victor Martyn Lynch‑Staunton.
http://canadacouncil.ca/news/releases/2011/wb129532232563933589.htm
http://www.vnidansi.ca/

Margie Gillis object of on-air bullying

>> by Amy Bowring
Montréal-based dance icon Margie Gillis was the object of on-air bullying when she appeared as a guest on SunTV's "Canada Live" on June 1st. The controversial news station, known for its sensational coverage and aggressive interviewing style, had contacted Gillis' office shortly after she received the Governor General's Award for Lifetime Achievement in the Performing Arts. Gillis told The Dance Current that staff at the news channel had been persistent in their requests for her to appear on the network and were repeatedly flattering in those requests. She says she was aware of the station's conservative approach to news coverage, but agreed to be interviewed and was told the topic would be arts funding in Canada. Gillis, who has had a thirty-nine-year career as a dance artist, did further research on arts funding to prepare herself for the session. Interviewer Krista Erickson introduced Gillis as a Governor General's Award winner and congratulated her on the award but then proceeded to verbally attack the dancer-choreographer, asking her why she deserved the $1.2 million in funding that she and the Margie Gillis Dance Foundation have received since 1998. Erickson exacerbated the situation by repeatedly talking over Gillis so her answers could not be heard properly. Throughout the interview, Erickson continually dismissed the value of tax-payer support for the arts. Gillis described being "shocked" by the attack, telling The Dance Current, "I was sitting in a small room with no one else there ... no one to dialogue with." She says, "What I found most disturbing was that [Erickson] thought part of it was amusing ... but her audience does not think what she says is amusing." Gillis added that she has received an overwhelming response from the dance community. Reflecting on the current times, she continued, "We need to face the future bravely. We cannot cower and be timid ... we have to stand up." On June 9th, Gillis posted a message on Facebook to thank people for their support and to discourage the spread of hateful messages. Rather, she encourages people to take action by writing to the CRTC, the Prime Minister and MPs. In her coverage, Erickson neglected to mention the grants and subsidies provided to many other economic sectors, including farming, manufacturing and media, of which SunTV's parent company, Quebecor, has been a past recipient. Globe and Mail TV reporter John Doyle pointed out in a June 9th article that SunTV's prime-time viewership is approximately 7000.
http://www.facebook.com/#!/notes/margie-gillis/hatred-is-not-the-answer/10150202531471501
http://www.facebook.com/#!/notes/louis-laberge-c%C3%B4t%C3%A9/in-response-to-the-sun-news-network-interview-with-margie-gillis/232349496782489