Jeni LeGon (1916-2012)

 Jeni Legon with Bill "Bojangles" Robinson / Photo courtesy of American Tap Dance Foundation archives

>> by Jacqueline Hansen
African-American dancer, teacher and actor Jeni LeGon died on Friday, December 7th, 2012, at age ninety-six in Vancouver. According to the American Tap Dance Foundation (ATDF), LeGon was one of the first African-American women to develop a career as a tap soloist. She challenged stereotypical female roles at the time, by donning pants when others wore skirts, and performing toe stands, acrobatics and complex rhythmic dancing. LeGon, born Jennie Bell, grew up on the south side of Chicago. The ATDF says LeGon landed her first job in musical theatre when she was thirteen years old. It was the beginning of an incredible career that spanned her lifetime, and included performing with stars such as Bill "Bojangles" Robinson, the Nicholas Brothers, Fred Astaire and Fats Waller. LeGon also played roles in Hollywood films, including the 1935 musical Hooray for Love, at a time when the industry was primarily white-dominated. LeGon settled in Vancouver in 1969 where she became a well-respected and beloved teacher. Canada's National Film Board produced the documentary Jeni LeGon: Living in a Great Big Way in 1999. LeGon is survived by her husband, drummer Frank Clavin, and will be remembered as a great dancer and teacher and as a pioneer for black performers.

Les Grands Ballets makes history in Oman

>> by Cynthia Brett
On November 12th and 13th, Les Grands Ballets Canadiens de Montréal was the first Canadian company to perform at Oman's Royal Opera House Muscat since its inauguration in 2011. In a triple-bill titled "Soiree Stravinsky" the company performed Stijn Celis' Sacre and Noce, set to Stravinsky masterpieces, as well as Anima to music by Chopin and Scarlatti. This marks the second time Les Grands has visited the Middle East. The roughly 1000-seat opera house was commissioned personally by the state's Sultan, and is therefore operated by the monarchy. After the final performance, Artistic Director Gradmir Pankov, Executive Director Alain Dancyger, President Constance V. Pathy and Stijn Celis attended a reception held in their honour, where a representative of culture from the Sultan's entourage expressed gratitude for the company's participation in their vision to present more contemporary works.

Canada's first Integrated Dance Theatre Conference

Photo Courtesy of MoMo Dance Theatre

>> by Naomi Brand 
On November 16th, 2012, the first Canadian Integrated Dance Theatre Conference took place near Calgary. The conference brought together company leaders from five performance companies from across Canada that work with people with and without disabilities. The four-day event took place in an accessible retreat centre in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains and consisted of workshops, presentations and discussions facilitated by conference participants. The gathering was hosted by Calgary's MoMo Dance Theatre and attended by Propeller Dance (Ottawa), Les Productions des Pieds des Mains (Montréal), iDance (Edmonton) and Theatre Terrific (Vancouver). The conference was funded through the Canada Council for the Arts' new Deaf and Disability Arts office.

Aszure Barton honoured in New York

>> by Cynthia Brett
On November 16th, world-renowned choreographer Aszure Barton received the 2012 Arts and Letters Award from the Canadian Association of New York (CANY) at its annual charity ball for New York's Canadian community. The award recognizes Canadians who have made significant contributions to communities in both Canada and the United States. Proceeds from this year's ball will support students in financial need at Barton's alma mater, Canada's National Ballet School.

"Together in Dance" forum hosted by Flato Markham Theatre

>> by Samantha Mehra
On October 14th, Flato Markham Theatre hosted its inaugural "Together in Dance" forum at the Markham Civic Centre, which brought together artists, teachers, scholars, writers, administrators and entrepreneurs working in the dance milieu in York Region and Toronto. Proceedings began with opening remarks by Eric Larivière, the theatre’s general manager. Extending a warm welcome to participants and outlining the theatre’s continued mission to engage in discussion with various facets of the dance community to elicit positive change, he noted that this forum was a tool to create the discussion and togetherness the dance community needs for a healthy ecology. Larivière's remarks were followed by a series of short presentations about success stories in community engagement, featuring speakers Dee Adrian, Emily Cheung, Bonnie Craig, Dr. Mary Fogarty, Vivine Scarlett, and recent winner of the Walter Carsen Prize, Menaka Thakkar. Ontario's Minister of Tourism, Culture and Sport, The Honourable Michael Chan, was on hand to congratulate the organizers of the forum and to present panelists with certificates. Following a Bollywood dance workshop with Shiamak Davar (Interational Dance School), independent artist/consultant and former Toronto Arts Council dance program officer Soraya Peerbaye spoke of the state of dance in Markham and York Region, and revealed plans to develop a comprehensive inventory of individuals and institutions engaged in dance in the area. After a series of roundtable discussions on the topics of the Markham Theatre, education and dance organizations and schools, celebrity choreographer Tré Armstrong delivered the closing keynote speech.

CINARS press launch

>> by Andrew Guilbert

On October 23rd, CINARS announced the lineup for the 15th Biennale of the International Exchange of the Performing Arts during a press conference at the Monument-National theatre in Montréal. The event, running from November 12th to 18th, will feature twenty-three mainstage shows with 150 performances, as well as seventy-seven “off-CINARS” performances in fields such as dance, music and theatre. Notable in the dance-focussed programming are choreographer Virginie Brunelle, whose company will kickoff the event on November 13th with a performance of Complexe des genres, and Hélène Blackburn’s Cas Public performing Gold. Dance from around the world will also be featured, such as Finland’s K & C Kekäläinen and Company and South Korea’s Choe Contemporary Dance Company. The Biennale also serves as a networking hub for artists of all stripes. The event’s main exhibition hall will feature more than 120 booths providing participants with an opportunity to meet like-minded patrons and colleagues and share their love of the performing arts. CINARS, in participation with the La Vitrine ticket counter, is offering 4000 free passes for the general public to attend any of the twenty-three official shows at the event. Tickets can be reserved online and picked up at La Vitrine’s Montréal Counter at 2 St. Catherine Street East. For more information, go to: cinars.org.

 

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?