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International Dance Day & International Dance Week

The Dance Ontario Youth Board (DOYB) under the leadership of Jade Jager Clark took dance performances to Pearson International Airport last Friday when JHHA Performance Company, Nritya Kala Mandir, Rhythmic Fire, Randolph Dance Crew, City Dance Corps Youth Companyand The Dance Place performed at Terminal 1 Departures & Arrivals from noon until 5 pm!
_{From Lee Petrie of the GTAA - Dear Jade
Thank you so much for putting together another great program for International Dance Day. Our guests and staff love this event - it adds very positive energy to the airport, and we're so pleased to showcase the talent of local dance schools. I'm glad that the "spot dances" worked well - let's keep that on the program for next year.
The program had an impact on many people on Friday, but one tweet stood out. Craig Keilburger, founder of Free The Children, tweeted a photo of the dancers at Terminal 1 and had a nice comment about the program. What a great surprise!
Here's a screen shot of his tweet.
And the photo he uploaded - http://twitpic.com/9eg338}
Click here for link to last year's performances!

On Friday, April 20th Halton District School Board held it's eighth annual dance festival, "Florescence" celebrating International Dance Day. The event took place in Burlington at Robert Bateman High School. Approx 250 students started in the morning with a welcome, keynote address, and a demonstration by Tribal Vision. Students then participated in two technique workshops from a variety of styles: contemporary, irish, modern, music theatre, tribal cardio, Tribal Vision, zumba. After lunch students divided into mixed age groups for creative workshops. Teachers facilitated the creative process using the Dance curriculum based on a theme. This year's theme was the Native American circle of life/medicine wheel. The day ended with a performance of their creative work.
Congratulations to everyone - it was an inspiring day!

Finally the Canadian Dance Assemby (CDA) officially opens the I love dance/J'aime la danse campaign and launches Canada's first ever National Dance Week (April 22-29). Visit their website at www.cda-acd.ca for information on all events and to see the dance manifesto.

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Ontario Arts Council's Why I dance...Pourquoi je danse...

Check out the OAC's link herein support of Ontario Dances.

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Dance Ontario Outtakes

Dance Ontario & Dancer Transition Resource Centre thank Lester B. Pearson School for the Arts for its wonderful hospitality last month when we presented information sessions and a dance workshop with William Yong in London, Ontario.
In May we will bring similar sessions to North Bay and Sudbury when artists from Gadfly will teach workshops.

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OAC Announces Director & CEO

Martha Durdin, Chair of the Ontario Arts Council (OAC) today announced the appointment of Peter Caldwell as Director and CEO of the Ontario Arts Council. He succeeds John Brotman who is retiring after ten years at the council's helm. "Peter impressed us with his personal experience as an artist, his firm understanding of the arts community and the leadership skills that he brought to the remarkable transformations at OCAD University over the past several years," said Martha Durdin OAC Chair. "He takes over an organization that has not only thrived in the last decade but which, under John's guidance, reflects the growth and diversity of Ontario's arts community." "The arts have been integral to my life, and the Ontario Arts Council is integral to the arts in Ontario," said Peter Caldwell. "I am very excited about playing a leadership role at OAC as it approaches its 50th anniversary of service to artists, arts organizations and all Ontarians. I hope to honour the legacy of the organization, while also maximizing future opportunities."
Peter Caldwell was Vice President, Finance & Administration at OCAD University (formerly Ontario College of Art & Design) from 1994 to April 2011. During this time, he served as chief administrative officer of Canada's largest university specializing in art and design education. Among Caldwell's accomplishments at OCAD, he oversaw the university's expansion from two to 12 buildings, including the architecturally-acclaimed Sharp Centre of Design, designed by architect Will Alsop. In 2009, Peter Caldwell was appointed a Lifetime Honorary Alumnus by the OCAD University Alumni Association. In June 2011, he was awarded an Honorary Doctorate by OCAD University, recognizing his contribution to the university and to the arts and culture community.

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June 26-28th, 2012
In Toronto's Historic Distillery District
Young Centre for the Performing Arts,
55 Mill Street, Building 49

CALLING ALL DANCE ONTARIO MEMBERS - SAVE THE DATE!
For a gathering of people like YOU who make dance happen in communities across Ontario.

When connections are made, magic happens!

So help us connect the dots.
Tell us what's important to you during this unique three-day collective creation of future province-wide dance projects.
And while you're here, network with your peers, enjoy dance showcases, an industry trade show and get informed advice on topics relevant to you!

Why come?
Build ties with key dance-makers across Ontario
Share your opinion and experiences
Get a taste of what's happening in other parts of the province
Learn something new and
Be inspired by approx 30 performances

Dance Ontario Launches Connecting the Dots thanks to a generous $151,800 Grant from the Ontario Trillium Foundation.
We are delighted to announce innovative funding from the Ontario Trillium Foundation for this exciting new initiative that brings together Ontario's diverse dance community. Designed for our membership to build connections, collaborations, partnerships and innovations through all facets of the dance community, Connecting the Dots will strengthen the future of dance in Ontario.
In the first year of this three-year initiative, Dance Ontario will host a gathering drawn from across the Ontario dance spectrum. From June 26 - 28, 2012, we will bring together professional dance artists, studio and venue operators, educators, dance service organizations and funders, community groups, dance activists and animators, from all genres of dance and will offer a space where the community can come together to share, to grow and to create new possibilities for regional hubs. Showcases and workshops will also be included.
Connecting the Dots will travel to four regions of the province over the following two years, bringing YOUR ideas on new opportunities and strategies for a healthy and vibrant dance scene in participating cities.
_{Dance Ontario recognizes and thanks the Ontario Trillium Foundation for its commitment to increasing access to dance across the province. A leading grant-maker in Canada, the Ontario Trillium Foundation strengthens the capacity of the voluntary sector through investments in community-based initiatives. An agency of the Government of Ontario, OTF builds healthy and vibrant communities. For more information on the Foundation, please visit the website at: www.otf.ca}

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Dance Ontario: CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS

Creative Partnership Program: DanceWeekend'13
Dance Ontario's Creative Partnership Program will provide $2,000 in production/creation support to each of two choreographers for NEW work to be premiered at DanceWeekend'13 next January. Choreographers whose membership is current at the time of submission are eligible to apply. All forms of dance will be considered and two works each approx 15 minutes in length will be selected.

The Association's Selection Committee looks for applications that :
- demonstrate excellence and professional integrity;
- bridge diverse forms and/or disciplines;
- take creative risks;
- connect with and are relevant to a broad-based audience;
- enhance the artist's repertoire.

Please submit a description of the proposed new work together with a C.V., creation budget and two cued videotapes of DVDs (MUST play on a commercial player) of past or relevant work to:
Dance Ontario Selection Committee,
55 Mill St., Case Goods Building (74) #304
Toronto, ON M5A 3C4.
Deadline: May 14, 2012

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Scotiabank Nuit Blanche

Saturday September 29, 2012 from sunset to sunrise at The Historic Distillery District, Toronto
Dance Ontario will sponsor four member groups/artists to present work based on Dadaism, each receiving a fee of $500. Submissions will be sent to Thom Sokoloski, Site Curator who will make the selection.
Watch for our e-blasts re deadline!
Members should note that for future years this initiative will be broadened to cover performing members' activities at partnering festivals across Ontario.

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DANCE ONTARIO'S BOARD OF DIRECTORS

The AGM of the Corporation was held on Friday December 2, 2011 at which time Peter Ryan was elected as Board Chair and Jennifer Watkins as Vice Chair joining Debbie Kapp (Treasurer) and Jade Jager Clark (Secretary). New to the Board of Directors are George Randolph (Randolph Academy for the Performing Arts), Tina Nicolaidis (City Dance Corps) and James Kendal who will join Catherine Carpenko (Past Chair), Jacque Foesier, Cynthia Lickers-Sage, Kate Lowe, Yasmina Ramzy, Anjelica Scannura, Samara Thompson, Dave Wilson and Sashar Zarif.
They will all be working hard for you, our members, over the next year.

Annual Report 10-11 here.

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2012 UDO Canadian Street Dance Championships

The 2012 UDO Canadian Street Dance Championship run by the indomitable Jade Jager Clark took place recently. See the link here to some of the great action.
Congratulations to all!

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Viv Moore: Chalmers Award Recipient

Viv is delighted and very grateful for receiving a Chalmers Fellowship. She will be doing further study with teachers she has studied with before and (this time one-on-one), in clog in Kent (Appalachian, southern step with Romany); precision weapon work in L.A. (whips, knives and guns), Butoh in Mexico.
Says Viv, It is a wonderful opportunity to fill up my soul as well as in-depth learning.

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Jade's Hip Hop Academy: BOBA Award Recipient

Jade's Hip Hop Academy owned and directed by Jade Jager Clark received a Brampton Outstanding Business Achievement Award in the Emerging Business Category. This category recognizes companies which have been in business for a minimum of 2 years and have demonstrated advancement and or excellence in their field. After 6yrs in Business and having to face the adversity of the Business community not immediately regarding a Dance Studio as a business and getting hung up on the stereotypes of "Hip Hop" Jade considers this a real break through. Jade's Hip Hop Academy is the first ever Dance Studio and Business in the Performing Arts to receive a BOBA Award. Jade is honoured and thrilled to receive this recognition from her City. The 16th Annual Brampton Outstanding Business Achievement Awards Ceremony presented by the Brampton Board of Trade in partnership with the City of Brampton Economic Development Office took place at the Rose Theatre in Brampton.
_{Image:Jade Jager Clark with Mayor Susan Fennel, Councillor Gail Miles and Gold Sponsor.}

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Canada's National Ballet School Launches New Website

Canada's National Ballet School (NBS) is pleased to announce it is launching a new website, www.sharingdance.ca. The goal of the site is to encourage all sharingdance.ca participants to experience the joy of dance together, thus helping NBS support its goal of Moving the World.
Sharingdance.ca is designed to encourage people across Canada (and around the world) to learn a flashmob dance routine and then stage a performance of it. Through instructional dance videos housed on the site, sharingdance.ca will support dancers of all ages, levels and experience as they assemble a dance troupe and begin rehearsing their dance. By signing up for a free sharingdance.ca account, each troupe gets its own troupe page which can house photos and videos and has a specific link that can be shared with fellow troupe members, family and friends. Each troupe can track its rehearsal process, post photos and videos of their improvements from week to week, and post their final performance video. By experiencing the joy of dancing together, sharingdance.ca participants will increase their awareness of dance as both an art form and physical activity, thus bringing more members into the greater dance community.
In addition to housing the instructional dance videos, sharingdance.ca will also post performance videos on the main page of the site, thus allowing for wide-spread viewing of all performances. Each troupe on sharingdance.ca is encouraged to stage and film a performance, regardless of location or audience size. The main site will showcase all performance videos, thereby encouraging interaction and community-building between dance groups that are geographically distant but share the common bond of dance. As flashmob performances can be challenging to organize, the website will provide resources to guide a troupe through staging their performance.
The site houses a section dedicated to teacher resources, focusing on non-dance teachers. Sharingdance.ca aims to encourage and support teachers as they integrate dance into their classroom, providing information on how a teacher without dance experience can incorporate dance into lesson plans or start teaching one of the routines to their students. This section will continue to grow and evolve as feedback and suggestions from participating teachers is received.
Visit Sharing Dancehere

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Dance Umbrella of Ontario Announces the appointment of Jay Rankin

Jay succeeds Christine Moynihan who has led the organization since 2002.
Jay comes to the organization with vast experience working in the performing arts and dance. Mr. Rankin joins DUO having played key leadership roles at companies including Ballet BC and Toronto Dance Theatre. His recent posting at Ballet BC saw a remarkable transition for the company, making it a viable and thriving contemporary ballet company. Jay will be known to many people in the community in Toronto as the former Managing Director of Toronto Dance Theatre.

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Canadian Dance Studies/La Societe des etudes canadiennes en danse (SCDS/SECD)

Toronto writer and teacher Kate Cornell is the incoming director of the Society for Canadian Dance Studies/La Societe des etudes canadiennes en danse (SCDS/SECD). The Society's membership at large met in Toronto on June 23rd to talk about the organization's future following founder/director Amy Bowring's announcement that she would step down after a decade of leadership. Bowring founded the organization in 2000 with a mandate to support and publish Canadian dance research, to disseminate dance studies in schools, and provide and promote discussion of issues surrounding Canadian dance. The organization, via its website, has provided resources and facilitated the publishing of scholarly articles about dance in Canada. The organization has also held conferences across the country as well as collaborative dance literacy projects with The Dance Current and the Canada Dance Festival.
Dr. Kate Cornell is a writer, lecturer and consultant and a founding member of the Society. Cornell comes to the position with a background in both theory and practice, working with organizations such as the CanDance Network, Learning Through the Arts, and The National Ballet of Canada. Cornell looks forward to working with transition steering committee, the new slate of board members to be elected in September, and on expanding the Society's membership. Members made the decision at their meeting to hold a conference in Montreal in 2012 timed to coincide with the Festival TransAmeriques.
Kate is February's Art Historian of the Month.
More: http://people.uleth.ca/~scds.secd/

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Ann-Marie Williams' Learn To Speak Dance

Drawing on years of experience as a dancer and dance teacher, author Ann-Marie Williams exposes every aspect of the world of dance from how to start a dance group to tips on shooting a music video, calming performance jitters, staging, and even managing a potential career.
Learn To Speak Dance will be published by Owlkids Books on September 15, 2011. Illustrated by Jeff Kulak, the book will be suitable for Ages 9-13. www.raincoast.com

Toronto Arts Council's INCUBATE program

Boundary crossing, multi-disciplinary dance projects awarded support for development Toronto Arts Council's INCUBATE program, now in its third year, has awarded grants totalling $75,000 to nine Dance projects being developed by Toronto arts organizations for international festivals and presenters. Projects chosen for seed funding range from innovative urban dance productions by young artists, to interpretations of award-winning Canadian poetry by our most senior, internationally renowned contemporary dance choreographers. INCUBATE 2011 is funded through a contribution of $25,000 from the City of Toronto through Toronto Arts Council and $50,000 from Luminato, Toronto's Festival of Arts and Creativity through Toronto Arts Foundation.
"We received many eloquent proposals," said Claire Hopkinson, Executive Director of Toronto Arts Council and Foundation. "Interesting themes, such as migration and identity, are emerging from the dance community. We are pleased that the Incubate program can provide seed funding to support great Toronto artists to pursue such imaginative work."
"Luminato is committed to the development and creation of new artistic works, and is proud to partner with the Toronto Arts Council in support of this important program," said Janice Price, CEO, Luminato.

INCUBATE is a juried program, designed to provide seed money to facilitate the early planning stages of project proposals being developed for presentation to international festivals and presenters. Positioned to play a pivotal role for Toronto arts organizations, INCUBATE is often the first major investment for artistic work which later comes to fruition with great national and international impact. The maximum grant available is 85% of eligible expenses up to $10,000. This year's program was dance projects. In 2009 the focus was on music, and in 2010 theatre. The program will continue to target different artistic disciplines in future years. Funded projects 2011 include adelheid dance projects ,Fujiwara Dance Inventions,Gadfly, hum dansoundart not just a dance company, and ipsita Nova Dance Projects.

New Members