Toronto dance enthusiasts can look forward to exploring an electric grouping of dance that will stimulate, challenge and satisfy a varied audience of seasoned and new while not challenging the pocketbook.
Based on the renowned annual dance festival in New York, Fall for Dance was created and established by New York City Center in 2004, Toronto will now play host to its own version entitled, Fall For Dance North. Like the original festival in New York, Fall for Dance North’s audiences will revel in dynamic mixed evenings where they can experience anything from classical and contemporary ballet to flamenco, tap, hula, South Asian, African Diaspora, First Nations artists etc.; indeed the best dance that Toronto, Canada and the world will have to offer.
Fall for Dance North will serve as a democratizing and popularizing dance event. Using the original model from New York, every seat in the venue, regardless of its placement, will cost $10 which will be made possible by the support and underwriting of a spectrum of private donors, sponsors and public funding. The festival’s unique combination of extremely low ticket price, varied programming and the acme of global and Canadian dance talent ensures its accessibility to all.
In its inaugural year (Oct. 1st – 4th, 2015), Fall for Dance North will feature 10 dance companies as part of the Main Stage Series – a mix of five Canadian and five International – split between two unique programs which will be presented twice each over the four days. Companies will be selected from a diverse array of ethnic, cultural and geographic backgrounds introducing audiences to the rich breadth and diversity of the art form, and reflecting the cultures that make up the City of Toronto and Canada.
“Since 2004, New York City Center’s Fall for Dance Festival has celebrated the vitality and breadth of the dance world by showcasing a vast variety of companies, choreographers, and artists from across the country, and around the world on one stage. We’ve heard from countless patrons who had never seen live dance before attending one of our Fall for Dance programs, and they have since become whole-hearted dance buffs. That’s why we’re so thrilled about the plan to establish a Canadian edition of the festival at the Sony Centre in Toronto which will expose a whole new audience to the wonders of live dance. We look forward to working with the Toronto team for many years to come.” offered Arlene Schuler, President & CEO of NY City Center.
Ilter Ibrahimof, the artistic director of Fall for Dance North engages with this new role as someone who is very familiar with the dance world. Ilter owns and manages the artist management company, Sunny Artist Management Inc. where he books, consults and produces services for Canadian and international dance companies, and in addition to his agency work, Ilter is the curator of the biannual Off the Edge dance festival at The Rialto Center in Atlanta. Ilter has served as Artistic Advisor for Fall for Dance NY in 2013 and 2014.
“With Fall for Dance North, we hope to satisfy a significant unmet need in Toronto – for high quality and accessible dance programming that includes the best from Canada and around the world. We will design a program that is fun, educational and universally appealing and captivating in the hope that we can help the public fall in love with dance – whatever the style, or tradition that speaks most to them – and be motivated to see more dance and become part of a growing and inclusive audience of dance lovers in Toronto.” stated Ilter Ibrahimof, Artistic Director for Fall for Dance North.
Madeleine Skoggard, FFDN’s Executive Director is a seasoned arts professional who has worked in the Programming area at the Sony Centre since 2005. Madeleine’s extensive experience with the planning, management and execution of varied events (local, national and international touring companies) allow her to move forward in managing this new festival’s launch and positioning of one of the city’s new and exciting cultural assets.
“From my own initial excitement of the project, I have been overwhelmed by the support and enthusiasm – it’s an exciting time to build new audiences for dance by making this quality art form accessible for all. I am thrilled to be taking a leadership role in this festival.” added Madeleine Skoggard – Executive Director, Fall for Dance North Festival.
Heather Ogden, one of the members of the festival’s growing Board of Directors, and a principal dancer with the National Ballet of Canada noted, “I am really looking forward to having a prestigious festival like Fall for Dance North to have a presence in Toronto! I think it will bring a lot of excitement to the Toronto dance community – not only because of the variety of world-class dance companies that will be presented at such an accessible price, but also the experience the festival offers of seeing a blend of the different traditions of dance – reflecting the incredible diversity that our own city embodies.”
One of the leading supporters of this new initiative is the Sony Centre for the Performing Arts which will host the inaugural four day engagement.
“The Sony Centre is proud to be an active partner in this exciting and long overdue Toronto festival celebrating the world of dance.” stated Mark Hammond, Interim CEO of the Sony Centre.
Fall for Dance North’s inclusive atmosphere, international scope and commitment to accessibility and engagement will foster a unique environment that encourages interaction amongst artists and citywide students, faculty and audiences. The festival’s unique concentration of dance talent in Canada will provide an ideal opportunity for those offering and wishing to take part in master classes, artist talks, open rehearsals and other professional development activities.
Fall for Dance North gratefully acknowledges the generous support and vision of the following individuals, corporations and government partners:
Founding Board Members: Stephen Delaney, Rita Davies, Kevin Garland, Ilter Ibrahimof (ex officio), Madeleine Skoggard (ex officio), Steve Parker, Matt Holland and Heather Ogden
In-Kind Supporters: Sony Centre for the Performing Arts
Government Partners: Toronto Arts Council
This list represents commitments as of November 18, 2014
Further funding and programming announcements will be made in coming months
ABOUT FALL FOR DANCE NORTH
Fall for Dance North will be an exciting annual launch for the Toronto dance season, and is designed to energize audiences, and whet the public appetites for Toronto’s entire dance season by building a new audience for dance, and making quality arts accessible for all with a world class festival for the City of Toronto. Fall for Dance North takes place Oct. 1-4, 2015 with more than 10 dance companies from Canada and around the world.