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The CDA exists to facilitate the dynamic
exchange of information relevant to Canadian professional dance of all
forms and aesthetics. We strive to cultivate a strong national
voice for Canadian professional dance and to support the development of
resources for this field of artistic expression.
CDA Conference Announcement and Registration ADVANCING DANCE IN CANADA: JUNE 6-8, 2008 INSPIRE YOUR INNER ARTS ACTIVIST! From June 6-8, dance professionals from across the country will convene in Ottawa for the Canadian Dance Assembly's Annual General Meeting, member Standing Council meetings and national conference, Advancing Dance in Canada: Reality, Vision, Strategy and Action. You won't want to miss this opportunity for networking and dialogue with dance colleagues old and new. Highlights include provocative discussions around cultivating artistic excellence, living with popular culture, engaging audiences using new technologies, improving working conditions for dance artists and asserting leadership as cultural citizens. Learn about current models of collective standards in dance and participate in a workshop on developing relationships with politicians hosted by the CDA Advocacy Committee. Share your personal vision for dance in Canada. Design strategies and take action to raise the profile of professional Canadian dance. REGISTER TODAY! Advance registration closes May 30th, 2008. In-person registration available throughout conference dates. • Visit Ottawa, our nation’s capital. The Canadian Dance Assembly hosts its 4th annual conference Advancing Dance in Canada: Reality, Vision, Strategy and Action June 6-8, 2008 at the National Arts Centre. by Shannon Litzenberger Art is at the core. It is a source of inspiration, a cause that we believe in, and the reason we carry on despite resistance. In Canada, a career in dance – artistic or otherwise – means both a joy and a sacrifice, a privilege and a struggle. We work inside a delicate ecology that has many interdependent moving parts. Those that participate in this ecosystem - artists, educators, presenters, writers, consultants, agents and administrators - know that it is becoming increasingly fragile, though we carry on because we imagine a more positive future for dance. But when we talk about a better future, what do we mean? Do we share a common understanding of this ideal? Do our individual actions currently contribute to advancing a shared vision? How can we work together to advance dance in Canada? Engage your inner arts activist! Participate and become part of the solution! Join your colleagues from across the country for a spirited discussion on this topic and more, at the 2008 Canadian Dance Assembly Conference, Advancing Dance in Canada: Reality, Vision, Strategy and Action, June 6-8 at the National Arts Centre, in conjunction with the Canada Dance Festival. April 2, 2008 The Canadian Dance Assembly Invites Canadians to Toronto, ON –-In celebration of International Dance Day, members of the Canadian Dance Assembly (CDA) will host performances, workshops, activities and events across the country to promote the art of dance in Canada. “We are so fortunate to have an abundance of talented dance artists in Canada” notes Shannon Litzenberger, Manager of Operations of the Canada Dance Assembly. “International Dance Day is a celebration of these cherished artists and the important role they play in shaping the Canadian cultural experience.” Initiated in 1982 by the International Dance Committee of the UNESCO International Theatre Institute (http://iti.unesco.org), International Dance Day falls on April 29 of every year, commemorating the birthday of Jean-Georges Noverre, a distinguished choreographer that brought about significant reforms in ballet production. Every year, a message authored by an internationally respected dance personality is circulated around the world as part of International Dance Day celebrations. Since 2005, the CDA has released a Canadian message authored by a celebrated Canadian dance personality in conjunction with the UNESCO message - highlighting the passion and excellence within our own borders. As part of the festivities, CDA has commissioned National Ballet of Canada principal dancer Sonia Rodriguez and Canadian figure skating icon Kurt Browning to pen a Canadian message about dance. Rodriguez and Browning write: Are we all not dancers? Of course, in our case, you might say that one of us is a dancer while the other is a skater, but then don’t skaters dance on the ice? Children can hardly resist the urge to move when given space and music and in doing so are they not dancers? Isn't it possible for everyone in the world to dance even if it is just moving back and forth, tapping a toe or letting their imaginations take them anywhere within the music? Dance is there for all of us to explore but most of us are taken on the journey by those up on the stage. For some of us the exploration of dance is a lifelong relationship where body, soul and mind exist in perfect harmony. We give and give of ourselves to the art form and in return we are renewed by its' endless possibilities and the joy of the performance. On this day, let us be reminded that dance is a right of nature and that where there is life there is dance. Today let’s come together and celebrate not just dance, but life itself. The CDA recognizes the UNESCO International Dance Day annually. To commemorate International Dance Day 2008, CDA members will host a vast array of events and celebrations in their respective regions. Highlights include: British Columbia Vancouver celebrates International Dance Day with a series of vibrant performances, events and displays, presented by The Dance Centre in Downtown Vancouver. Highlights will include a contact improvisation and music event at the Bangtown hair salon in Gastown; Pop Up Dances at various locations around Granville Island; Julie Lebel’s Drift-Walks project; and events at the Vancouver Public Library and other locations. The celebrations culminate in Summer Dances on April 29, a South Pacific-themed fundraising event in support of The Dance Centre, at Scotiabank Dance Centre. The Dance Centre Events run April 25-29 at various venues Information: 604 606 6400 www.thedancecentre.ca Alberta The Alberta Dance Alliance has invited dance teachers across Alberta to nominate a dance student to be Alberta’s youth representative for International Dance Day. The youth representative will write a message that will be posted on the Alberta Dance Alliance website and distributed through their e-news bulletin. The Alberta Dance Alliance is also hosting the Get your school dancin’ for International Dance Day initiative. At lunch or recess, schools are being challenged to read one of the International Dance Day messages and to get up and dance for five minutes. Schools will have a chance to ‘win’ the opportunity to have a professional dancer come and teach a workshop, or give a presentation about being a dancer. For more information, go to
www.abdancealliance.ab.ca. Saskatchewan Dance Saskatchewan Inc. has named Natalie Krill as the International Dance Day spokesperson for Saskatchewan. Although Saskatchewan born and raised Ms. Krill has travelled the world pursuing her love of the arts and can be seen on the CBC television series "MVP-The Secret Lives of Hockey Wives". On Sunday, April 27th Saskatoon’s Free Flow Dance Theatre will host its 5th annual International Dance Day Celebration Performance at the Dance Saskatchewan Centre 205A Pacific Ave. The performance will feature a variety of styles ranging from Cultural Dance to Contemporary Dance. This is a family friendly event and is open to the public! www.dancesask.com Manitoba Mouvement/Winnipeg Dance Projects will host the annual Celebration of International Dance Day With LANDSCAPE DANCING, presented by Artistic Directors Stephanie Ballard and Gaile Petursson-Hiley at the Manitoba Legislative Grounds on April 29,2008 at 1:00PM. www.dancemanitoba.org Ontario Dance Ontario’s Youth Board has organized two dance events this year one at Pearson International Airport and the second at the Bloorview Children’s Rehabilitation Centre. Dance Performances at the airport this year will be held on April 29th in Terminal 1, Canada Arrivals The hour long performance at the Bloorview Children’s Rehab Centre will include a variety of groups presenting their work at the children’s centre. www.danceontario.ca The Dance Umbrella of Ontario is proud to present a day of free performance, classes and talkbacks in Yonge-Dundas Square
to celebrate INTERNATIONAL DANCE DAY 2008. This one of a kind event will bring together Toronto-based dance artists of all styles on Sunday April 27th from 1 to 5pm. There will be stage performances, performances in the square with the audience, interactive dance presentations, dance classes, artist talkbacks and more. www.danceumbrella.net/idd.htm Quebec For information on Quebec celebrations, contact the Regroupement québécois de la danse : www.quebecdanse.org Nova Scotia Dance Nova Scotia is declaring the week of April 27 to May 03 to be Nova Scotia Dance Week! Many events are being planned for the week including the following: The Millennium Dance Festival Gala Dance Off at the Dartmouth Sportsplex (April 27th) featuring over 1400 dancers from all parts of Nova Scotia. From April 28th to May 2nd, Dance Nova Scotia will be challenging all of the schools in the province to “Dare to Dance” for 20 minutes to promote healthy living. On April 30th, the North Preston Community Centre will launch its Youth Ballet Program, a special initiative to bring ballet classes to this rural community. For information on these and other events, go to www.dancens.ca. CDA responds to
Canada Council 2008-2011 strategic plan discussion paper To read CDA's official response to Canada Council's 2008-2011 strategic plan discussion paper, please click here. On June 17th and 18th,
CDA participated in two consultations in Ottawa at the invitation of
the Canada Council, to provide feedback on the Council’s discussion
paper ‘Creating our Future’. In preparation for these two meetings,
CDA undertook extensive community consultation through a series of
regional teleconferences, and an online survey. Over 100 members of
the dance community from across the country participated in these
initiatives. A summary of the teleconference discussions is available
on our website at www.dancecanada.net. The first of the two
consultations was a one-hour disciplinary meeting with the Council
Director, Bob Sirman and other key staff from the Arts Division and
the Dance Section. CDA, along with the CanDance Network and the
Regroupement québécois de la danse (RQD) had the opportunity to
present a response to the Council’s discussion paper and bring forward
any specific messages or concerns on behalf of the dance community.
To open the discussion,
the CDA pointed back to the work undertaken over the last two years.
We re-stated the priorities previously articulated in the March 2006
presentation to the Council (made in association with the RQD),
expressing dance’s most pressing needs. Three new initiatives,
presented in draft form to the Council in November 2006 were also
referred to as initiatives that would contribute to the continued
development of the sector. Following this, CDA,
CanDance and the RQD each presented key messages arising from the
feedback heard from the dance community. CDA articulated three
specific messages to the Council that represented the over arching
themes heard throughout the regional teleconferences and in the survey
feedback. These messages are: ‘Take the lead’, ‘Strengthen and develop
our national organizational infrastructure’ and ‘Invest in the
future’. The full presentation is attached. On day two of the
consultation process, National Arts Service Organizations from across
all disciplines met to discuss key questions from the Council’s
discussion paper. Throughout the day, NASO representatives were
divided into working groups to discuss and debate the current role,
values and priorities of the Council. Sirman reinforced that
the Council views NASO’s as the best positioned stakeholders to help
the Council develop the higher level messages that will inform their
planning process. He also cited other groups the Council will consult
in this process including other federal and provincial funders,
Council staff, targeted groups of young (under 30) artists, and the
Council’s Board of Directors, among others. They’ve also collected
input from the arts community through the online survey, which, he
reported, had exceeded 1500 respondents to date. Throughout the two
days, many of the Council staff expressed that the dance sector was
among the most well prepared sectors coming into these meetings, and
commended the CDA for undertaking extensive community consultation as
a way of informing the organization’s representation to the Council.
The CDA wishes to congratulate our members and members of the dance
community who actively participated in this process. It has been an
important and fruitful exercise that will help inform the Council’s
future direction. Council has indicated
they will begin writing over the summer months and expect to release
the plan in the fall. This plan will inform the Council’s corporate
plan which will be filed with the Government in March 2008. This is
the first time the Canada Council has ever undertaken a strategic
planning process.
Canadian Dance Assembly
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