Spring to your feet this season and celebrate International Dance Day April 29, 2011!
The Canadian Dance Assembly (CDA) invites all Canadians to participate in International Dance Day, 2011. Organizations across the country will host an array of performances, workshops and activities to promote the art of dance and showcase our Canadian talent. Come out and celebrate this energetic, inspiring, inclusive and diverse art form.
Every year, the International Dance Committee of the UNESCO International Theatre Institute circulates a message around the world as part of International Dance Day celebrations. Additionally, since 2005, the Canadian Dance Assembly (CDA) has issued a Canadian message in conjunction with the UNESCO message.
As a bilingual national service organization CDA is pleased to present the following message from Heather Ogden and Guillaume Côté, principal dancers with the National Ballet of Canada. Representing both French and English speaking Canada this dynamic and critically acclaimed couple offer the following message to the dance community in honour of International Dance Day.
When you dance with someone you share something very special, whether it’s a moment, a piece of music or a story, and it can often bring people together like it did for us. Dancing has given us a broader appreciation for all forms of art. We dance not only for ourselves but for others; hearing how we have inspired others and helped them to learn about dance is very fulfilling. In a world where things seem so rapid and fast, dance can be so beautifully simple and in the moment. It gives us a chance to be truly in the present and to capture a moment that we will have forever. Happy International Dance Day!
The International Dance Day Message, commissioned by ITI – UNESCO, has been written this year by Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker. Anne is a prominent contemporary dance choreographer based in Brussels and has received numerous awards for her work. Her message is as follows:
I think dance celebrates what makes us human. When we dance we use, in a very natural way, the mechanics of our body and all our senses to express joy, sadness, the things we care about. People have always danced to celebrate the crucial moments of life and our bodies carry the memory of all the possible human experiences. We can dance alone and we can dance together. We can share what makes us the same, what makes us different from each other. For me dancing is a way of thinking. Through dance we can embody the most abstract ideas and thus reveal what we cannot see, what we cannot name. Dance is a link between people, connecting heaven and earth. We carry the world in our bodies. I think that ultimately each dance is part of a larger whole, a dance that has no beginning, and no end.
The following pages provide an overview of some of the highlighted activities taking place in celebration of International Dance Day across the country. Also, be sure to check out the International Dance Day – Canada Facebook page for events; become a fan of dance!
British Columbia
Vancouver celebrates International Dance Day with a series of events highlighting the diversity of BC’s dance scene. Free events include a lunchtime performance of flamenco and other dance styles at the Vancouver Public Library; downtown ‘swing bombs’ with swing champions Tessa Cunningham and Myles Munroe; and studio showings plus a photo exhibit at Scotiabank Dance Centre. The evening sees the premiere of taking your experience from mine, a new work by rising choreographer Sara Coffin. Daytime events free. 8pm performance tickets $15 on International Dance Day ($25/$18 on April 30) from Tickets Tonight 604.684.2787 www.ticketstonight.ca Info 604 606 6400 www.thedancecentre.ca
Alberta
The Alberta community will celebrate International Dance Day with various performances in Edmonton such as Mile Zero Dance “The Nina Haggerty Sessions” at The Nina Haggerty Centre for the Arts. This will be a final presentation of choreographic sessions with artists from the centre celebrating the diversity of dance in the local community. Additionally, the Good Woman Dance Collective will present an evening of works which will feature choreography by local dance artists combined with a discussion/feedback session after the performance. Audience members can grab a bite to eat before the show and will have a chance to chat with the dance artists afterward. Also be sure to catch Alberta Ballet’s new work with music by Sarah McLachlan playing in both Calgary and Edmonton at the beginning of May! Visit www.destinationdancedanse.ca for further details.
Manitoba
The Winnipeg Dance Preservation Initiative is planning its 6th Annual International Dance Day celebration at the Manitoba Legislative Building, April 29th at 12:30 PM. Stephanie Ballard has invited members of the School of Contemporary Dancers Junior Professional Program to perform an excerpt from Winnipeg choreographer Gaile Pertursson-Hiley’s Wedding Waltz.
The Minister of Culture, Heritage and Tourism, Florfina Marcelino will join in on the celebration along with the Manitoba dance community and will honor the mandate of International Dance Day and recognize the Royal Wedding with an event that will embrace the love of dance throughout the world.
Ontario
DanceTO is proud to present an afternoon of FREE dance activities on Sunday May 1, 2011 from 2:30 – 5:30 pm at Yonge-Dundas Square, featuring a variety of dance forms and Toronto-based performers. The square in the heart of the city will be alive with performances, interactive dance presentations, classes and information on an array of dance styles & traditions. Featured guests will be the National Ballet of Canada stars Guillaume Côté and Heather Ogden, who will deliver an International Dance Day address. The Canadian Dance Assembly will also be on sight, so be sure to stop by their special market booth with all sorts of fun dance gear! For more information on Dance in Yonge-Dundas Square and other free dance event in the month of May, please visit: http://dancetoevents.wordpress.com/
Presented by the Dance Ontario Youth Board, young dancers from across the GTA strut their stuff on International Dance Day (April 29) at Pearson International Airport. Performers from Jade’s Hip Hop Academy Performance Company (Hip Hop), Rhythmic Fire Danzers (Salsa, Bachata), Nritya Kala Mandir (Bollywood) Randolph Dance Crew (Tap, Jazz, Contemporary), Keiko Kitano & Dancers (Musical Theatre) and YMI Dancing (Ballet/Modern) dance their way across three stages in Terminals 1 and 3 surprising and delighting travelers arriving and departing from Toronto. There will also be many performances taking place in and around Ontario during this time, please check the Dance Ontario website for information on upcoming shows www.danceontario.ca
Also, catch Canada’s National Ballet School in one of 3 flash mob dances taking place around Toronto. Flash mobs will be held on April 29 at a surprise location, May 11 at the Ontario Science Centre and May 14 at the National Ballet School. For further details visit www.nbs-enb.ca.
Quebec
To convey his message for dance and to publicly announce the launch of the Master plan in June, the new President of the Regroupement québécois de la danse, Marc Boivin, has surrounded himself with over a dozen dancers with a range of experiences and profiles. In preparation for this day of celebration, they have generously combined their talents in order to concoct a memorable and welcoming surprise. The event will occupy the new Espace culturel Georges-Émile-Lapalme at Place des Arts, an exceptionally appropriate meeting space between dance and citizens. This moment of celebration, presented over lunch hour for all those who may pass through the corridors of the Place des Arts, counts on your ample presence, as it is also addressed to the dance community. Marc Boivin and the RQD team invite you, as of 11:30 a.m., in the heart of the Espace culturel Georges-Émile-Lapalme of Place des Arts! For more information visit www.quebecdanse.org.
Nova Scotia
Dance Nova Scotia will host a flash mob and a free salsa lesson in order to get the province moving on International Dance Day. Join in April 29 at 12:10pm, 12:40pm and 1:10pm at the Sackville Landing on the Waterfront. Learn the official Dance Day flash mob dance at: www.dancens.ca
Also be sure to catch exciting performances taking place around that time such as Ballet Jörgen’s Coppélia April 19 or the energetic 605 Collective May 5-7. Find out more details at www.destinationdancedanse.ca
Newfoundland and Labrador
In honour of International Dance Day on April 29, DanceNL is inviting all Newfoundlanders and Labradorians to help celebrate the joy of dance by participating in their three planned activities:
1) The “Dare to Dance” Campaign
Boogie in the backyard. Do the lancers in your living room. Salsa with your sweetie. Do the cha cha with your children. Twirl, leap and spin for five minutes to celebrate dance in all its forms. Participants can also join us on Facebook to tell us of their dance plans for that day.
2) “Random Acts of Dance”
On the days around International Dance Day, the public will unexpectedly — and perhaps with some confusion turning quickly into delight – see people suddenly transform their everyday activities into a flurry of dance. Different types and genres of dance will happen, generally in public places where there are lots of people around. You’ll never know who might suddenly start dancing!
3) A Flash Mob Dance, in cooperation with Canada’s National Ballet School
This dance is one of several following the same choreography that will occur across the country. There are Flash Mobs planned for St. John’s, Gander, Grand Falls-Windsor and Corner Brook.
For more information, visit website www.dancenl.ca or send us an email at: info@dancenl.ca.
The Canadian Dance Assembly is a proud supporter of destination dance~danse, Canada’s first online stop for Canada – wide dance listings. For more detailed listings on International Dance Day activities and performances throughout the country visit www.destinationdancedanse.com. This calendar is provided and maintained by Dance Media Group/Groupe Danse Média, publishers of The Dance Current magazine.
