Newsletter:


Welcome to Volume 1 of the April 2007 bulletin from Dance Umbrella of Ontario's E-List Service.

IN THIS E-LETTER:

Announcements
DUO Seminars
Classes/Workshops
Calls to Artists
Space
Call for Volunteers
Auditions
Jobs
Upcoming Grant Deadlines
Newsletter Achives

If you would like to post an e-listing through our service, please email us your listing to elist@danceumbrella.net.Our E-list will be sent out on the 1st, and the 15th, of each month (or if the date falls on a holiday or weekend, the list will be sent the next business day). Deadline for submissions will be no later than 3 business days prior to the circulation date. The Dance Umbrella reserves the right to determine whether or not a listing is appropriate for dissemination through our e-list. We DO NOT post performance or special event notices.

Announcements

Government Invests New $ in the Arts!
Toronto, March 23, 2007 — The provincial government’s March 22nd  budget contained exciting news for the arts.  The Ontario Arts Council’s annual budget has been increased by $15 million over three years – a 37.5 per cent increase that will take it from the current $40 million to $55 million by 2009-10.
 
Last spring, OAC presented a business case for increased funds to the Ministry of Culture. Over the course of the past year, Ontario’s arts community has been active in its support for additional resources.
 
“We are delighted with the announcement and I congratulate the Minister of Culture, the Honourable Caroline Di Cocco, and her team for their work on behalf of the arts community,” said OAC Chair, Martha Durdin.  “The new funds will improve stability for Ontario’s arts community and at the same time encourage creativity and growth.”
 
Over the next three years, the money will be used to support new and established artists and arts organizations.  It will also support growing needs in the Francophone, Aboriginal, culturally-diverse and regional arts communities.  Arts education, outreach and touring will also receive increases.
 
OAC is embarking on a strategic planning process that will involve consultations with various elements of the arts community around the province.  What we learn from this process will guide our decision-making for the new resources.
 
We will share more information as it becomes available.
 

Professional Arts Left Empty-Handed in Yesterday’s Budget Announcement
The Canadian Dance Assembly and its cultural colleagues were let down Tuesday when the federal government’s 477-page budget document titled ‘Aspire’ lacked serious inspiration for the arts and culture sector.  No new funds were put forward for professional performing arts through the Canada Council for the Arts, or any other means, despite clear recommendations for new investment in cultural infrastructure outlined in the report of the all-party Standing Committee on Finance. 
 
“It is becoming increasingly evident that the Conservative government does not value the important contribution that the professional arts sector makes to Canada's economy, international identity and communities. We see this not only reflected in Monday's budget announcement, but also in the past announcements including cuts to the Department of Foreign Affairs”, comments Jim Smith, CDA President.
 
The CDA continues to work in concert with the Canadian Conference of the Arts and the Canadian Arts Coalition to encourage increased and stable funding for the arts.  Together with other arts organizations across the country, the CDA has promoted the need for the government to make permanent the $30 million increase to the Canada Council’s 2007-2008 budget, announced in May 2006 as well as the suite of programs supported under the ‘Tomorrow Starts Today’ initiative, due to expire in 2009-2010.  Further to securing these time-limited investments, the CDA continues to advocate for additional, long-term investment by increasing the Canada Council’s budget by an additional $100 million annually. 
 
Similarly disappointed reactions have been issued from the CDA’s policy partners.  “It is unfortunate that the Government did not seize this important opportunity to articulate a long-term vision for the arts and culture sector in Canada.  This is an encouraging federal budget, but not an exciting one”, said Alain Pineau, National Director of the Canadian Conference of the Arts. The CCA will prepare a more detailed analysis of the budget, (available sometime in late April / early May), in order to foster informed debate on cultural policy issues. 
 
The Canadian Arts Coalition, in its response to the Budget, has stated that it will continue to work with all parties in Parliament to secure increased sustainable support for the arts through the Canada Council for the Arts.  “Increased and sustainable funding of the arts through the Canada Council is central to building on Canada’s vibrant arts sector and supporting community growth across the country” commented Anne-Marie Jean, Co-Chair of the Canadian Arts Coalition and Executive Director of Culture Montréal.
 
For an overview of Budget 2007 spending allocations, go to http://www.budget.gc.ca/2007/overview/pabage.html. 
 
The Canadian Dance Assembly is the national service organization that supports and represents the interests of the professional dance sector in Canada. 
  -30-
 
For more information contact:
 
Shannon Litzenberger, Manager of Operations
Canadian Dance Assembly ~ L’ Assemblée canadienne de la danse
55 Mill Street, Suite 312, Case Goods Building
Toronto, Ontario  M5A 3C4


 
Federal Budget 2007 falls well short of adopting CCA’s “Creative New Way of Thinking”
[CCA Bulletin 11/07]
From the CDA Bulletin
The Canadian Conference of the Arts (CCA), the largest national forum for the arts and culture sector in Canada, greets [Tuesday]’s 2007 budget announcement by the Minister of Finance, the Hon. Jim Flaherty, with some measure of disappointment.
 
“It is unfortunate that the Government did not seize this important opportunity to articulate a long-term vision for the arts and culture sector in Canada.  This is an encouraging federal budget, but not an exciting one,” says Alain Pineau, National Director of the Canadian Conference of the Arts (CCA).  “The Government has introduced a series of interesting but modest proposals, instead of announcing much-needed new fiscal policy instruments and federal monies for under-resourced programs to invest in the vital contributions made by our working artists and cultural organizations.  What Budget 2007 offers are tentative and disjointed steps, whereas what is needed are some giant leaps forward in how the federal government supports the role our arts and culture play in building a strong economy and society.”
 
Today’s announcement contains the following measures of direct interest to the Canadian arts and culture sector, under the theme of “Strengthening our Culture”:
 
·     $30 million a year over 2 years to support local arts and heritage festivals that “engage Canadians in their communities through the expression, celebration and preservation of local culture”;
·     $5 million a year over 2 years for hiring student internships in museums;
·     $52 million over 2 years for the 2008 Francophonie Summit in Québec;
·     $30 million over 2 years to support official languages in minority communities;
·     Creating “Canada’s National Trust”, based on the successful model of the National Trust in the United Kingdom, which will operate independent of government and encourage Canadians to protect important lands, buildings and national treasures; by its third year in operation, the arms-length Trust’s budget will receive a $5 million annual federal allocation
 
Other announcements of interest include:
 
·     “Exploring the possibility” of new and long-term funding of $500 million per year starting in 2008–09 for labour market training to help Canadians get the training they need through new long-term arrangements. This will be dispended by the provinces as part of addressing “fiscal balance” issues;
·     Allocating $6 billion in combined new funding to the new “Building Canada Fund” (BCF), investments in gateways and border crossings, and the national fund for public-private partnerships, which will leverage private capital to maximize the impact of the Government’s investments; in particular, the BCF will also be open to “small-scale municipal projects such as cultural and recreational facilities”
·     Extending to private foundations the elimination of capital gains tax on donations of publicly-listed securities announced in last year’s budget for public charities.
 
Members and supporters of the CCA should note that, as per usual, we will endeavour to prepare an analysis of the Main Estimates of Budget 2007 upon their release, which will likely be sometime in the next 48-to-72 hours.  Known commonly as “the Mains”, the Government’s Main Estimates provide a much clearer breakdown of allocated spending in the agencies and programs of various departments, such as Canadian Heritage, for example.
 
Additionally, the CCA will once again prepare a more detailed analysis similar in approach to our 2006 piece in order to foster informed debate on cultural policy issues.  This should be available sometime in late April / early May 2007, so stay tuned to CCA Bulletins!
 
Background
 
In its pre-budget brief of September 7 2006 entitled “A Creative New Way of Thinking”, written in response to extensive consultations, the CCA elected to situate its 2006 pre-budget recommendations against the broader canvas of social and economic change in all sectors of Canadian life.  The intent of the CCA's nine recommendations was to encourage a substantive response by the federal government to these fundamental changes that affect, amongst others, hundreds of thousands of Canadians working in the arts and cultural sector.  The following is a summary of the CCA’s nine pre-budget recommendations:
 
1.       The CCA sees the extension of the $ 500 children's physical activity tax credit to include artistic activity as another form of benefit to Canadian families and children, and we urge the Standing Committee on Finance to formally endorse our position.
2.       The CCA recommends that the Standing Committee endorse the benefits of taxation measures to support creativity such as a minimum $ 30 K exemption on revenue deriving from copyright and residual payments, and tax exemption to grants to individual artists and creators.
3.       The CCA recommends that a constructive approach be taken by the government to resolve the inequity in EI and CPP programs for self-employed workers.
4.       At a minimum, the CCA recommends that the Standing Committee discuss the ongoing issue of income averaging with officials from the Department of Finance to determine if a new system could be developed. The CCA also requests that the basic personal deduction limit for self-employed Canadians be raised to $10K.
5.       The CCA supports requests for further increases in the budget of the Canada Council and asks that the increase of $ 30 million to the Council's 2007-08 budget announced in the May 2006 federal budget be made permanent.
6.       The CCA asks the Standing Committee to ensure that it understands the unique funding needs of each of the PCH's cultural agencies and institutions and address them.
7.       The CCA encourages the Minister of Finance and the Standing Committee to address the funding situation of the federal museum and heritage institutions in the upcoming federal budget, as well as the urgency of the development and implementation of a new federal museums policy.
8.       The CCA calls upon the Standing Committee to recommend placing the Canadian Heritage's “Tomorrow Starts Today” suite of programs on a permanent funding basis and expand matching fund programs to complement the changes in the capital gains tax treatment announced in Budget 2006.
9.       The CCA recommends that in its report to the Minister of Finance, the Standing Committee address the concern about over-accountability burden of not for profit and charitable organizations concerning the public financial support they get.
 
The Canadian Conference of the Arts (CCA) was particularly satisfied that many of our policy priorities were taken up in the December 7 report by the Standing Committee on Finance.  The CCA is disappointed, however, that the Government did not include any of our nine policy proposals in its 2007-08 Budget.


 
Canadian Arts Coalition Disappointed with Federal Budget Vows to Keep Up Pressure for Sustainable Arts Funding
From the CDA Bulletin
The Canadian Arts Coalition is disappointed that [Tuesday]’s federal budget did not adequately address funding for the professional arts. However, the Coalition will continue to work with all parties in Parliament to secure increased sustainable support for the arts through the Canada Council for the Arts.
 
“The government had an opportunity in this budget to extend sustainable support of the arts by making permanent its one-time $30 million allotment of funds to the Canada Council,” said Micheline Mckay, Co-Chair of the Coalition and Executive Director of Opera.ca. “We are disappointed that the government did not seize this opportunity, a recommendation advanced by the Coalition andsupported by the Standing Committee on Finance which consists of MPs of all parties.
 
“It is heartening that $60 million over two years has been earmarked for arts and heritage festivals,” Ms McKay continued. “But this will not foster the creation, development and production of new works and talent.” 
 
“Increased and sustainable funding of the arts through the Canada Council is central to building on Canada’s vibrant arts sector and supporting community growth across the country,” commented Anne-Marie Jean, Co-Chair of the Canadian Arts Coalition and Executive Director of Culture Montréal “The Coalition will keep up its advocacy with government and will work to ensure that support of the arts is a prominent issue in the next federal election campaign. It is essential that the contribution made by the arts to our communities is fully understood and recognized.”
 
The Coalition has called on the federal government to make this $30 million increase to the Canada Council permanent and, over time, to invest in stable, long term funding that increases the Canada Council’s budget by an additional $100 million annually.
 
The Canadian Arts Coalition is the largest group of artists, arts executives and business leaders ever assembled from across the country who are united in the view that greater public investment in the arts through the Canada Council for the Arts is essential to Canada’s future. Arts and cultural organizations include opera, orchestras, visual arts, theatre, magazines, museums, writers and dance, among others.



Deconstructing the Federal Budget 2007 from a cultural point of view
[CCA Bulletin 12/07]
From the CDA Bulletin
A second look at Monday’s budget
For the past two days, since Budget Day in the House of Commons, the CCA has been looking at the Government’s Main Estimates for 2007-08. The Main Estimates are the projected spending of the federal government in all government departments and agencies for any given fiscal year. This is where the Budget starts to make concrete sense and where close scrutiny reveals whether the money announced is new or not or whether apparent cuts have been transformed into reallocations to new minted programs, suited to new needs or to the government’s political agenda.
 
For the second year in a row, the Federal Government has released its Main Estimates a few weeks before it tabled its budget.  In previous years, the Main Estimates were released after the federal budget and provided a complete outline of government’s expenses, including items from the freshly-minted federal budget.
 
The Main Estimates for 2007-2008 were tabled on February 27 2007, well in advance of the March 19, 2007 federal budget announcement by the Hon. Jim Flaherty.  As was the case last year, we can expect to see further details on spending reflected in the Supplementary Estimates which will not be made public until the fall, as part of the overall economic update. This means that the full government’s budgetary intentions will remain unclear until next September or October, a reason for hope or concern, depending on where you sit.
 
A required mechanism of government, Supplementary Estimates have the added advantage of delaying decisions you don’t want to take or announce on Budget Day. For instance, the government could decide to make up for ignoring in Monday’s budget the needs of Canadian museums and finally announce it will implement a policy it supported when it was in opposition. Alternatively, Canada’s New Government may decide not to do as in the past few years, namely not to make up the some $60 million cut to the budget of the CBC through the Supplementary Estimates process. Thankfully, at the moment of going to press, we learn that Minister Oda has announced the renewal of this paltry 60 million dollars, for the next two years. At least, this will save several months of uncertainty not only for the CBC, but for all artists, creators, producers who depend on this financing to do their work.
 
What then do this year’s current Main Estimates tell us at first look? 
First, they confirm the first impression that if the government has a strategy for the cultural sector in Canada, it has not started to implement it. While there are laudable items in the budget concerning culture in the broadest sense of the word, and while there is a concern for grassroot financing and for involving the private sector, there is no obvious plan or policy the announced expenditures can be linked to, nor any long term commitment to anything, all allocations having a maximum lifespan of two years.
 
The main example of this is with the much heralded 2006 increases to the budget of the Canada Council for the Arts which, for the time being, appear to be no more than truly one-time increases.  Not only that, but the Council could see a further reduction to its budget after 2010 if the suite of programs in the Tomorrow Starts Today (TST) envelope is not renewed.  There is still little clue to the fate of these programs over the long term in either the budget or the Main Estimates.
 
The two-year commitment to the Canadian Television Fund made by Minister Oda during the recent crisis is limited to precisely that and at a level which has not been reviewed since its inception in 1996.
 
The Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade has not seen fit to supplement the public diplomacy funds for cultural relations.  The program lost funds in the last round of the billion dollar reallocation exercise in fall 2006, turning Canada’s posts abroad into fundraisers to support cultural programming and relations around the world, including our missions in London, Tokyo, Paris, Berlin, and Washington to name but a few.  These cuts have an impact on the ability of Canadian artists and arts organizations to develop foreign audiences and markets, which is an important dimension of attaining a broadened financial base for their long-term health and sustainability.
 
The new $30 million program for local arts festivals and special events was a surprise to many, though it is not immediately clear which department will be responsible for the administration of the program nor what the nature and details of the criteria of eligibility for these funds are.
 
And finally on the taxation side, nothing in the 2007 budget to ensure equity for self-employed Canadians, a growing segment of the population where one traditionally finds large numbers of artists and creators.
 
What next?
There are a few remaining questions hovering in the wake of the budget that may still have an impact on federal spending programs and agencies that support Canadian arts and culture.  First and foremost – is the billion dollar reallocation exercise, announced in the 2006-07 federal budget as a two-year process, still in place?  Has the target amount shifted? Not clear at the moment.
 
The CCA will be following these and other 2007 budget issues very closely on your behalf.  As answers emerge, we will continue to share information with its members and supporters via our bulletins.  As a new initiative to provide and share information, within the next few days we will organize two conference calls to give an overview of the situation and answer questions as best we can. Keep an eye on your email for the details.
 
Also, as previously indicated, the CCA will strive to answer all outstanding issues and questions as it works to prepare its more detailed analysis of this year’s federal budget, a document which should be available by late April / early May.
 
Tell Me More…
In the Canadian Heritage Portfolio, here are some standouts:
 
The budget of the Department of Canadian Heritage (DCH) declines from $1,384,631,000.00 to $1,363,015,00.00, which is a decline of close to $22 million;
Creation of Canadian Content and Performance Excellence – an increase from $297,000,000.00 to $ 341,080,000.00;
Sustainability of Cultural Expression and Participation – a decrease from $281,000,000.00  to $ 210,633,000.00;
Community Development and Capacity Building – a decrease from $42,143,700.00 to $ 35,644,933.00;
Grants in Support of the Multiculturalism Program – a decrease from $42,134,700.00 to $35,644,933.00;
Canadian Television Fund – an increase from $ 99,550,000.00 to $119,950,000.00
Book Industry Development Program – an increase from $19,460,242.00 to  $27,460,242.00;
National Arts Training Program – a decrease from $15,903,920.00 to $10,709,000.00;
Court Challenges Program – a decrease from $2,802,076.00 to $100,000.00;
Exchanges Canada Program – a decrease from $17,894,389.00 to $11,712,389.00;
Celebrate Canada! Activities (Canada Day Celebrations) – a major increase from $1,352,600.00 to $15,988,600.00.

 
The Main Estimates have also re-ordered some programs.  At first glance it would seem that major cuts have been made, only to find the difference under another program heading with the same target community.
 
The Department of Canadian Heritage Portfolio Agencies are also included in this section of the Main Estimates, some highlights are:
 
the additional $30 million to the budget of the Canada Council for the Arts is included, honouring the commitment of the 2006-07 federal budget to increase on a non-recurrent basis the budget of the Council over two fiscal years, ending March 31 2008;
the budget of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation has declined from $1,112,039,000.00 last year to $1,043,953,000.00 for 2007-08;
the Museum of Nature’s allocation rises from $59,145,000.00 to $84,221,000.00, the increase is to cover capital costs associated with the ongoing renovation of the museum;
the National Arts Centre (NAC) sees an increase from $33,283,00.00 to $35,216,000.00;
the National Film Board (NFB) appropriation is to rise from $64,839,00.00, to $67,118,000.00;
Telefilm Canada sees a decrease from $125,042,00.00 to $104,649,000.00, which is likely a technical adjustment related to the Canadian Television Fund increase (see above)

At the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade (DFAIT), the CCA sees a further decrease in the grants dedicated to cultural relations to $4,694,000.00 from $7,894,000.00 due to the contribution made through the billion dollar reallocation exercise announced on September 25 2006. However, academic relations saw a decrease in their granting program from $13,550,000.00 to $10,510,000.00, though this was accompanied by another infusion of $2,170,000.00 in the contributions listings.


 
CCA Intervention on Proposed “Code of Conduct for Procurement”, plus Important Announcements
[CCA Bulletin 10/07]
From the CDA Bulletin
Further to the previous Bulletin 08/07, the Canadian Conference of the Arts (CCA) recently sent a letter to the Hon. Michael Fortier, Minister of Public Works and Government Services Canada, as part of the Government’s online consultation regarding a new “Code of Conduct for Procurement”.  The CCA’s March 5 letter is in keeping with the organization’s three-point position on this issue, approved by the board at our February 17-18 meetings in Ottawa, which is a follows:
 
That the federal government commit to procuring work from Canadian cultural workers and suppliers;
That when the federal government is contracting artists, it is expected that such contracts be guided by the provisions of the federal Status of the Artist Act;
That in keeping with the recent Blue Ribbon Panel’s Report on Grants and Contributions, the objective for accountability and transparency not create a barrier for Canadian artists, creators, and their organizations to fulfill their mandate.

 
Report on CCA Policy and Advocacy 2006-07 Priorities and publication of the 2007-08 priorities
[CCA Bulletin 09/07]
From the CDA Bulletin
Just the Facts…
As the Canadian Conference of the Arts looks back at its National Policy Conference held just one year ago in early March 2006, this exercise provides us with the opportunity to report on the progress the organization has achieved in dealing with the priorities that conference delegates recommended to the CCA Board of Governors:
 
increased and stable funding for the arts and culture sector,
equity for artists, creators, and arts professionals,
Canadian content and ownership regulation in the cultural industries,
Cultural diversity and youth engagement
Federal election readiness.

 
Over the past year, the CCA has engaged all five areas of concern: a full report on activities can be found on our web site.
 
The first three policy and advocacy issues have taken us into places that may seem sometimes foreign to the traditional approaches to seeking increased and stable funding for the arts and culture sector. So today, we thought we would connect the dots, explain why preoccupations with the Canadian audiovisual sector are so prominent these days and publish the new list of CCA policy priorities for 2007-08 recently approved by the Board of Governors.
 
Tell Me More
The CCA is a member of the Canadian Arts Coalition requesting substantial and permanent increases to the budget of the Canada Council beyond the one-time, over two years $50M increase of the last federal budget. Increasing Canada’s investment in cultural creativity across the country through the Council is a fundamental tool for the government to ensure that there is such a thing as a distinctive Canadian culture to promote at home and abroad.
 
But there are other crucial ways of supporting the Canadian cultural sector and the Board of Governors of the CCA has instructed the Secretariat to address them in various ways throughout the year. This has led us, through the pre-budget consultation process, to press for increased funding to various Heritage Portfolio agencies and Crown Corporations; for an adequately funded new museums policy, for making Tomorrow Starts Today a permanent program, for copyright and residual revenue exemption, for so-called “soft” social benefits for artists and creators, etc…
 
Book and magazine publishers, sound recording artists and producers, film, video, and new media producers also enjoy access to a suite of funding programs at the Department of Canadian Heritage (DCH) that are seen to be critical to their survival and their success.
 
Many will have noticed that the audiovisual cultural sub-sector has mobilized a lot of our energy over the past year. In a sense, this is not surprising since it is under the provisions of the Broadcasting Act that we find the most clearly stated cultural objectives of Canadian society as a nation and it is under the same Act that the federal government has by far its largest financial impact on Canadian culture. Appropriations to the CBC, funding for Telefilm, the National Film Board, contributions to the Canadian Television Fund, these investments in Canadian cultural expression far outstrip any other financial implication Ottawa has in the Canadian cultural sector.
 
All of these broadcasters, independent producers, cable, satellite companies and other broadcast distribution undertakings also pay royalties and residual payments to artists, creators, and copyright owners to compensate them for the public use of their work.  The precise amount is difficult to nail down but it is easily in the hundreds of millions of dollars.
 
Finally, it is in this sector that we witness tectonic plate movements which may rip apart the current system without any clear vision of where we are going in terms of the cultural objectives set by Parliament. Over the past year, large issues have indeed loomed over the audiovisual cultural sector which place serious pressure on the ecology of increased and stable funding for the arts and culture sector at large.
 
The recent Canadian Television Fund crisis, the upcoming mega-mergers in the sector, the revision of the mandate of the CBC, the still awaited CRTC “over-the air” Television Policy, the issues of concentration of ownership and of foreign ownership of the backbone of our audiovisual sector, the review role and performance of the regulator in supporting the objectives of the Broadcasting Act, all these events are taking place or about to take place against the backdrop of radical changes in the ways young Canadians are accessing the most widely consumed forms of cultural expression, and in a policy universe where, according to the Telecommunications Policy Review Panel,
 
The convergence of telecommunications and broadcasting markets brings into question the continued viability of maintaining two separate policy and regulatory frameworks, one for the telecommunications common carriers like the incumbent telephone companies and one for their competitors in most of the same markets, the cable telecommunications companies.
 
To complete the scene, after a six month study on the impact of new media on traditional broadcasting ordered by Cabinet, the CRTC has recently restated its1999 decision that new media need not be regulated. The very same new media are evoked in diverse forums to justify the positions raised by broadcasters, cable operators and conglomerates to deregulate the system put in place over the past century, with a patchwork of disconnected decisions being taken.
 
What strikes the observer of all this is that piece by piece, events are taking place in a seemingly disjointed and not always public process, a cause of concerns for many of the parties involved and for all Canadians who may remember what happened to our film industry when we let go of our distribution system in the 1920’s.
 
Faced with this, the CCA has taken a number of steps which will be detailed in a Bulletin coming out next week. For now, let us talk about our priorities for the coming year
 
CCA’s policy and advocacy priorities for 2007-08
At its February 2007 meeting, the Board of the CCA revisited the policy and advocacy priorities for 2007-08.  It is quite clear that priorities have not changed much, not much having moved forward in the current unstable political federal environment.
 
The CCA 2007-08 Action Plan will be articulated around five broad policy priorities:
 
1.         Increasing the levels of federal government investment in the arts and culture sector
2.         Advancing the socio-economic status of artists, creators and other arts professionals
3.         Enhancing the support for the production and distribution of Canadian cultural products at home and around the world
4.       Affirming the role of the federal government in arts and culture policy
5.       Developing cultural diversity at home and abroad
 
A detailed description of these priorities can be found on CCA’s @gora.

 
 
Artists to gather in Ottawa March 27-28 for Canada Council anniversary celebration
From the CDA Bulletin
Fifty of Canada’s most outstanding artists – including writers Michael Ondaatje, Yann Martel and Nicole Brossard, visual artists Mary Pratt and Joe Fafard, actors/directors Martha Henry and Albert Millaire, and dancers/choreographers Marie Chouinard and John Alleyne – will be in Ottawa on March 27-28 to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Canada Council for the Arts.
 
The Canada Council, Canada’s national arts funding agency, was created by Parliament on March 28, 1957, and the Council has designated Wednesday, March 28, 2007 as “A Day of the Arts”.  
 
Each of the 50 artists will represent a different year in the Canada Council’s history, from actor Jean-Louis Roux (1957) to violinist Marc Djokic (2006). The artists will come from across the country, and from all areas of the arts.
 
Highlights of the Day for the Arts will include:
 
A reception hosted by the Speaker of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Commons on March 27 for Parliamentarians and representatives of the arts community (by invitation only).
 
A mentoring conference with aspiring artists from high schools, universities and colleges in the National Capital region. The students will have an opportunity to interact with the artists in plenary sessions and workshops and learn what it is like to make a career in the arts. The conference will take place on March 28 from 10 a.m. to 12:30 in the Panorama and Fountain rooms of the National Arts Centre, and will include an informal lunch. This event is open to the media and will include a photo opportunity with the participating artists.

Recognition of the artists in the House of Commons on March 28.
 
A dinner at Rideau Hall on March 28, hosted by Her Excellency the Right Honourable Michaëlle Jean, Governor General of Canada, and Mr. Jean-Daniel Lafond (by invitation only).
 
Karen Kain, Chair of the Canada Council and Artistic Director of the National Ballet of Canada, will participate in the activities and speak at the mentoring conference.
 
A full list of the participating artists will be available upon request as of March 26. For further information, or to arrange interviews, contact Donna Balkan at 613-566-4414 ext 4134 or Carole Breton at 613-566-4414 ext. 4523.
 

“Les États généraux des arts et de la culture” in Caraquet, NB May 2-6 2007
[CCA Bulletin 10/07]
From the CDA Bulletin
From May 2 to 6, 2007, more than 600 delegates are expected to attend “Les États généraux des arts et de la culture” in Caraquet, New Brunswick.
 
This historical event will bring together the results of all the preparatory work that has taken place during the past year in the context of these « États généraux ». Through this convergence of ideas, citizens, organizations and governments who have taken part in the process will report on the work they have done, confirm some orientations and launch the implementation of a strategic plan to ensure a better integration of arts and culture in the Acadian community of New Brunswick. This cultural gathering will favour networking and cross-pollination of ideas between all arts and culture communities not only in New-Brunswick and the Atlantic region, but also across Canada and the international francophone communities. Through the 2007 Eloizes Awards Gala organized by the New Brunswick Acadian professional artists’ association, this Great Gathering will also be a major cultural event celebrating and promoting Acadian artists and their accomplishments.  
 
 
Registration is open for Canadian non-members of IETM
As many of you already know, spring will be hot in Montreal! IETM’s 31st Annual Spring Plenary Meeting will take place in Montreal, from May 30 to June 3, 2007. Under the theme of Cultural Warming, it will be held alongside the first edition of the new Festival TransAmériques (May 23 – June 7). Please note that a pre-meeting activity in Quebec City is also scheduled on May 29.
 
Registration is now open for members and Canadian individuals and representatives of organizations, non-members of IETM, who wish to participate and discover the network. Special rates in four hotels, near the meeting’s venues, are now also available.

Please read the full text of this letter and click on the following links for practical information concerning hotels, transportation, meeting venues, registration, etc.. All the information is posted on this website (www.ietm.org) in the Meetings section. There is a secured registration site and Canadian participants, non-members of IETM, will be able to pay the fees in Canadian dollars.

The meeting is open to all IETM members and, on a one-time-only basis, to non-members, individuals and representatives of professional organizations who are interested in joining the network and who wish to have more information about it before becoming a member.

More info about the activities coming up in April! Also, don't miss our new complimentary website at www.ietmmontreal2007.org.
 

The Dance Section welcomes William Lau as Program Officer
From the CDA Bulletin
William Lau was born in Hong Kong and raised in Montreal. A graduate from York University’s Master of Fine Arts program in dance in 1991, he was trained in Chinese traditional dance, Western classical ballet and the Peking Opera. William was the founder and the Artistic Director of the Montreal Society of Chinese Performing Arts (1979-1986) and the Little Pear Garden Collective (1994-2007). Under his leadership, the collective developed and promoted the richness of Chinese dance and opera to a wide range of audiences nationally and internationally as well as training and mentoring of a new generation of Chinese-Canadian dance artists. William also bridged Chinese performing arts to the mainstream professional communities for the past 25 years by conducting workshops, lectures and demonstrations at various academic institutions and artistic companies as well as museums and cultural organizations. He also pushed the boundaries of traditional arts practices by collaborating with professional artists of different artistic disciplines and diverse cultural backgrounds.
 
William is a recognized artist who has a deep passion for the arts. He also has solid management and program development skills.  His professional experience includes arts administration, production, scholarly research, advisory and advocacy work. His research papers have been presented at conferences in Canada, Mexico, Hong Kong, and England.  William served on many Boards and Committees including the Canadian Conference of the Arts, the Toronto Arts Council, Dance Ontario, the Laidlaw Foundation and the Cultural Human Resources Council.  He has worked at the Canada Council for the Arts, the Canadian Commission for UNESCO, Canadian Heritage, and the Arts Council of Great Britain. 
 
William Lau can be reached at:
(613) 566-4414 ext. 5502
1 800 263 5588 ext. 5502
william.lau@canadacouncil.ca 

 




 

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DUO Seminars

How to Find and Keep Good Volunteers
Volunteers are essential for the success of any dance organization. But it is difficult to find and retain good volunteers. In response to this concern, DUO and TAPA are presenting a seminar lead by Bob McCarthy on volunteer management in the performing arts.

Bob McCarthy has managed volunteers for the Toronto International Film Festival, the HOT DOCS International Documentary Film Festival, and CanStage Theatre. He has also served as consultant for Dublin International Film Festival, Sundance Film Festival, the Canadian Magazine Publishers Association, the Ontario Arts Council, and the Dubia Film Festival. Bob will be leading this seminar on how find, motivate, integrate and retain good volunteers.

The seminar will be held Thursday, April 26, 2007, 1:00 – 4:00PM at the TAPA, Suite 210, 215 Spadina Avenue. The registration fee is $15. To register, call Slade Lander at 416.504.6429 extension 21 or e-mail slade@danceumbrella.net.

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Classes/Workshops

News from Downward Dog Yoga Centre
Enrollment in these classes is limited; please register in advance to ensure a spot.

We require a minimum of 48 hours notice to cancel registration in any workshop.
Workshop fees are non-refundable after this point.
Please note that there is a 10% administration fee for workshops fees refunded with 48 hours notice.

Save your Knees with Ron Reid
Friday, April 6
This workshop will be devoted to the understanding of hip rotation and knee stabilization. Learning to distinguish between these actions will make for happier hips and knees.
Level 1 up
Time: 2:00 pm to 5:00 pm
Cost: $40
Location: Downtown

Learning to Love Backbends with Ron Reid
Saturday, April 7
Backbends take us to a place that is unfamiliar and challenging. By deepening our understanding of key actions we will find a way to embrace them.
Level 1 up.
Time: 2:00 pm to 5:00 pm
Cost: $40
Location: Downtown

Pranayama + Meditation Workshop with Ron Reid and Marla Meenakshi Joy
"From the river of pranayama to the ocean of meditation"
Sunday, April 8
Let the flow of the breath and the various techniques to "ayama" (expand), the "prana" (life force/breath), give you a practice that calms and focuses the mind, leading naturally and effortlessly into meditation.
Time: 2:00 pm to 5:00 pm
Cost: $40
Location: Downtown

The Wheels of Life with Marla Meenakshi Joy
Friday, April 13
This workshop is an introduction to the energetic body from the Indian perspective, exploring nadi's (subtle nerve channels in the body), chakra's (energetic centres/plexuses), and kosha's (sheaths) through the study of their original appearances in the yoga scriptures, using the practices of chanting, meditation, visualization and yoga nidra.
Time: 6:00 pm to 9:00 pm
Cost: $30
Location: Downtown

Arm Balances and Inversions with David Robson
Saturday Sunday, April 14-15
In these workshops we will examine some of yoga's most challenging asanas, breaking down each posture to make it more accessible and controlled. Using partner-assists, special tips and techniques, this workshop will soon have you hovering on your hands.
Time: 2:30pm to 4:30pm
Cost: $30 each day; $50 for both
Location: Beach

The Anatomy of Hatha Yoga with Dr. Ray Long
Saturday Sunday, April 21-22
Join Dr. Ray Long, orthopedic surgeon and author of The Key Muscles of Hatha Yoga for an in-depth exploration of the anatomy of hatha yoga. Our discussion will be accompanied by Chris Macivor's interactive 3-D illustrations, allowing us to visually isolate muscles, or see what a pose looks like from inside the skeleton, as we talk. Will include some asana.
Time: 2:30pm to 7:00pm each day
Cost: Sat. Sun. $70 each; Full weekend $130
Location: Beach

Intro to Ayurveda and Yoga Part II: Ayurvedic Principles of Asana and Daily Routine for Yogis with Matthew Remski
Friday, April 27
This two part workshop is supported with a 60-page student manual, including supplementary reading.
Topics covered include:

• balancing the doshas: diet, exercise, work, relationships, and climate appropriate to your constitution
• the internal fire: digestion as a key to health
• intro to daily regimes (dinacharya)
• cleansing practices: daily and seasonal
• the ayurvedic model of exercise and rules of moderation to avoid injury
• how asana practice (postures, style, and effort) can aggravate health or mental patterning as much help it (ie. should pitta ever do 'hot yoga'? what it the effect of ashtanga vinyasa on vatta constitutions?)
• special herbs for yoga practice and meditation: intro
• ayurveda and the mind: the mental affects of the doshas, and enhancing sattva guna
• ulimate results of balanced ahara (intake) and vihara (lifestyle): how the creation of pure tissues leads to overall immunity and the ability to practice yoga
  

CLASS SCHEDULE

Adult Ballet for the Absolute Beginner I * No previous dance experience is needed!
Monday evenings from 8 -9:30 p.m. from May 7 – June 25, 2007 p.m. - 8 classes for  $96.00.
Saturday afternoons from 3:15 – 4:30  p.m. May 5- June 30, 2007 - 9 classes for $108.00. 
 
Adult Ballet for the Absolute Beginner I I * For students who have taken the Absolute Beginner’s Class I or who have had some previous experience with ballet or other dance.
Saturday afternoons from 1:45 – 3:15  p.m. May 5- June 30, 2007 - 9 classes for $108.00. 
Elementary Ballet  I
* For students who have taken the Absolute Beginner’s Class II  or who have had some previous experience with ballet.
 
Monday evenings from 6:30 – 8 p.m. from May 7 – June 25 p.m. - 8 classes for  $96.00.
For The More Experienced Beginner:
 Wednesday mornings from 10 - 11:30 a.m. from May 2 – June 27, 2007 - 9 classes for $108.00
***NEW**** Wednesday evenings  from  7:30 – 9 p.m. from May 2 – June 27, 2007 - 9 classes for $108.00
Friday evenings from 6 -7:30 p.m. from May 4 – June 29, 2007 – 9 classes for $108.00.
*** NEW **** Ballet for the New MOM: Get back into shape. Get those abs working again. Improves strength, flexibility, endurance and co-ordination. Lowers stress. Preparation for those “terrible two’s!” Steal an hour or two for yourself and have fun!
 Wednesday mornings from 10 - 11:30 a.m. from May 2 – June 27, 2007 - 9 classes for $108.00
Individual Coaching/Personal Training
Individual instruction for those who prefer exclusive and private sessions or have no time to fit a class into their busy schedules. Trouble-shooting for the professional dancer who wants to target their individual needs, stand-out at auditions and develop their uniqueness and artistry.
 Donna Greenberg teacher, choreographer, and artistic director of Ballet Espressivo has been teaching for over twenty-five years. Benefit from her vast knowledge of techniques and artistic flair. Private classes are arranged on an individual basis at a mutually agreeable time. 
*** NEW **** Singing for Dancers & Actors
Preparing for an audition. No vocal training. Feeling awkward and scared.
Get that song up to scratch! Sing with confidence and capture their hearts.
Donna Greenberg - Singer, choreographer & former dancer can help you sell that song! 647.294.0784 or email donnagreenberg@balletespressivo.com
 
All students must pre-register to ensure their place in the class. Classes are very popular and are kept small, so individual attention is possible and early registration is encouraged. All classes are held at The Studio Pilates 65 Wellesley St. E. Suite 405. Please register by email info@balletespressivo.com <mailto:info@balletespressivo.com> or phone 647.294.0784.
 


1 Day Intensive
for Movement Professionals and Serious Students of Movement
body mind movement education
Move the Mind
with
Zeta Gaudet
Engage the Body

This full day intensive will explore the use of arcs and curves in space and how aligning with them will greatly enhance your ability to create a relationship with the space around you. Understand how to use this imagery and experience its effects on your ability to find balance and mobile ease.

It is never about losing your balance but rather how quickly and comfortably you regain it.

The effects of being constantly off balance are felt when pain and discomfort arises in our being. This may take place during the common act of walking if tension is created to compensate for a weakness or misalignment. In order to find comfortable mobility one must become conscious
of when and how this balance is being lost.

As a teacher of movement you may find yourself overextending your actions during class in hopes that by making it bigger and more energetic the student will receive the information with clarity. This is far from being true. In fact, when we as teachers demonstrate this we are throwing ourselves off balance in all realms. This makes it difficult for the students as they follow suit and do the same. This constant state of off balance causes excessive tension and discomfort systemically.

Splashing excessive energy outward draws attention to the outside edges of the movement rather than its point of origin. The intention is lost and becomes confusing if we voice one thing and demonstrate another.

If we seek clarity, ease and mobile balance we must invite these into our movement repertoire. When the movements that we model are uncluttered and hold integrity they bring support and clarity to our students. Our energy is recycled without splashing outward in space and our
ability to stay calm and balanced is greatly enhanced. The student is drawn into the centre of the movement and is able to expand in their own sphere with comfort.

Intensive Content
We will explore the image of large arcs in space and how these are expressed as spiral movements when they reach the body. Once you capture this image you will gain a deeper understanding of how to execute power moves and alter movement dynamics with calm intent and clarity.

We will play with shapes (multiple bone alignments), a mobile base of support, and connections in space. Experience spatial awareness and engage in three dimensional movement with ease and balance. This includes melting into the floor, playing, and returning to standing with fluid control.

We will focus on using the back of the body to generate forward and backward momentum. Learn how to adapt your existing movement vocabulary to include moving into the space behind you.

Once these concepts are embodied you will learn to carve space with the extremities and adjust the timing of your movement. Transmit with clarity and receive simultaneously as you embrace a
life of movement ease.

Intensive
June 3
8:00am - 11:30am
1:00pm - 4:30pm

Price
Before May 3rd $155 (intensive only); $165 (includes master
class)
After May 3rd $165 (intensive only); $175 (includes master class)
all prices include gst

Master Class
(everyone welcome)
June 3
5 - 6:30pm
Pre-reg. required by May 28
$20

Location :
Markham Taekwondo Academy
8261 Woodbine Ave.,
Unit 202
Unionville

Registration
Intensive - Non refundable deposit of $75 is required. Balance due on arrival. Please make cheque payable to Zeta Gaudet and mail to :
Box 1914
Gibsons B.C.
VON IVO

Master Class - Pre-reg. required by May 28
contact Sandy Feldstein at 905-731-0673 or email
felsand@rogers.com

zeta@puremotion.ca
www.puremotion.ca
604-886-6642


Arts Consultants Canada/Consultants canadiens en arts (ACCA)
is pleased to present on May 28th its inaugural professional development symposium, Arts Consulting and Intellectual Property.

The symposium will explore the legal implications of Canadian copyright law for arts consultants, examining issues such as:
· Do we own our written work (research, reports, etc.)?
· Under which terms and conditions does our intellectual property, in whole or in part, belong to the client?                                               
· How can we protect our intellectual property?

Date:              Monday, May 28, 2007
Time:             3 :30 to 5 :30pm
Location:      The Spoke Club, 600 King Street West, Toronto
(Tel: 416-368-8448)
Cost:              ACCA Members - $25; Non-members - $45

An Agenda for the event, including speakers, is attached.

Plan to attend ACCA’s Annual General Meeting immediately following the symposium from 5:45 – 6:15 p.m., then network with your colleagues at a wine and cheese reception beginning at 6:15 p.m.

To register, contact Megan Hamilton at megan@barlowandassociates.com, 44 Charles Street West, #5005, Toronto, Ontario - Tel: 416-921-0208.  Cheques should be made payable to “Arts Consultants Canada”.

Arts Consultants Canada (ACCA) is an association for consultants working in the arts and cultural sector in Canada. With a head office in Toronto, ACCA holds a network of members across the country working in Canada’s official languages.

ACCA supports the development of a community of practice among professional arts consultants through networking and professional development opportunities. We serve the arts and cultural sector by promoting the use of experienced consultants and recommending qualifications, ethics and practices in arts consulting.


Since its establishment in 2005, ACCA has defined a set of objectives and values with the view of promoting the organization, development and ratification of a Code of Professional Conduct in the arts, and determining set criteria for acceptance of members. There are currently over 30 members from across Canada, and applications from established consultants are both encouraged and welcomed.

www.artsconsultants.ca <http://www.artsconsultants.ca>




SALSA FUNDAMENTALS
This course is where it all begins for the beginner salsa dance enthusiast. No prior salsa dance experience is expected or needed. In these dance classes the student, male or female, will learn the fundamental principles of partnering, dance floor etiquette, timing, basic footwork, full & half turns, and useful salsa dance patterns.

WHERE: Metro Movement Dance Studios
833 Broadview Ave, 2nd floor
www.metromovement.com
WHEN: 6 FRIDAYS FROM APRIL 20 - JUNE 1 (no class May 18)
6:30 - 7:30pm $75.00 +gst ($79.50)
HOW: Call now to register!!! 416-463-9174
I hope to see you there for this exciting new class!
Sam



the 509 DANCE collective
professional modern dance classes
April teaching calendar

509 DANCE collective is an open, drop-in modern dance class for professional and pre-professional dancers.
Classes are held Monday to Friday, 10:00am-11:30am.
Location: 509 DANCE (509 Parliament Street)

A variety of instructors will teach the classes, with live musical accompaniment.
Cost: $10.00/full class, $6.00/barre only, $90.00/10-class card.
For more information, please contact Laura Kappel at 416-924-5657.
website: www.ccdt.org

Teacher Schedule
April 2007
02-Mon- Sasha Ivanochko
03-Tue-Allison Cummings
04-Wed-Sylvie Bouchard
05-Thu-Sylvie Bouchard
06-Fri-Closed
09-Mon-Closed
10-Tue-Julia Sasso SRT
11-Wed-Kate Alton
12-Thu-Julia Sasso
13-Fri-Sylvie Bouchard
16-Mon-Kate Alton
17-Tue-Kenny Pearl
18-Wed-Sasha Ivanochko
19-Thu-Julia Sasso
20-Fri-Sasha Ivanochko
23-Mon-Kenny Pearl
24-Tue-Johanna Bergfeldt
25-Wed-Kenny Pearl
26-Thu-Johanna Bergfeldt
27-Fri-Allison Cummings
30-Mon-Sasha Ivanochko

Laura Kappel
School Administrator
School of CCDT
509 Parliament Street
Toronto, Ontario
M4X 1P3
416-924-5657



Expressive Arts Dance Workshop
Expand your personal movement style through an interdisciplinary approach involving dance, voice and painting
No previous dance experience is needed

May 5th and 6th
Sat, 11:00am - 6:00pm
Sun, 11:00am - 5:00pm

The Dovercourt Penthouse
805 Dovercourt Rd
Toronto

Facilitated by Kathleen Rea
Kathleen Rea has a Master's degree in Expressive Arts from EGS and ISIS-Canada. She has a private practice and works as an arts-therapist at various agencies in the Toronto area. Kathleen's career in dance (National Ballet Company of Canada, Tiroler Landestheatre) and choreography inspires her use of the body and its movements in her work as a therapist.

Fee
$150 - payment by April 15th
$180.00 - payment by April 30th
$200.00 - regular

Registration
416-545-1515
dance@kathleenrea.com

www.flowintolife.com <http://www.flowintolife.com/>
www.reasondetre.com <http://www.reasondetre.com/>



I have two levels of classes starting April 10th and continuing into May….
7:00-8:00 p.m.:
Intro to West Coast Swing –
This is the 'no experience necessary' place to start for absolute Beginners, or anyone who wants to brush up on their Basics, or perhaps learn the ‘other’ part.

8:00-9:00 p.m.:
Pimp My Basics! -
Don’t let the word ‘Basics’ fool you….this will be an opportunity for experienced WCS dancers of all levels to customize their dancing with ‘blinged’ up versions of those old, stale patterns that you do all the time. Styling options for Followers, too! (It’s quite possible we’ll be adopting some of the material from Angel and Debbie’s workshop into the series as we go along. Great opportunity for review!)

Both classes are taught at : Studio 27, 27a Bloor Street East (lower level)
Each series is 5 weeks long and the cost is $55 per person.
No partner required.
Please let me know if you have any questions!
Julie Epplett
GroovyBluesyJazzyFunky
416-929-8007
julie.epplett@sympatico.ca
www.TOWestCoast.com



Class Schedules – Starting Tuesday, April 10th
Each series consists of five weeks/classes for $55.
Classes take place at: Studio 27, 27a Bloor Street East (near Yonge and Bloor)
Practice afterwards at: Burgundy’s Bar Grill, 780 Yonge
Street

7:00-8:00 p.m.
Introduction to West Coast Swing
No experience - or partner - necessary! This is the place to start if you've never done any West Coast Swing, or if you'd like to brush up on your Basics. We’ll cover six fundamental West Coast Swing patterns with tips on style and technique to help you look and feel like a WCS dancer.

8:00-9:00 p.m.
Pimp My Basics!
There’s a saying: “Beginner dancers do Intermediate patterns, Intermediate dancers do Advanced patterns, and Advanced dancers do… Basics”. This class will give Intermediate and more advanced dancers the tools to update your ‘every day’ patterns to add style and variety to your dancing, and to avoid the rut of ‘habitual moves’. Not recommended for Beginners.

Julie Epplett
GroovyBluesyJazzyFunky
416-929-8007
julie.epplett@sympatico.ca
www.TOWestCoast.com


WCS Workshop with Angel Debbie – April 20-22
Hosted by the Toronto Swing Dance Society, Angel and Debbie Figueroa are top instructors on the WCS circuit, with a wealth of experience to share. Full details at: http://dancing.org/tsds/wcw/angeldebbieflier.htm




contemporary dance: state of the art
a mini-conference for dancers dancemakers
SATURDAY MAY 19, 2007
10AM - 5:30PM
HUB 14
14 MARKHAM ST.
(near Bathurst Queen)

DANCERS:
In how many fields can you train for a quarter century and still have difficulty being considered “professional”?

You're talented, creative, smart (heck, you can count to eight!) : what future do you envision for yourself in dance and for dance at large?

Come for a discussion of the "state of the art" of dance that doesn't focus on funding, grant applications or career transitions.
Engage with other dancemakers in ideas about dance - why and how we make it, and the role dance can play in the wider world. This mini-conference will be a place for dance artists to share
information about vision, process and the place of dance in society.

SUBJECTS:
The Social History of Contemporary Dance, Or What They Didn't Teach You In Dance History Class; Contemporary Dance: Creative Process and Critical Perspectives; Dance Interdisciplinarity
...more to be confirmed...

SPEAKERS:
Pam Johnson
Pam Johnson has been dancing, choreographing and teaching in Toronto for 24 years. She has danced for many choreographers including: Dave Wilson, Susan McKenzie, Darcey Callison, Viv Moore and Kaeja D'Dance. Her choreography has appeared in fFida, Dances for a Small Stage, and Danceworks and Square Zero. She has been commissioned to create work for the MacMaster Dancers, composer John Oswald, Kid in the Hall Bruce McCullough and actor/playwright Diane Flacks and performance artist Phillip Barker. She is a founding member of High Xposure: Rock Climbing Dance Theatre. Pam's theatre credits include - MYTH ME and BY A THREAD (Myth productions), GRAVITY CALLING (Tarragon), MARX IN SOHO (Canadian premier and tour). Her film credits include features ZERO PATIENCE and MILLION DOLLAR BABIES and many independent films. She continues to tour the world as an actor/dancer with the
acclaimed Canadian Opera Co. production, Bluebeard's Castle/Erwartung directed by Robert LePage.

Pam's specialty is Contact Improvisation. She is co-coordinator of the Toronto Contact Jam, now in its 29th year. She is a co-coordinator of the Festival of Interactive Physics, a festival of improvisation and Contact dance. She is a faculty member in theatre at Humber College and the Ryerson University Dance Department.

Meagan O'Shea
Meagan O'Shea
www.meaganoshea.ca
bio to come

collective (gulp) dance projects
collective (gulp) dance projects www.artengine.ca/collectivegulp as founded by artistic co-directors, Alexis Kate Andrew and Elizabeth MacKinnon who began working together informally in 2001 and founded collective (gulp) in 2002. collective (gulp) directed and produced the first square zero independent dance festival and SQUARE ZERO - the second edition/la deuxième édition. In all, (gulp) has presented or facilitated the participation and collaboration of close to 50 local, national and international artists in its Ottawa based projects, including dancers, musicians, video and visual artists. (gulp)'s other works include promenades (2002), 16 % (2002), press star (2003), Fresh Hot Dances, Made to Order (2003), and The Poodle, the Crocodile and the Microwave; or How I lived to Tell the Tale (2004). In December 2006 (gulp) premiered TALK SHOW, a full-length performance piece that uses text, movement, visual art and video
to create a world where two ordinary women channel Brad Pitt, Jay Leno, Tie Domi, Ron McLean, Dr. Phil and others to face up to their own shadow selves – the fears and fallacies that we
clothe, cover and exploit to get through each day.

collective (gulp) works on themes relating to public and private spaces and behaviours, language, communication and the impacts of technology on our physicality and relationships.
Physical research has examined the intersections of “pedestrian” and “dance” movement, communication between performers and audience, work with props and the use of voice and text.
collective (gulp)'s work is primarily improvised and comes out of abiding enthusiasm for this branch of dance investigation and performance. collective (gulp) has also presented performance evenings at the Mercury Lounge featuring their own works and the works of other artists including readings by local authors, stand-up comedy, video and dance.
In recognition of its humorous, innovative and engaging approach, collective (gulp) has been invited to perform by the Council for the Arts in Ottawa, fFIDA (curated program), Dance Network,
Sanctuary Series and other dance presenters as well as a variety of community events such as art fairs, social and political events and fundraisers. In addition to performing and presenting, the members of (gulp) co-manage a member-run studio, Movement Arts Ottawa, and teach contact improvisation.


... more to be confirmed...

$35 registration fee (includes breakfast, snacks refreshments)

Cheque payable to: HUB 14

Send to:
Pam Johnson,
798 Bloor St W,
#3,
Toronto, ON,
M6G 1L9

contemporarydance@hotmail.com




Forget April in Paris, forget your shovels.
Come to the Spring Thaw Weekend in Toronto, April 13-15 2007
(Note change in schedule since hardcopy flyer.) for a fabulous weekend of dance with
Rick Mohr - Crowfoot - Bev Bernbaum - Duncan Cameron Friends, Tom Calwell Myra Hirschberg - Karen Millyard the Trafalgar Trio

Imagine dancing in an urban village community where everything is on offer on a fresh spring weekend - fabulous bookstores and cafes, fine dining, casual pubs, a full gamut of restaurants
specializing in world cuisines, greengrocers, gourmet cheeses, health food stores, chic clothing - and some of the loveliest parks and ravines in North America.

All this and dancing that is as diverse as our city:
Contra - English - Waltz - Squares - and even Hambo

(What is Hambo? -- a couple's dance with a lilt that looks hard til you take Tom and Myra's Workshop)

CHANGE: Please note the change in our Saturday schedule. www.tcdance.org/spring_thaw/thaw_schedule.htm

LOCATION:
Eastminster United Church
310 Danforth Avenue
Toronto, Ontario
www.tcdance.org/directions/eastminster.htm

REGISTRATION: Our Early Bird cut off date is March 26th, so email us, fill in the web form or snail mail us just as soon as you can. Details at: www.tcdance.org/thaw.htm#reg

Questions to Jorge at registration@tcdance.org
ACCOMMODATION: Please see our web site for Hotels and Bed Breakfasts.
www.tcdance.org/spring_thaw/thaw_accommodation.htm
Call or email Carolyn at billeting@tcdance.org or 416-461-0689 for billeting.
Other questions : thaw@tcdance.org

Come for the weekend, come for a day, come for an evening -- you won't want to leave.
SEE YOU AT THE THAW !!



YOGA, The Conference and Show
www.theyogaconference.com
April 26 - 29th 2007
METRO TORONTO CONVENTION CENTER TORONTO, CANADA

Yoga, The Conference and Show is excited to provide you an opportunity to interact directly with world-renowned yogis and yoginis over an inspirational, rejuvenating and revitalizing four
days.

In addition to our dynamic Main Conference, we have All-Day Intensives, a Beginner Conference and Continuing Education programs and workshops all lined up. The event hosts many workshops and classes for a variety of yoga styles for every level. There is also a dynamic showcase of products, services, samples and meals in-line with your mindful thinking to explore.
On the Show Floor will be numerous opportunities for you to come face to face with the faculty and to engage in informative and life-changing demonstrations and seminars by leaders of the yoga community and health-conscious field.

Come, immerse and interact directly with world renowned teachers of teachers who will make you feel at home as you explore ways to reach beyond yourself and expand your limits.
Whether you are just beginning, already advanced or looking for ways to deepen your practice, this conference provides it all as it is lead by world-class yoga leaders who are experts in their
field and approach their workshops with their creative and innovative teaching styles, you are sure to enhance your yoga practice while expanding your life consciously.

Faculty
Our 2007 Conference is designed to give yogis and yoginis of all levels, from beginners to teachers, the opportunity to enjoy concentrated hands-on training from an international roster of 43
world class instructors. There will be more than 126 workshops, classes, demonstrations and seminars offered across many yoga styles.



July Evening Classes!
Wendy Chiles Helen Jones will teach their popular modern dance classes through July.

Advance registration, drop-in rates

Level 1 Level 2
Tuesdays Thursdays
6:30 - 8:00pm

Level 3
Wednesdays
6:30 - 8:00pm

80 Winchester Street,
Toronto
home of Toronto Dance Theatre and The School of Toronto Dance
Theatre

For July class details and registration:
416-535-5924
helenj@yorku.ca



 
INTRO TO BOUFFON

TORONTO: Friday April 13, 6:30pm-8:30pm, Saturday and Sunday April 14-15, 12pm-4pm

In the tradition of Master Teacher Philippe Gaulier, the aim of Bouffon is to expose social hypocracies while making audiences love you.
They are the world's satarists - Borat, Dame Edna and Jon Stewart. Mocking everything, good and bad, students will be introduced to the bouffon form, learning to find the pleasure of making fun. Bouffon are shameless. We laugh more.

"Freaks are born with their afflictions, and the rest of us acquire them over the course of our lives. The freaks are the real aristocrats of our world because they have nothing to be
shameful for."
Photographer Diane Arbus


INTRO TO CHARACTERS
TORONTO: Friday April 20, 6:30pm-8:30pm, Saturday and Sunday April 21-22, 12pm-4pm

In the tradition of French Physical Theatre, actors are never concerned with trying to be realistic. They play at Hamlet, at Lady M, at Vladmir or Estragon, always exploring how they can uniquely bring a character to the stage or screen. In this way, an audience sees the actor beneath and walks away remembering the performance and not only the text.

The Characters workshop is a lesson in disguise. Over the course of the 3 days, students will use text, play in costumes and improvise in order to find and develop an original character worth watching or writing about. The character, unlike the clown or bouffon, is a full bodied mask for the actor, and in this mask students find their unique form of play, making their character come to life.

For info and registration: www.quiptake.com, thebouffon@rogers.com , 416-821-3833
1 Weekend Workshop: $190, $150 Union/Previous Students
2 Weekend Workshops: $350, $280 Union/Previous Students



Contact Improvisation Dance Classes: The Basics and Beyond
All Levels Welcome!
8 Fridays 6:30-8pm, Starts April 27, 2007

Contact Improv is a movement form that wakes up your ability to listen and respond to what is happening in the moment. Movement is inspired by the spontaneous interaction between two people playing with weight, momentum and gravity. Contact Improv has been described as “dancing, Aikido, surfing, wrestling, and playing all at the same time” (Touchdown Dance 2002)

Classes will Explore:
Sharing Weight
Falling with Ease
Playing with Space
Partner Lifts
Momentum

Previous movement experience an asset (ex. dance, martial arts, yoga, and/or physical theatre). Contact the facilitator for more info. Wear comfortable clothes. We will dance in bare feet.

Location: Dovercourt 3rd Floor
805 Dovercourt St. (One block N of Bloor)

Class Series Price:
$85 before April 12
$75 groups of two or more before April 12
$100 regular

Drop-in Price:
$15/drop-in class

Facilitator: Suzanne Liska
suzliska@yahoo.com
416 704-8096


Making Dances: a five day intensive with Eryn Dace Trudell
Eryn will be in Guelph offering a workshop in Skinner Releasing Technique and Choreographic Scores - April 16-20.

Skinner Releasing Technique
10-12
SRT has considerable influence on the contemporary dancing body. Besides making available an expanded spectrum of technique for the professional dancer, it provides an opportunity to experience facility of movement and creative expression for everyone. Suggesting how we might "let go" of habitual holding patterns, SRT encourages integration of body and imagination.
Class atmosphere is supportive and includes, deep-states, hands on bodywork, music and lots of dancing.

Choreography
1-4pm
Writing with the body - the creative process involved in the making of any dance piece. Choreographic practices include an awareness of gesture, landscape and relationship: universal themes extending beyond performance. Theatre makers, directors, dancers, musicians and anyone interested in effective movement will find tools in this workshop to convey themselves and their ideas with greater articulation.

April 16-20, 2007
Guelph Youth Music Centre
75 Cardigan Street
514-837-1121

$250 for everything or $100 for SRT classes only

Contact:
Rebecca Barnstaple
514-277-0229
rebecca@makingdances.com
http://makingdances.com/

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Calls to Artists


NUIT BLANCHE
a free all-night contemporary art thing

Saturday, September 29, 2007
7:03 pm to sunrise

Call for Submissions – Open Call Projects

>From sunset on September 30 to sunrise on October 1, 2006, artists transformed Toronto. The city became a playground, a meeting place, a political forum, a place of art, wonder, awe and intrigue. From parks, swimming pools and car washes to galleries, museums, schools and institutions, the city came together as a community and embraced Nuit Blanche.
An estimated 425,000 revellers left behind the comfort of their beds for this free all-night exploration of Toronto through contemporary art.
Unlike any event ever produced in North America, Nuit Blanche was completely distinctive and a transformative celebration of creativity. The overwhelmingly positive post-event response from the public, media, art community, attractions, government and corporate Canada was unprecedented.

Toronto Special Events is thrilled to announce that the magic of Nuit Blanche will return to light up the city of Toronto in 2007. From sunset to sunrise on September 29, 2007, Torontonians and tourists alike are invited to encounter the city in a new way and rediscover Toronto through Nuit Blanche Exhibitions and Independent Projects.

Once again Nuit Blanche will bring the art community together to offer both the uninitiated and devoted art lovers an accessible and exciting night of contemporary art. This is an opportunity to celebrate and showcase Toronto’s art community and this city’s commitment to contemporary art.

Following the successful structure of last year’s event, the city will be divided into three geographical Zones to accommodate the numerous Nuit Blanche destinations. Each Zone will feature one Nuit Blanche Exhibition and a series of Independent Projects.


NUIT BLANCHE EXHIBITIONS/OPEN CALL PROJECTS

Within each of the three Event Zones there will be one unique Exhibition.
The three Nuit Blanche Exhibitions will be located in the following general vicinities:
• Bloor/Yorkville (within Zone A) - (North/South) Between Davenport Avenue and College Street. (East/West) Between Yonge Street and Spadina Avenue;
• Dundas/ McCaul area (within Zone B) - (North/South) Between College Street and Queen Street. (East/West) Between University Avenue and Spadina Avenue; and
• West Queen West area (in Zone C) - (North/South) Between Dundas Street and the Gardiner Expressway. (East/West) Between Strachan Avenue and Cowan Avenue

Under the direction of the Nuit Blanche curatorial team (to be announced in March 2007), the City of Toronto will commission and fund up to 30 site-specific public art works (10 per Exhibition Site by local, national and international artists. Please note that the curators will be sourcing these artists and there is no application form for this element of programming.

Fifteen additional local projects (5 per Exhibition) will be incorporated into the Nuit Blanche Exhibitions and chosen by the curators from the Open Call Project submissions. We are accepting Open Call Project submissions until noon on April 10, 2007.

Guidelines for Participation – Open Call Projects
All Open Call Projects must adhere to the Nuit Blanche mandate to make contemporary art accessible, while inspiring dialogue and engaging the public to examine its significance and impact on public space. All proposals must meet the Open Call Projects Submissions Guidelines criteria outlined below and are subject to review by the curators and Toronto Special Events before official acceptance into the overall event.

OPEN CALL CRITERIA
• You are an individual artist or collective based in the Greater Toronto Area
• You would like to create a site-specific project located in a public space near one of Nuit Blanche’s three Exhibition Sites (West Queen West; Dundas/McCaul area; and Bloor/Yorkville area)
• You will offer all-night access to your project that is free of charge to the public during Nuit Blanche from 7:03 pm on September 29 to 7:14 am on September 30, 2007.
• The project focus is on site specificity, touring, roaming, interactivity and/or is grass roots in nature.
• You are willing to make the investment required (financial, personnel and otherwise) in order to bring the Project to fruition.

NOTE: The City of Toronto is pleased to provide limited financial support and honoraria for chosen Open Call projects, however, it will be the responsibility of the artist to cover any costs above and beyond the allocated amount.

BENEFITS OF PARTICIPATION
All Open Call Projects will benefit from a major umbrella marketing campaign to promote the overall event, driving attention to the event’s print guide and website. The campaign will include influential media partnerships, dynamic print collateral, an integrated advertising campaign (outdoor,
print, online, radio and television), and a thorough media relations plan to garner local and international attention. Open Call Projects receive:
• An artist honorarium of $500
• Limited financial production support up to $500 based on needs and assessment (please note that the amount allocated will be at the discretion of the curators and Toronto Special Events)
• Inclusion in the comprehensive Nuit Blanche print guide
• Recognition on the comprehensive Nuit Blanche website

HOW TO SUBMIT
a) Download the relevant application form from www.toronto.ca/special_events
b) Complete the application form. Please note that in order to be considered you must fill out the relevant application form and adhere to all programming criteria and submission requirements as stated above. Applications must be mailed to or dropped to arrive by the due date (see application form for more details). Incomplete, faxed, or emailed applications will not be accepted.
c) Please note that you will be contacted by Toronto Special Events once your application is processed.
d) Application due dates: Open Call Projects – noon, Tuesday, April 10, 2007 Late applications will not be accepted.

General Inquiries
For additional information about Open Call Projects
nuitblanche@toronto.ca
Michal (Miki) Stricker, Programming Supervisor, Toronto Special Events
mstrick@toronto.ca
416-395-7301



feats Festival of Dance Call for Submissions June 29th – July 14th, 2007
feats Festival of Dance is produced by the Alberta Dance Alliance. It is a multi-disciplinary dance festival in Edmonton, Alberta, that includes performances, artist residencies, workshops, and special events. The festival is designed to celebrate Alberta’s dance community, and present Canadian dance to a wider public. The festival is eager to support and encourage excellence in art-making for dance. We want to find the innovative artists bringing fresh ideas to the Alberta and Canadian dance scene.

•MainStage performances will feature artists whose works strives to take their creative signature to a higher level.
•Site-Specific performances will attract performers who thrive in face-to-face art-making. It will put them in front of audiences who are engaged by encountering dance where they least expect it. The eighth annual feats Festival will take place from June 29 to July 14, 2007. This year, the theme of the festival is "Soul Stories." Festival programming will explore the soul of dance from its traditions to its current contemporary and pop culture movements. feats 2007 will explore our collective heritage of dance stories, the artists that make dance, and how current culture influences dance. feats is inviting all artist that see movement as a great source of inspiration.
feats Festival of Dance encourages and promotes the diverse expressions of Alberta dance artists. The festival is interested in work that will provide outstanding performances with distinct choreographic voices in various disciplines including: Traditional/Folk, Jazz, Tap, Street, Modern, Musical Theatre, Ballet, Physical Theatre Improvisation, New Body Work and Social Dance.

Deadline: April 15, 2007.
feats Festival of Dance offers three programs to apply for:
Community features This is a co-partnership with the festival. We are interested in helping the community by supporting their new productions. The work must be a full-length finished program that has been completed in the last 12 months. feats festival of dance will provide:

• Media support
• Partial Technical support
• Mentor support
• Funding fee support
  

• Media support
• Production support
• Partial Technical support
• Mentor support
• Funding fee support
  

• Venue support
• Technical support
• Media support
• Mentor support
• Fee for artists