Performance Dance students featured in short documentary for Fall For Dance North
To kick off The School of Performance’s 50th Anniversary, 11 students from the Dance Program (opens in new window) will be featured in a new documentary short, Away to Create (external link, opens in new window) , which will premiere as part of the 7th annual Fall for Dance North (external link, opens in new window) (FFDN) festival taking place virtually (?) from September 11 to October 29. This opportunity for select fourth-year dance students offers them a bridge from their pre-professional training to the professional realm.
The short documentary by filmmaker and Performance program guest artist, Jeremy Mimnagh (opens in new window) , follows FFDN Artist-in-Residence Natasha Powell (external link, opens in new window) and the 11 selected students during a two-week isolated residency in Orillia as they create a new Jazz work based around the ideation of the chorus girl and women in the early 20th century.
Portrait of Natasha Powell. Photograph by Kendra Epik
Portrait of Jeremy Mimnagh, Filmmaker
The resulting creation will be shared through in-person pop-up performances set to new music by composer Sabine Ndalamba (external link, opens in new window) in outdoor spaces around Toronto, and via a live-streamed performance on October 15th, 2021 as part of the Orillia Jazz Festival (external link, opens in new window) .
The learning opportunities for the school are immense and the inclusion of the The Theatre as an additional venue was wonderful for FFDN, for the dance community, for the University, and the public
‘Away To Create’ poster featuring Natasha Powell and friends. Photo by Fran Chudnoff
Building on possibilities together
In early 2017, The School of Performance and Fall for Dance North (FFDN), Toronto’s premier international dance festival, forged an important new partnership. The collaboration allowed the school to engage high-profile guest artists to work with their dancers through their shared artist-in-residence program, as well as access to workshops, lectures, panels, and licensing opportunities to a repertoire of world-renowned choreographers.
Director and Associate Chair of Performance Dance, Vicki St.Denys (opens in new window) , shares that in 2018, the partnership grew to include The Theatre at The Creative School (opens in new window) as an additional venue for Fall for Dance 2019.
“Our production students had the chance to shadow professionals during the production period, our dancers were invited into rehearsals with visiting companies, and there have been numerous workshops, classes, and lectures offered by the guest artists for our students,” says St.Denys. “The learning opportunities for the school are immense and the inclusion of the The Theatre as an additional venue was wonderful for FFDN, for the dance community, for the University, and the public.”
Quote by Director and Associate Chair of Performance Dance, Vicki St.Denys
A residency for research, creation, and performance opportunities
Away to Create is Performance and FFDN’s latest collaborative residency in partnership with The Orillia Centre for Arts + Culture (external link, opens in new window) . The project brings together 11 fourth-year dancers, Powell along with her assistant, filmmaker Mimnagh, and a videographer. Two Ryerson production students also attended the residency for the purposes of creative research and development of a new Vernacular Jazz work, which will be digitally documented by the participants and by the videographer.
Kate Hilliard (opens in new window) , creative director at The Orillia Centre for Arts and Culture says that this creative opportunity allows visiting professionals to share newly developed work with Orillia audiences. “We are thrilled to bring these talented artists to Orillia to create original work and we can’t wait to share their talents with our community and beyond,” she says.
As this year’s residency adopted a hybrid digital/physical model due to COVID-19, St.Denys expresses immense gratitude to both FFDN and The Orillia Centre for Arts + Culture. The centre assisted in accommodating the students at Lakehead University, provided them with meals, and allowed them to use their space for rehearsal. “Without their generosity, we would not have been able to do it,” says St.Denys, “the cost would be prohibitive.”
FFDN Artistic Director lter Ibrahimof says that this year's hybrid edition of FFDN brings them one step closer to their vision for a new festival format fit for our changing and increasingly virtual world.
“Our shared desire to provide research, creation, and performance opportunities is at the centre of this project with plans for a documentary film and live performances to premiere as part of FFDN 2021. The dancers will also be performing live at the Orillia Jazz Festival in mid October.” says St.Denys.
Away to Create premieres September 17th, 2021 at ffdnorth.com (opens in new window) .
The Creative School at Ryerson University
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