THE STATE OF CANADIAN DANCE AND DANCING WITH THE STATE FROM 1967-1983 By Katherine Cornell, B.A., M.A. Toronto, Ontario, Canada, 2008 A dissertation presented to Ryerson University/York University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY in the Program of Communication and Culture Toronto, Ontario, Canada, 2008 ©Katherine Cornell, 2008 Library and Bibliotheque et 1*1 Archives Canada Archives Canada Published Heritage Direction du Branch Patrimoine de I'edition 395 Wellington Street 395, rue Wellington Ottawa ON K1A0N4 Ottawa ON K1A0N4 Canada Canada Your file Votre reference ISBN: 978-0-494-40489-8 Our file Notre reference ISBN: 978-0-494-40489-8 NOTICE: AVIS: The author has granted a non­ L'auteur a accorde une licence non exclusive exclusive license allowing Library permettant a la Bibliotheque et Archives and Archives Canada to reproduce, Canada de reproduire, publier, archiver, publish, archive, preserve, conserve, sauvegarder, conserver, transmettre au public communicate to the public by par telecommunication ou par Plntemet, prefer, telecommunication or on the Internet, distribuer et vendre des theses partout dans loan, distribute and sell theses le monde, a des fins commerciales ou autres, worldwide, for commercial or non­ sur support microforme, papier, electronique commercial purposes, in microform, et/ou autres formats. paper, electronic and/or any other formats. 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I authorize Ryerson University to lend this dissertation to other institutions or individuals for the purpose of scholarly research. I further authorize Ryerson University to reproduce this dissertation by photocopying or by other means, in total or in part, at the request of other institutions or individuals for the purpose of scholarly research. *- ii Abstract The State of Canadian Dance and Dancing with the State from 1967-1983 Ph.D., 2008 by Katherine Cornell Communication and Culture, Ryerson University This dissertation chronicles an important time in Canadian dance history but also offers a framework to analyze Canadian identity in dance. Cultural policy on dance offers insight into the nature of Canadian identity from 1967 to 1983. This dissertation uses dance as a lens to examine communities within the nation. Five choreographic works from the period are analyzed and represent Canadian western theatrical dance: Rose Latulippe (Macdonald), Baroque Suite (Earle), "The Brick Series" (Adams), Marie Chien Noir (Chouinard) and Joe (Perreault). This dissertation also uses cultural policy as a vehicle to analyze the State from the Centennial of Confederation to the publication of the Applebaum-Hebert Report. Writings by Leslie Armour, R. Bruce Elder, Alan Filewod, Northrop Frye, B.W. Powe, Grant Strate and Pierre Trudeau inform the research. Ultimately, the relationships between individual artists, the dance community and the State illustrate the complex development of Canadian choreography. My research is driven by a desire to first, fill some of the gaps in the literature on Canadian dance, and second, examine dance through cultural policy. This dissertation begins in 1951 with the Massey Report, but primarily focuses on the period from 1967 to 1983 including the "dance boom era." This research is an important contribution to the field because it compares the development of Canadian dance to theatre, literature, visual art, music and film from 1967 to 1983, to place it within a broader context. This dissertation argues that Canadian choreography embodies the dialectic of the traditional iii and the contemporary, of the Francophone and Anglophone, and of the individual and community. Acknowledgements First I want to recognize my committee members, Elizabeth Trott, Christopher Innes and R. Bruce Elder. Their questions, especially comparing dance to other disciplines, made this dissertation stronger and more relevant. It was a pleasure to work with them and I am grateful for their input. In particular, I want to thank my primary advisor R. Bruce Elder for his constant support. In addition to my committee, I would like to recognize my colleagues at Ryerson's Theatre School, especially Nadia Potts and Sholem Dolgoy. Nadia constantly offered words of encouragement and helpful suggestions. Sholem was a wealth of knowledge and expressed keen interest in obscure documents from the Canada Council's past. My teaching at the Theatre School fed this research, and I would like to also acknowledge the inspiration my students provided during the past four years. Several archives and libraries were consulted for this research including: CBC Archives, Bibliotheque de la danse, Toronto Reference Library (Performing Arts Division), Toronto Dance Theatre and School of Toronto Dance Theatre, National Ballet of Canada Archives, York University - Scott Library Archives, Canada Council for the Arts Archives, Ryerson University Library, and Dance Collection Danse. I am grateful to the numerous archivists and librarians who helped me find these primary sources. I would like to single out Dance Collection Danse, Canada's dance publisher and archives in Toronto. Miriam Adams, Amy Bowring and Seika Boye were incredibly helpful and contributed enormously to this research. The hours I spent in the 'pink house' were some of the most enjoyable of this research. The first draft of this dissertation was read by my dear friend Nadine Saxton. She was instrumental in making this document flow; her suggestions helped me frame the work. My husband, Tal Schacham, valiantly read the second draft and asked important questions about context and politics. They both went above and beyond the call of duty. I will spend a lifetime thanking Nadine and Tal for their hours of patient work on this labour of love. My entire family has always supported my writing and research. To the Schachams, thank you for understanding my constant need to write. Many thanks to Mom and Dad who didn't think I was crazy when I said I want to go back to school again, and eagerly read this entire dissertation. I am grateful to Grandma Mona, the first writer in the family, and Grandma Betty who repeatedly encouraged her grandchildren by saying "we need another doctor in the family." Finally, I want to acknowledge my inspiration, my daughter Eowyn. Dedication In memory of Mary-Lynne Ashby-Cornell VI Table of Contents Chapter One 1 Introduction: State and Nation, Culture and Identity, Individual and Community Chapter Two 26 Methodology and Literature Review Chapter Three 44 Dancing through the Centennial of Confederation in 1967 Chapter Four 75 Advocacy and the Economy: Dance in Canada Association, 1968-1973 Chapter Five 102 Education and Dissension, 1974-1977 Chapter Six 134 Distinctly Canadian Dance in Quebec, 1977-1982 Chapter Seven 167 Constitutional Reform and the Applebaum-Hebert Report: Tough Times Ahead for Dance Artists, 1982-1983 Postscript 202 Canadian Choreography, 1983 and Beyond Appendix One 209 Appendix Two 211 Appendix Three 221 Appendix Four 222 Appendix Five 223 Appendix Six 224 Bibliography 227 vn The State of Canadian Dance and Dancing with the State from 1967-1983 Chapter 1: State and Nation, Culture and Identity, Individual and Community The Royal Commission on the Arts, Letters and Sciences, commonly known as the Massey Commission,1 examined Canadian culture and tried to protect it from the invasion of American popular culture. The five Commissioners, led by University of Toronto Chancellor Vincent Massey, traveled the country from 1949 to 1951 searching for "national tradition[s] in the making"2 for the arts, culture and education in Canada. The resulting Massey Report described the ongoing activities of several disciplines, including theatre, music and ballet, and made recommendations about how to protect Canadian culture for the future: "The authors [of the Massey Report] saw the health of our spiritual lives as essential to our vitality and uniqueness as a nation, to our stature in the eyes of other countries, and to the unity of Canada itself."3 Their primary recommendation was for the creation of an independent funding body to support the arts. In 1957, an act of Parliament created such a funding body, the Canada Council4, an autonomous arm's length5 agency of the federal government. 1 In this dissertation, the published findings of the Royal Commission are called the Massey Report, in order to distinguish it from the Commission itself. Royal Commission on National Development in the Arts, Letters and Sciences, Report {Ottawa: Printer to the King's Most Excellent Majesty, 1951) 1. 3 Charles Lussier, "The Canada Council: The Principle of Excellence and Its Implications in a Democratic Society." Speech to Annual Managers Development Program of Harvard University. Cambridge, Massachusetts. July 6, 1977, Speech 7702. 3. (found in DICA Newsletter, September 1977 at Dance Collection Danse, Toronto, Ontario.) The Canada Council is currently called the Canada Council for the Arts, but I have kept with the simple title of the Canada Council, as was common usage. 5 Arm's length refers to the distance between the federal government and the Council as an agency, not a ministry.