Celebrating 50 years of inspired dance training 2019 March 20-23, 8PM Winchester Street Theatre Yiming Cai © Cylla von Tiedemann ACCELERATION 80 Winchester St. Celebrating 50 years of inspired dance training 80 Winchester Street, Toronto ON . M4X 1B2 . 416-967-6887 . [email protected] The School of Toronto Dance Theatre was established in 1968 by the founders of Toronto Dance Theatre: Patricia Beatty, David Earle, and Peter Randazzo. In January 1978, after a decade of growth, the School incorporated separately from the company. In 1979 the Professional Training Program was established by David Earle, and together the company and School moved into the studios and offices of their current home at 80 Winchester Street. To date the School maintains its affiliation with Toronto Dance Theatre, currently under the artistic direction of Christopher House. Under the artistic direction of Patricia Fraser since 1993, the School is devoted to providing a broad spectrum of movement classes for the serious dance artist and for the community. It comprises four divisions: the Professional Training Program (PTP): a full-time, three-year, post-secondary program providing training to students intent on a career in contemporary dance, Summer Intensives, Adult Recreational Classes, and our Young Dancers’ Program. The School has served as the foundation and inspiration for generations of dancers. We continue to draw from the finest aspects of our legacy while looking to new directions in dance to develop artistic vision. w schooloftdt.org @SchoolofTDT PLEASE NOTE: • Latecomers will not be admitted to the theatre until there is a break in the performance. • The use of cameras, video cameras, or camera phones is strictly prohibited. • Please turn off your cell phones, or set to silent mode. ACCELERATION 2019 Colder Ink (1994) Choreography: Christopher House Rehearsal Direction: Rosemary James Rehearsal Assistance: Patricia Miner Music: Dead of Winter, Tim Brady Lighting Design: Simon Rossiter after Roelof Peter Snippe Costume Design: Cara Johnson after Denis Huneault-Joffre Dancers: • Tanveer Alam, Yiming Cai, Heather Jefferys, Claire Whitaker (March 20, 22) • Morgyn Aronyk-Schell, Noah Blatt, Ryan Kostyniuk, Lucie Schmidt (March 21, 23) Colder Ink was created in the spring of 1994. The movement vocabulary was developed with Laurence Lemieux and the premiere performance was danced by Kate Alton, Graham McKelvie, Coralee McLaren, and Michael Trent. Colder Ink marked a turning point for me in its eccentric counterpoint and its broad movement palette. The choreography requires extreme precision and elastic control to execute, yet the performer must remain serenely present in the here- and-now. ― CH Dance with Heart and Breath (March 20, 2019) Choreography: Susie Burpee Music: Music for Heart and Breath, Richard Reed Parry Lighting Design: Simon Rossiter Costume Design: Cara Johnson Dancers: Tanveer Alam, Emily Fonda, Justin Fraser, Kari Labrentz, Gwendolyn Mitchell, Chelsea Mulholland, Chloe Sandrelli, Lucie Schmidt Thank you to the dancers for your thoughtful and spontaneous contributions to our creative process. ― SB – INTERMISSION (15 min) – High Heart (2009) dignity walks a red path not given but self-made Choreography: Patricia Beatty Rehearsal Direction: Danielle Baskerville, Nicole Rose Bond Music: Arvo Pärt Lighting Design: Simon Rossiter after Roelof Peter Snippe Costume Design: Cara Johnson after Denis Huneault-Joffre Dancers: • Gwendolyn Mitchell (March 20, 22) High Heart was first performed • Chelsea Mulholland (March 21, 23) by Danielle Baskerville. Yang (1998/2003) Choreography: Peggy Baker Staging: Jarrett Siddall Rehearsal Direction: Patricia Miner Music: Frisking, prolationum for 11 percussionists, Thierry de Mey Lighting Design: Simon Rossiter after Marc Parent Costume Design: Cara Johnson after Caroline O’Brien Dancers: • Morgyn Aronyk-Schell, Claire Whitaker (March 20, 23) • Emily Fonda, Heather Jefferys (March 21) • Heather Jefferys, Chloe Sandrelli (March 22) Yang is one of the two major principles of Taoist philosophy. Represented in writing by the ideogram for the sun’s rays, and in hexagrams of the I Ching as an unbroken line, yang is all that is bright, dry, hard, masculine, round, odd-numbered, and upward moving. Yang was created for Sylvain Brochu in 1998. In 2003, the original solo was superimposed with a second reconfigured version and performed as a duet by Sylvain Brochu and Shannon Cooney. ― PB Nobody’s Business (1981) Choreography: Danny Grossman Choreographic Reconstruction/Rehearsal Direction: Eddie Kastrau Music: T’Aint Nobody’s Business if I Do, Porter Grainger, Everett Robbins Original Costume Design: Mary Kerr Costume Reconstruction: Cara Johnson Original Lighting Design: David Morrison after Nicholas Cernovitch Lighting Reconstruction: Simon Rossiter Dancers: • Yiming Cai, Ryan Kostyniuk (March 20, 22) • Noah Blatt, Ryan Kostyniuk (March 21, 23) with Emily Fonda, Justin Fraser, Kari Labrentz, Gwendolyn Mitchell, Chelsea Mulholland, Chloe Sandrelli Blues singer Joe Turner sets the atmosphere for this piece. Nobody’s Business presents a tongue-in-cheek look at sexual mores. The duet presented here is the centre section of a longer work. ― DG FOR SALE AT INTERMISSION The School of Toronto Dance Theatre Socks: $15/pair OR 3 for $40 STUDENT BAKE SALE in Studio A CHOREOGRAPHERS PEGGY BAKER CM, LLD, DLitt, O.Ont, is one of Canada’s most celebrated and influential dance artists, respected as a performer in the work of esteemed Canadian and American creators; as an educator in important dance training programs throughout North America; and as a choreographer of poetic and visually striking works for her Toronto based company, Peggy Baker Dance Projects. Baker is Artist-in-Residence at Canada’s National Ballet School. PATRICIA BEATTY co-founded Toronto Dance Theatre in 1968 with David Earle and Peter Randazzo; she created 24 works for the company. In 1993, she left TDT in order to concentrate her work in dance solely on spiritual, psychological, and environmental concerns. Many of her works are based on a celebration of the deep feminine energies emerging on the spiritual forefront of our age. In 2005, Trish, as she is known in the dance community, was appointed a Member of the Order of Canada. SUSIE BURPEE is a choreographer, performer, and teacher. She has received Dora Mavor Moore Awards for Choreography and Performance, and the KM Hunter Artist Award for Dance. She is guest faculty at the George Brown College Dance Depart- ment, Ryerson University, The School of Contemporary Dancers’ Professional Pro- gram (Winnipeg), The School of Dance (Ottawa), and The School of Toronto Dance Theatre. DANNY GROSSMAN is a renowned Canadian choreographer, performer, and teacher of modern dance. His unique artistic vision and extensive repertoire integrate humour, beauty, athleticism, and social commentary. In 1977, he formed his own company, creating a repertoire of more than 60 works. His awards include: The Dance Ontario Award, the Dora Mavor Moore Award, the Jean A. Chalmers Award, the Muriel Sherrin Award, and The Toronto Arts Foundation’s William Kilbourn Lifetime Achievement Award. He was recently inducted into the Dance Collection Danse Encore! Dance Hall of Fame. Born and raised in St. John’s, Newfoundland, CHRISTOPHER HOUSE has been Artistic Director of Toronto Dance Theatre since 1994. In addition to contributing over sixty works to the TDT repertoire, he has created choreography for Ballet BC, Lisbon’s Ballet Gulbenkian, Les Grands Ballets Canadiens, The National Ballet of Canada, Peggy Baker, and Guillaume Côté. He is an Associate Dance Artist of Canada’s National Arts Centre, and a Member of the Order of Canada. DANCE WITH US! Registration now open for FUNDAMENTALS OF DANCE I & II classes starting April 2, 2019 schooloftdt.org GRADUATING CLASS 2019 Tanveer Alam, Morgyn Aronyk-Schell, Noah Blatt, Yiming Cai, Emily Fonda, Justin Fraser, Heather Jefferys, Ryan Kostyniuk, Kari Labrentz,Gwendolyn Mitchell, Chelsea Mulholland, Chloe Sandrelli, Lucie Schmidt, Claire Whitaker Graduate headshots: Cylla von Tiedemann Hailing from Montreal, TANVEER ALAM started his training in Kathak, under Sudeshna Maulik and Sandhya Desai. He currently studies at The School of Toronto Dance Theatre. Recently, he presented his work at Dance Ontario Dance Weekend. In the spring, he will premiere a new work as a part of Tangente. MORGYN ARONYK-SCHELL began dancing in Edmonton, Alberta as a competitive dancer and at her performing arts high school. She co-produced the fall 2017 Coffee House production at the School of TDT, and her professional performance experience includes Dance Ontario DanceWeekend, Fringe Festi- vals in Toronto and Edmonton, InSitu, Lunacy Cabaret, and Nextfest. Aronyk-Schell is a recipient of the 2018 Walker Wood Foundation Bursary. NOAH BLATT is originally from Shubenacadie, Nova Scotia. Starting to dance at 17, he has focused on improving his technique during his time at the School. He has a passion for physical theatre, and for the combination of movement and text. YIMING CAI is a dance artist from Singapore, currently studying at The School of Toronto Dance Theatre. As a mover, he is interested in movement that reveals the human spirit. Cai aspires to dance professionally in companies, performing and creating work. He is a co-winner of the 2018 Kathryn Ash Scholarship. EMILY FONDA was raised in Sylvan Lake, Alberta. Serious at an early age, she began training full-time at the School of Alberta Ballet. After developing