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Performance art, cabaret and burlesque are accepted arenas for expression of queer themes through movement; but what about the more conventional world of dance performance? Illustrating examples from the past 30 years, Rocking the Boat, curated by Pamela Grundy, celebrates overtly themed dances along with their trailblazing creators. Culled from public and private archives, this exhibition of video, photos, programs, publicity postcards and choreographic notes serves to illuminate an under-documented segment of Canadian dance.
This virtual exhibit is inspired by the exhibit Rocking the Boat: Celebrating Queer Content in Canadian Concert Dance produced by Dance Collection Danse and held at the Canadian Lesbian and Gay Archives from Nov. 22, 2013 to Apr. 1, 2014.
Mouse-over the links on the left to view more content.
Photo: William Douglas in Anima (1990) - Photo by Cylla von Tiedemann
Performance art, cabaret and burlesque are accepted arenas for expression of queer themes through movement; but what about the more conventional world of dance performance? Illustrating examples from the past 30 years, Rocking the Boat, curated by Pamela Grundy, celebrates overtly themed dances along with their trailblazing creators. Culled from public and private archives, this exhibition of video, photos, programs, publicity postcards and choreographic notes serves to illuminate an under-documented segment of Canadian dance.
This virtual exhibit is inspired by the exhibit Rocking the Boat: Celebrating Queer Content in Canadian Concert Dance produced by Dance Collection Danse and held at the Canadian Lesbian and Gay Archives from Nov. 22, 2013 to Apr. 1, 2014.
Mouse-over the links on the left to view more content.
Photo: William Douglas in Anima (1990) - Photo by Cylla von Tiedemann
May 19, 2009 marked the 100th anniversary of the debut performance of Serge Diaghilev's Ballets Russes. Dance Collection Danse is celebrated this occasion with a gallery of images from our archives that relate to Diaghilev's Ballets Russes and the subsequent Ballets Russes companies that followed with their own debuts in the 1930s.
Various portfolios in the DCD archives contain Ballets Russes programs, photographs, newspaper and magazine clippings, and flyers. The Rosemary Deveson and Nesta Toumine portfolios include letters to home written while touring with various Ballets Russes companies in the 1930s. They provide great insight into the intrigues, politics and exhausting work of being a Ballets Russes dancer. DCD also houses over 100 drawings of Ballets Russes dancers by Canadian artist Grant Macdonald.
Photo: Cover of The Dance magazine featuring Anna Pavlowa, January 1929
Dancing Through Time: Toronto's Dance History 1900-1980 explored the development of the city's dance scene from influential touring artists to vaudevillians to the ballet and modern dance booms to the diversity of dance forms present in the city. It featured costumes, photographs, playbills, souvenir programs, posters, designs, and more.
Running in the summer of 2011, this live exhibit was presented by the Market Gallery and curated by Amy Bowring of Dance Collection Danse.
The online exhibition gives you a glimpse of the live installation and includes footage of the speeches and performances at the gala opening, as well as a special video created to commemorate DCD's 25th anniversary.
Note: Quicktime is required to view the videos
Vincent Warren is a man who has devoted his entire life to dance. It's easy to throw around a phrase like that but there are few who have so thoroughly filled their lives with every aspect of dance: performance, study, teaching and mentorship, writing and collecting.
Vincent Warren's Montreal apartment, which hosted so many dancers and dance professionals over the decades, was a little museum in itself - its shelves lined with books, photographs, statuettes and memorabilia; its walls adorned by paintings, posters and 8x10s given to Vincent by friends and colleagues over a lifetime in dance. In 2013, Vincent had to move from his apartment. Dance Collection Danse sent renowned photographer Michael Slobodian to record a moment in history, a life in dance … a personal collection.
Photo: Vincent Warren, Montreal, 2013 / Photo by Michael Slobodian
It is DCD's custom to bring context to the Canadian dance story and when important members from the community pass away, we do our best to celebrate their place in our history.
There are currently two entries in this section of the site. Click on the links below to view the pages.
Photo: Grant Strate, 2002 / Photo by Chris Randle
The Royal Winnipeg Ballet Alumni Association was formed in 1989 with Margaret (Hample) Piasecki as its Founding Director. The RWB's 50th anniversary brought together generations of dancers and seeing each other after many years apart prompted a group to keep the lines of communication open for all those who had danced with the company. The Association's headquarters are housed in the Royal Winnipeg Ballet building in Winnipeg. The Association's goals are to continue communication among the alumni, support the activities of the company and school, and maintain the company's history.
This gallery is an extension of the Encyclopedia of Theatre Dance in Canada/Encyclopédie de la Danse Théâtrale au Canada project. The entries here were submitted by the individual members. In future years we hope to include other groups on the DCD web site.
Photo: Royal Winnipeg Ballet on tour c. 1954
Vincent Warren consacre toute sa vie à la danse. Si l’on parle communément de « vie consacrée », peu ont un parcours aussi exhaustif que Warren, touchant à tous les aspects de la forme d’art : spectacle, étude, enseignement, mentorat, rédaction et collection. Sa quête insatiable pour le savoir sur la danse a produit un héritage hors du commun.
L’appartement de Warren à Montréal, qui a accueilli nombre de danseurs et de professionnels depuis les années, était un petit musée en soi – les étagères remplies de livres, de photographies, de statuettes et de souvenirs, et les murs couverts de peintures, d’affiches et de clichés 8x10 donnés à l’artiste par ses amis et collègues au cours de sa vie en danse. En 2013, Warren a dû quitter son appartement. Dance Collection Danse y a envoyé le photographe Michael Slobodian pour documenter un moment historique, une vie en danse… une collection personnelle.
Photo: Vincent Warren, Montreal, 2013 / Photo by Michael Slobodian
This component of the DCD web site offers images, brief biographies and content descriptions for dance artist's portfolios within the Dance Collection Danse archives. (READ MORE)
At its heart DCD is an archives. Much of what we do, be it exhibitions, publishing, workshops or research, speaks to the commitment we've made to share the Canadian dance story. (READ MORE)
A project initiated and co-ordinated by Carol Anderson, it records the stories of nine individuals who have come to Canada, brought their dancing and continued to evolve their art and practice here. (READ MORE)
1303 - 2 Carlton St.
Toronto, ON
M5B 1J3
Canada
Phone: 416-365-3233
1-800-665-5320
(toll free in Canada)
Fax: 416-365-3169
talk@dcd.ca
Research Centre
Mon. - Fri. 9:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.
Appointment Required
Contact Amy Bowring by email or call one of the numbers above
Miriam Adams, C.M.
Co-founder/Advisor
Amy Bowring
Executive and Curatorial Director
Jay Rankin
Administrative Director
Vickie Fagan
Director of Development and Producer/Hall of Fame
Michael Ripley
Marketing & Sales Coordinator
Beth Dobson
Metcalf Foundation Performing Arts Intern
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