Ontario Chapter

Download the Annual Report 2008/09
NEWS
CADA-ON Media Release- New Partnership with Dance Ontario
Scope

CADA-ON is a provincial organization in Ontario. In order to acknowledge the nomadic work life of many professional dance artists and the small size of the dance community in Canada, CADA-ON accepts members residing in other provinces. If you are a member of CADA-BC or RQD, then you are eligible only for Associate membership.

Strategic Plan

CADA-ON's 2008-2011 Strategic Plan is available for download here.

Location

The Ontario Chapter is located within the Centre for Social Innovation, 215 Spadina Avenue, Suite 400 in downtown Toronto. Office hours are currently Monday to Friday, 10 am to 4 pm. Members are advised to call ahead for an appointment.

Board of Directors

Executive Commettee

Lucy Rupert (Co-Chair) is a dancer/choreographer and theatre performer. She runs Blue Ceiling dance, and frequently works with the critically acclaimed physical theatre company Theatre Rusticle. Lucy's choreography, noted for her ferocious and fragile performance, has been seen across Canada and in New York, and Germany. Lucy has worked with choreographers Andrea Nann, Viv Moore, Susan Kendal and Tina Fushell, among others. Recent and ongoing projects include collaborations with actor Matthew Romantini, choreographer Kyle Abraham, and singer-songwriter Sarah Slean, and Theatre Rusticle's stunning show April 14, 1912. Lucy is also an arts administrator, currently working for DanceWorks and Puppetmongers Theatre. Lucy has a Masters degree in History, a Double B.A. in Dance and Music.

Ms. Rupert was elected in 2006/07.

Nova Bhattacharya (Co-Chair) has trained with some of bharatanatyam’s most esteemed teachers including Menaka Thakkar, Kalanidhi Narayan and Kitappa Pillai. For eleven years she toured with Menaka Thakkar & Company as a soloist and company member. In 1997, after an eight year career in the investment industry, she returned to the world of dance, working at Dance Umbrella of Ontario as Adminstrator, Artists’ Services. In 1999 she fully committed to her dance career and since that time this gifted interpreter has appeared with a number of companies while building an exceptional body of work, ranging from full length classical recitals in the bharatanatyam style, to powerful contemporary works. Her role in the dance community extends into advocacy through her ongoing work as a writer, speaker and consultant. Her clients have included CADA, Candance Network, Coleman Lemiuex & Company, Dusk Dances, Hummingbird Centre for the Performing Arts, McIntyre International Arts Management, ProArteDanza and Sampradaya Dance Creations. She has given keynote addresses and is regularly invited to speak on behalf on independent artists and the dance and arts community. She was instrumental in the creation of the draft document implemented by numerous dance companies in response to the Toronto Arts Council’s Anti-Racism, Access and Equity Policy and served as the Chair of the RBC Dominion Securities Employment Systems Review Committee. She has previously served on the Board of Directors of Sinha Dance and Peggy Baker Dance Projects. Currently she is the Treasurer of CADA and is on the Dora Mavor Moore jury for dance.

Ms. Bhattacharya was elected in 2006/07.

After completing bachelor’s degrees in art history/film from Syracuse University, MICHAEL CALDWELL (Treasurer) began his dance training at The School of Toronto Dance Theatre. Upon his graduation, Caldwell has interpreted, created, and performed, both nationally and internationally, with Sylvie Bouchard, Martin Bélanger, Darcey Callison, Tony Chong, Danny Grossman, Maxine Heppner, Louis Laberge-Côté, Lynndsey Larre, Keiko Ninomiya, Tedd Robinson, Holly Small, Santee Smith and William Yong and with various companies including Coleman Lemieux & Compagnie, CORPUS, the Crazyfish Collective, and Dusk Dances. Michael was an interpreter in the final season of Le Groupe Dance Lab, studying with the iconic Peter Boneham. Most recently, Michael presented a solo commission with vocalist, Patricia Ruggles and visual artist, Seth Ruggles Hiler in New York. He will premiere a new work in the Dusk Dances Festival in summer 2010 and will develop his choreographic practice with Conrad Alexandrowicz and Karen Jamieson in the upcoming year. Michael is also a board member with The School of Toronto Dance Theatre and the Canadian Alliance of Dance Artists – Ontario Chapter.

Mr. Caldwell was elected in 2009/10

Directors in Alphabetical Order

Kate Alton is an acclaimed award winning Canadian dancer and choreographer who has performed on stages around the globe. She is a former member of Toronto Dance Theatre and is Artistic Director of her own company, Crooked Figure Dances. Her work has been presented across Canada and in Europe. Most recently her work was seen on stage at the Factory Theatre in Toronto and at the Great Canadian Theatre Company in Ottawa in the Volcano/Crooked Figure Dances co-production The Four Horsemen Project, which garnered four Dora Awards including Best Production, Best New Play, and Best Direction by Kate Alton and Ross Manson.

Ms. Alton was elected in 2007/08.

Raised on a farm near London, ON, Tracey Norman is an independent dancer, choreographer, teacher, and administrator based in Toronto. Her choreography has been commissioned by many organizations and series, including: Dance Ontario, DanceWorks, Canadian Children's Dance Theatre, York Dance Ensemble, Nuit Blanche, Series 8:08 Season Finale, Kinetic Studio (Halifax), Festival de Danse en l'Atlantique (Cap-Pele, NB), Toronto International Dance Festival/fFIDA, HowDareShe Productions, and Larchaud Dance Project. Tracey has had the pleasure of performing in works by many independent choreographers. As a children's dance teacher, Tracey is a Program Assistant at Series 8:08. Tracey recently presented her first full evening production, Anthology vol. 1 (a DanceWorks Co Works Series event). Currently, Tracey is pursuing her MFA in choreography at York University.

Ms. Norman was elected in 2008/09.

Brodie Stevenson was born in the small village of Oweekeno on British Columbia’s central coast. After studying theatre for four years in Victoria and Vancouver he discovered dance through the practice of Contact Improvisation. In 2004 Stevenson enrolled in The School of Toronto Dance Theatre and graduated in 2007.

Stevenson has recently enjoyed working with choreographers Piotr Biernat, Sylvie Bouchard, David Earle, Darryl Hoskins, and Sasha Ivanochko. He is an active member of the dance collective, Octamerous, and recently co-created an original piece for the summer festival, Dusk Dances. Stevenson is currently a company member of Toronto Dance Theatre where he has had the opportunity to work with choreographers such as Josh Beamish, Christopher House, Felix Marchand, and Natasha Torres-Garner.

Mr. Stevenson was elected in 2009/10.

Julye Huggins is a graduate student in the PhD program of the Dance Department at York University, from which she also earned a MA and honours BFA. She also holds a professional certification in Laban Movement Analysis and Bartenieff Fundamentals from the Laban/Bartenieff Institute of Movement Studies. On the administrative front, she has worked for Yvonne Ng's princess productions, as well as the Dance Umbrella of Ontario, first as the Office Manager and then Marketing Coordinator and Education Animateur. She now heads the writing for The Dance Current's daily video blog DancePassport.ca.

Her work as an independent contemporary dance artist has been scattered. She recently joined Collective Heat, and prior to this, she has had the opportunity to work with Canadian choreographers Danny Grossman, Claudia Moore, Andrea Nann, Motaz Kabbani, Roger Sinha, Trish Armstrong, Sara Porter, Donna Krasnow, Sunny Horvath, Denise Vitali, and others. Her choreography and performances have been seen in Toronto and Sudbury, including Nuit Blanche, Dusk Dances, and earthdancers, with which she has an ongoing affiliation for over 18 years. Developing as both a professional dancer and dance professional, she has proven herself a performer, choreographer, rehearsal director, administrator, producer, researcher, teacher, and creative think-tank.

Ms. Huggins was elected in 2009/10

Staff

Elizabeth Chitty, Executive Director

Elizabeth Chitty joined CADA-ON in mid-March 2008. She has over 30 years experience as an arts professional and has directed arts service organizations at the national and regional level. She comes to CADA-ON from the St. Catharines and Area Arts Council where she was the first Executive Director, developing and delivering Artistic and Education Programs amongst other responsibilities. She has worked in policy development or arts management in artist-run centres and provincial and municipal governments and wrote the municipal cultural policy for the City of St. Catharines in collaboration with a volunteer Steering Committee. As a consultant, her clients included numerous arts organizations, Niagara Regional Native Centre, Ontario Arts Council and universities. She studied mediation and facilitation in the early and mid-1990s, acquiring a Certificate in Alternative Dispute Resolution and undertaking some undergraduate work in Peace and Conflict Studies at University of Waterloo. She taught Creative Process at The School of the Toronto Dance Theatre from 1991-2007 where she instituted the Choreographic Workshops and developed a pedagogy influenced by her work as a facilitator. She has many published texts, most recently in Caught in the Act: Canadian Women in Performance 1970-90, published by YYZ Editions in 2004. In this book she has three texts including the essay, Asserting Our Bodies, which discusses an important era in dance and performance art history. The book also includes essays on her own work. She was amongst the earliest graduates of the Dance Department of York University and has received numerous awards and honours including one of the first Chalmers Fellowships and the 2006 YWCA Niagara Woman of Distinction Award for Arts and Culture. She continues an interdisciplinary artistic practice and last performed major work at Tangente danse contemporain in Montreal in 2004. More recently she has produced a constructed photograph, led a Soundwalk and is working on two installations. Her artistic work can be seen at elizabethchitty.ca and at ccca.ca. Elizabeth lives in St. Catharines and has a daughter studying at Ryerson University.

Ariel Lin, Membership Services Coordinator

Ariel holds an undergraduate degree in Music with major instruments piano and flute from Queen’s University. She is currently studying in the Art Management co-operative program from University of Toronto, while spending time exploring the Toronto art environment. She is actively learning and absorbing the nature of the Canadian arts culture by attending performances and arts-related events including private recitals, symphony, opera, ballet, musicals, exhibitions, and solo performances of all kinds. Enjoying her new start working within Canadian performing arts sector, Ariel worked for the renowned music publisher of the Royal Conservatory of Music, completing major research projects for them. Her past experiences in the performing arts field include being a leading performer for TECO annual event in Parliament, supervising the managerial part of a recital for contre-tenor D. Kai Ma, and maintaining her own small studio in flute and piano.

Legal Counsel

Glenn Wheeler

Glenn Wheeler attended Osgoode Hall Law School and articled at the prominent Toronto litigation and labour law firm Sack Goldblatt Mitchell, where former Ontario premier Bob Rae also did his articling. Glenn was also an associate at Shell Lawyers, a boutique firm whose practice focuses on labour and human rights law and civil litigation.

Glenn has degrees in journalism, criminology and law. He has written for the Globe and Mail, the Canadian Press, NOW Magazine and other publications. For more than a decade, he was associate editor of NOW and head of the news department as it broke stories about police corruption and mistreatment of suspects, municipal corruption and political intrigue – stories that got him and NOW in the national news. Glenn also reported for NOW from around the world. He covered the end of apartheid in South Africa and the release from prison of Nelson Mandela.

Glenn was born in York Harbour, Newfoundland and maintains strong connections with his native province. Glenn is of Mi’kmaq aboriginal heritage and is a member of the local Mi’kmaq band.

Executive Commettee Lucy Rupert (Co-Chair) is a dancer/choreographer and theatre performer. She runs Blue Ceiling dance, and frequently works with the critically acclaimed physical theatre company Theatre Rusticle. Lucy's choreography, noted for her ferocious and fragile performance, has been seen across Canada and in New York, and Germany. Lucy has worked with choreographers Andrea Nann, Viv Moore, Susan Kendal and Tina Fushell, among others. Recent and ongoing projects include collaborations with actor Matthew Romantini, choreographer Kyle Abraham, and singer-songwriter Sarah Slean, and Theatre Rusticle's stunning show April 14, 1912. Lucy is also an arts administrator, currently working for DanceWorks and Puppetmongers Theatre. Lucy has a Masters degree in History, a Double B.A. in Dance and Music. Ms. Rupert was elected in 2006/07.
Nova Bhattacharya (Co-Chair) has trained with some of bharatanatyam’s most esteemed teachers including Menaka Thakkar, Kalanidhi Narayan and Kitappa Pillai. For eleven years she toured with Menaka Thakkar & Company as a soloist and company member. In 1997, after an eight year career in the investment industry, she returned to the world of dance, working at Dance Umbrella of Ontario as Adminstrator, Artists’ Services. In 1999 she fully committed to her dance career and since that time this gifted interpreter has appeared with a number of companies while building an exceptional body of work, ranging from full length classical recitals in the bharatanatyam style, to powerful contemporary works. Her role in the dance community extends into advocacy through her ongoing work as a writer, speaker and consultant. Her clients have included CADA, Candance Network, Coleman Lemiuex & Company, Dusk Dances, Hummingbird Centre for the Performing Arts, McIntyre International Arts Management, ProArteDanza and Sampradaya Dance Creations. She has given keynote addresses and is regularly invited to speak on behalf on independent artists and the dance and arts community. She was instrumental in the creation of the draft document implemented by numerous dance companies in response to the Toronto Arts Council’s Anti-Racism, Access and Equity Policy and served as the Chair of the RBC Dominion Securities Employment Systems Review Committee. She has previously served on the Board of Directors of Sinha Dance and Peggy Baker Dance Projects. Currently she is the Treasurer of CADA and is on the Dora Mavor Moore jury for dance. Ms. Bhattacharya was elected in 2006/07. After completing bachelor’s degrees in art history/film from Syracuse University, MICHAEL CALDWELL (Treasurer) began his dance training at The School of Toronto Dance Theatre. Upon his graduation, Caldwell has interpreted, created, and performed, both nationally and internationally, with Sylvie Bouchard, Martin Bélanger, Darcey Callison, Tony Chong, Danny Grossman, Maxine Heppner, Louis Laberge-Côté, Lynndsey Larre, Keiko Ninomiya, Tedd Robinson, Holly Small, Santee Smith and William Yong and with various companies including Coleman Lemieux & Compagnie, CORPUS, the Crazyfish Collective, and Dusk Dances. Michael was an interpreter in the final season of Le Groupe Dance Lab, studying with the iconic Peter Boneham. Most recently, Michael presented a solo commission with vocalist, Patricia Ruggles and visual artist, Seth Ruggles Hiler in New York. He will premiere a new work in the Dusk Dances Festival in summer 2010 and will develop his choreographic practice with Conrad Alexandrowicz and Karen Jamieson in the upcoming year. Michael is also a board member with The School of Toronto Dance Theatre and the Canadian Alliance of Dance Artists – Ontario Chapter. Mr. Caldwell was elected in 2009/10
Directors in Alphabetical Order Kate Alton is an acclaimed award winning Canadian dancer and choreographer who has performed on stages around the globe. She is a former member of Toronto Dance Theatre and is Artistic Director of her own company, Crooked Figure Dances. Her work has been presented across Canada and in Europe. Most recently her work was seen on stage at the Factory Theatre in Toronto and at the Great Canadian Theatre Company in Ottawa in the Volcano/Crooked Figure Dances co-production The Four Horsemen Project, which garnered four Dora Awards including Best Production, Best New Play, and Best Direction by Kate Alton and Ross Manson. Ms. Alton was elected in 2007/08.
Raised on a farm near London, ON, Tracey Norman is an independent dancer, choreographer, teacher, and administrator based in Toronto. Her choreography has been commissioned by many organizations and series, including: Dance Ontario, DanceWorks, Canadian Children's Dance Theatre, York Dance Ensemble, Nuit Blanche, Series 8:08 Season Finale, Kinetic Studio (Halifax), Festival de Danse en l'Atlantique (Cap-Pele, NB), Toronto International Dance Festival/fFIDA, HowDareShe Productions, and Larchaud Dance Project. Tracey has had the pleasure of performing in works by many independent choreographers. As a children's dance teacher, Tracey is a Program Assistant at Series 8:08. Tracey recently presented her first full evening production, Anthology vol. 1 (a DanceWorks Co Works Series event). Currently, Tracey is pursuing her MFA in choreography at York University. Ms. Norman was elected in 2008/09.
Brodie Stevenson was born in the small village of Oweekeno on British Columbia’s central coast. After studying theatre for four years in Victoria and Vancouver he discovered dance through the practice of Contact Improvisation. In 2004 Stevenson enrolled in The School of Toronto Dance Theatre and graduated in 2007. Stevenson has recently enjoyed working with choreographers Piotr Biernat, Sylvie Bouchard, David Earle, Darryl Hoskins, and Sasha Ivanochko. He is an active member of the dance collective, Octamerous, and recently co-created an original piece for the summer festival, Dusk Dances. Stevenson is currently a company member of Toronto Dance Theatre where he has had the opportunity to work with choreographers such as Josh Beamish, Christopher House, Felix Marchand, and Natasha Torres-Garner. Mr. Stevenson was elected in 2009/10. Julye Huggins is a graduate student in the PhD program of the Dance Department at York University, from which she also earned a MA and honours BFA. She also holds a professional certification in Laban Movement Analysis and Bartenieff Fundamentals from the Laban/Bartenieff Institute of Movement Studies. On the administrative front, she has worked for Yvonne Ng's princess productions, as well as the Dance Umbrella of Ontario, first as the Office Manager and then Marketing Coordinator and Education Animateur. She now heads the writing for The Dance Current's daily video blog DancePassport.ca. Her work as an independent contemporary dance artist has been scattered. She recently joined Collective Heat, and prior to this, she has had the opportunity to work with Canadian choreographers Danny Grossman, Claudia Moore, Andrea Nann, Motaz Kabbani, Roger Sinha, Trish Armstrong, Sara Porter, Donna Krasnow, Sunny Horvath, Denise Vitali, and others. Her choreography and performances have been seen in Toronto and Sudbury, including Nuit Blanche, Dusk Dances, and earthdancers, with which she has an ongoing affiliation for over 18 years. Developing as both a professional dancer and dance professional, she has proven herself a performer, choreographer, rehearsal director, administrator, producer, researcher, teacher, and creative think-tank. Ms. Huggins was elected in 2009/10

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Ontario Chapter

Board of Directors

Staff

Legal Counsel