"The value of dance (and art) emerges when it is contextualized within community. My challenge: How can my practise, performance and teaching, be in dialogue with the world?"
"My teaching is largely inspired by an improvisational theatre mantra: "Let Go, Play Big, Notice More". For me, these three directives offer a rich foundation that enables personal growth, radical creativity and heightened awareness. I aim to foster environments in which students can work together to generate experiences that yield discovery. Above all, I am adamant that explorations in the studio can and should apply to everyday life. How are we becoming better friends / citizens / humans through this work together?"
As the Co-Founder and Co-Director of TOES FOR DANCE (TFD), I am committed to outreach and education as an integral and necessary part of my artistic practise. Alongside my fellow Co-Director Kristen Carcone and our incredible Board of Directors, I organize and produce workshops, performances and research projects across Canada.
In it's most powerful form, dance performance can express ideas, provoke thought, initiate social change and rejuvenate the human spirit. TFD's approach to performance is interactive and inclusive. Every other autumn we present Works-In-Process Showings at high schools in Ontario. During our 2018-2019 season we will present 4-7-8, an immersive dance-theatre production and Possibilities of Dialogue, an interactive dance performance experience.
In 2016 TFD embarked on a research project called Designing for Dance , funded by The Metcalf Foundation and in collaboration with DanceWorks. The project explored the benefits of design thinking approaches in relation to audience cultivation, stakeholder engagement, organizational planning and social relevance in contemporary dance.
To learn more about TOES FOR DANCE please click here!
Leading a discussion with students during Ignite!, a summer program created and produced by TOES FOR DANCE (Toronto, Canada).
Teaching a Fresh Dance Intensive workshop, a project of TOES FOR DANCE (Pickering, Canada).
Speaking to an audience of high school students before a performance of Possibilities of Dialogue (Toronto, Canada).