- World Dance Alliance Global Assembly 2006 -
TORONTO, June 27, 2006 -- York University will be Canada’s dance central in July as the Department of Dance hosts a series of international gatherings, including the pinnacle dance conference of the year: the World Dance Alliance (WDA) Global Assembly 2006 running July 17-21.
Produced and organized by Mary Jane Warner, Chair of York’s dance department, the WDA Assembly is being held in North America for the first time. It will draw together more than 300 dance artists, scholars and students from more than 20 countries for discussions and performances around the theme Dance/Diversity/Dialogue: Bridging Communities and Cultures.
The conference program includes a wide range of keynote lectures, panels and papers as well as network meetings, workshops for dancers and an innovative community program for youth. It also offers two dynamic performance series open to the public, with daily midday and evening concerts showcasing local, national and international dance artists.
Renowned international presenters include Dance Forum Taipei (Taiwan), Conny Janssen Danst (The Netherlands), Surdance Ensemble (Argentina) and Contempodanza (Mexico). Canadian artists include the acclaimed Karen Jamieson Dance Company with Byron Chief-Moon and York alumna Debra Brown, choreographer for nine Cirque du Soleil productions.
Other performance highlights include a spectacular outdoor opening ceremony featuring circle dances on the York University Common, directed by York dance professor Sashar Zarif, and vertical dance performers from Calgary’s Bird Soul Productions rappelling down the side of the Accolade East building.
“A conference of this magnitude is an exciting opportunity to meet dance artists from around the world, and to experience many different forms of dance,” said Warner.
The complete conference program is available at www.yorku.ca/wda.
WDA is an international service organization that provides information, advocacy and communication for dance organizations and individuals, a forum for the exchange of ideas, and information expertise and resources in all areas of dance. WDA encourages an awareness of, access to and understanding of dance as an art, a ritual and traditional expression, and as a leisure activity in diverse communities throughout the world. It encourages the protection of all forms of dance repertoire by preservation in notation, film and other media. WDA supports the work of existing dance organizations and collaborates with other groups in related disciplines. Through Global Assemblies, WDA facilitates international exchanges and encourages dialogue among all people in dance.
The WDA Global Assembly is book-ended by two other dance conferences taking place at York University in July. Living Ritual: World Indigenous Dance Festival (www.livingritual.ca) organized by First Nations dancer-choreographer and York alumna Santee Smith, runs July 14 to 16. The (Council of Organized Researchers for Pedagogical Studies) CORPS de Ballet International Conference, co-hosted by York’s dance department and Canada’s National Ballet School and co-organized by York dance professor Claire Wootten, runs July 23 to 27.
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Detailed press kit incl. conference & performance schedules, bios of performers and presenters and image CDROM available.
Media Contact:
Mary Jane Warner
Organizer & Producer, WDA Global Assembly 2006
Chair, Department of Dance, York University
416.736.5137 | mjwarner@edu.yorku.ca
Mary-Lou Schagena, Communications, Faculty of Fine Arts, York University
416.736.2100 ext. 20421 | schagena@yorku.ca
