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A large variety of dance companies exist in Canada, encompassing a wide tradition of dances that represent both its many indigenous cultures, as well as that of its European-descended population.
Some ballet companies include the Royal Winnipeg Ballet, the National Ballet of Canada (which is based in Toronto), Ballet Jörgen Canada (also based in Toronto), Les Grands Ballets Canadiens (based in Montréal), the Alberta Ballet (based in Calgary), Ballet BC (based in Vancouver), Ballet Kelowna, Ballet du Printemps (also based in Vancouver), Ballet Victoria, Canadian Pacific Ballet (based in Victoria), and the Goh Ballet in Vancouver. There are also many modern dance companies including Toronto Dance Theatre, O Vertigo in Montréal, Compagnie Marie Chouinard in Montréal, Par B.l.eux founded by Benoît Lachambre in Montréal, Danny Grossman Dance Company in Toronto, The Chimera Project in Toronto, Mocean Dance in Halifax and Winnipeg's Contemporary Dancers.
The largest company in the country is The National Ballet of Canada. The Royal Winnipeg is the second oldest and longest continuously running ballet company in North America. It was the first ballet company in the Common Wealth to receive the Royal charter. Canada is home to hundreds of amateur Ukrainian dance groups as well as professional and semi-professional companies such as the Cheremosh Ukrainian Dance Company in Edmonton.
Dancemakers is a modern dance company in Canada created in 1974 by Marcy Radler and Andraya Ciel Smith. [1] In 1977 Peggy Baker and Patricia Miner were the first co-directors of Dancemakers. [1] In 1979 Anna Blewchamp and then Peggy Baker were directors of Dancemakers. [1] In 1980 Carol Anderson and Patricia Fraser became co-artistic directors of Dancemakers. [1] Carol Anderson became the sole artistic director of Dancemakers from 1985-1988. [1]
Another modern dance company in Canada is the Danny Grossman Dance Company. In 1975, the Danny Grossman Dance Company was founded in Toronto, Ontario. [2] The Danny Grossman Dance Company originally consisted of dancers Danny Grossman, Judy Hendon, Erik Bobrow and Greg Parks. [2] The company has performed around the world as well as within Canada. [2] Presently, the company goes and teaches the work of the Danny Grossman Dance Company to dancers who are currently getting their dance education in academic institutions. [3]
There are dance programs in Canada at the post-secondary level. York University, University of Québec, Concordia, University of Calgary, and Simon Fraser University all offer studies in Dance. [4] There are college programs for dance at Toronto Metropolitan University (formerly Ryerson University), George Brown College and Grant MacEwan College. [5]
Canada is an active member of two largest ballroom dance associations, WDSF (national branch called Canada DanceSport) and WDC. It hosts such noticeable annual dance competitions as Snowball Classic and La Classique du Quebec.
The Red River Jig is a traditional dance of the Canadian Métis. The origins of the dance lie in the traditional dances of the First Nations, French, English, Scots, and Orcadian peoples from whom the Métis Nation was born. The name refers to the Red River of the North which forms the border between North Dakota and Minnesota flowing northward through Winnipeg, Manitoba to Hudson Bay.
A Round Dance is a traditional dance of several Indigenous groups in Western Canada. A powwow typically includes several dances such as jingle dress dancing and hoop dancing. Northwest coast Indigenous nations in the smokehouse or longhouse traditions include ceremonial, social and performative dancing such as the archer dance and the down-spreading dance.
Canadian dancers have been recognised in international competitions.
The Canada Council for the Arts administers the Jacqueline Lemieux Prize [14] that recognizes outstanding contributions to dance in Canada from established dance professionals.
The prize was established in 1980 and is awarded in memory of Jacqueline Lemieux and her contribution to the development of Canadian dance. Lemieux and her husband Lawrence Gradus co-founded a summer school in Lennoxville, Quebec. She was a teacher, administrator, and member of the Canada Council for the Arts’ Advisory Panel.
The Lemieux Prize has rewarded [15] performers, choreographers, teachers, film makers, journalists, theatre technicians, and community workers. The prize winners come from dance forms that include ballet, contemporary, classical Indian dance, flamenco, and indigenous dance forms. Recipients include Robert Desrosiers, Daniel Léveillé, Jennifer Mascall, Louise Bédard, Michael Montanaro, Lucie Boissinot, Marie Chouinard, Cylla Von Tiedemann, Sylvain Émard, Jo Lechay, Elizabeth Langley, Benoit Lachambre, David Earle, Bill Coleman, Judith Marcuse, Philip Szporer, Crystal Pite, and Serge Bennethan.
Dance in Quebec includes dances that are specific to the province of Quebec, Canada, it comprises traditional group, couple, and solo dance as well as contemporary jazz, ballet, and modern dance. There are a number of dance companies and dance schools. Quebec's most renowned organizations are Les Ballets Jazz de Montréal, Les Grands Ballets Canadiens de Montréal as well as the contemporary dance crew La La La Human Steps, directed by the choreographer Édouard Lock and his emblematic dancer Louise Lecavalier.
The National Ballet of Canada is a Canadian ballet company that was founded in 1951 in Toronto, Ontario, with Celia Franca, the first artistic director. A company of 70 dancers with its own orchestra, the National Ballet has been led since 2022 by artistic director Hope Muir. Renowned for its diverse repertoire, the company performs traditional full-length classics, embraces contemporary work and encourages the creation of new ballets, as well as the development of Canadian dancers and choreographers.
The Royal Winnipeg Ballet is Canada's oldest ballet company and the longest continuously operating ballet company in North America.
Brian Ronald Macdonald was a Canadian dancer, choreographer and director of opera, theatre and musical theatre.
Anik Bissonnette OC CQ, is a Canadian ballet dancer. She started her professional ballet career with the Ballet de Montreal Eddy Toussaint in the 1980s. She was a principal dancer beginning in 1990 with Les Grands Ballets Canadiens. Her father, Jean Bissonnette, was a famous television director with Télévision de Radio-Canada.
Chan Hon Goh, C.M, is a Chinese ballerina based in Canada. Goh was most notably a principal dancer with The National Ballet of Canada before going on to become a published author, director, teacher, executive producer, and entrepreneur.
Louis Robitaille, is a Canadian ballet dancer and artistic director. He was discovered at a high school dance performance and received a scholarship to train at Les Ballets Jazz de Montreal. He danced with Anik Bissonnette in Eddy Toussaint's dance company, where they garnered acclaim. He also danced with Les Grands Ballets Canadiens as a principal dancer.
Marie Chouinard OC is a Canadian dancer, choreographer, and dance company director.
James Kudelka, OC, is a Canadian choreographer, dancer, and director. He was the artistic director of the National Ballet of Canada from 1996 to 2005, now serving as the National Ballet's artist in residence.
The Canadian Ballet Festival was an annual event staged in Canada from 1948 to 1954 that brought together various Canadian dance companies to generate public interest in classical dance. Prior to the festivals, it was difficult for professional Canadian dancers to earn a living by practising their art in their own country. When the festivals ended in 1954 after six years, Canadian dancers were able to find paid work in Canadian television practising their art.
José Navas is a contemporary choreographer and dancer born in Venezuela in 1965, and based in Montreal, Quebec.
The Toronto Dance Theatre is a Canadian modern dance company based in Toronto, Ontario. Described by The Canadian Encyclopedia as "one of the foremost modern-dance companies in Canada", the company tours nationally and internationally and regularly performs at the Harbourfront Centre and Winchester Street Theatre in Toronto. The company currently consists of nine dancers and two dance interns in addition to other artistic staff. The ensemble has been led by Artistic Director Christopher House since 1994.
Vadim Garbuzov is a Canadian and Austrian ballroom dancer, showman and choreographer of Ukrainian descent. He was the World Youth Championship finalist in 2005, the winner of the Austrian TV program Dancing Stars in 2012, 2014 and 2020, and the professional world champion in Latin and Standard show dance 2015-2017. Currently, he is a Pro on the German TV Show Let’s Dance.
Ginette Laurin C.M. is a Canadian dancer, choreographer and artistic director. In 1984, she founded the dance group named O Vertigo, based in Montreal. O Vertigo is dedicated to creation in new dance and to broadcasting Ginette Laurin's works all over the world.
Robert Guy Desrosiers is a Canadian dancer and choreographer. After a brief dance career, he founded the Desrosiers Dance Theatre and choreographed surreal and theatrical dances. After the company’s disbandment, he pursued a variety of artistic professions before returning as a freelance choreographer.
David Earle is a Canadian choreographer, dancer and artistic director. In 1968 Earle was co-founder and co-artistic director of Toronto Dance Theatre alongside Patricia Beatty and Peter Randazzo, where Earle choreographed new modern dance pieces. In 1996 Earle started his own company called Dancetheatre David Earle where he continues to choreograph new works, to teach, and to create with the next generation of modern dancers. David Earle has received many accolades; a member of the Order of Canada, a recipient of the Jean A. Chalmers Award for Distinction in Choreography, also an honorary doctorate degree from Queen’s University in Kingston, Ontario.
Rachel Browne was a dancer, teacher and choreographer based in Winnipeg. In 1964, she founded Canada's longest running modern dance company, Winnipeg's Contemporary Dancers.
Judith Rose Marcuse is a Canadian dancer and choreographer. She created over 100 choreographic works many of which are focused on community-engaged art for social change. Marcuse's performance and choreographic work has been recognized in Canada and around the world.
Gala is a Canadian documentary film, directed by Michael McKennirey and John N. Smith and released in 1982. A portrait of the Canadian Dance Spectacular, a 1981 show at the National Arts Centre in Ottawa, Ontario, at which eight Canadian professional dance companies all performed on stage together for the first time, the film blends both dance performance segments and backstage footage.
