Congratulations to the School’s Graduating Class of 2022!
Our graduates are outstanding individuals and it has been a privilege to witness their development and growth over the past three years. We are proud of their commitment to learning, their generous and creative spirit, and high caliber of work as dance professionals. Warmest congratulations on your graduation and we look forward to seeing you again in the future as a part of our alumni community!
Top L-R: Fannie-Rose Bernard, Jayna Shi, Jaimee Leggett, Sydney-Grace James. Middle L-R: Katie Adams-Gossage, Nidhi Baadkar, Frédérique Perron. Bottom L-R: Hannah Faith, Kayla Champis, Julianna Heft, Ben King. Photos by Aidan Tooth.
With another wonderful school year wrapped up, it is a time of reflection and celebration. We are pleased to announce the award recipients of the Spring Bursaries, Kathryn Ash Scholarship, Leslie Wood Leadership Award, the Winchester Prize, and the Kathryn Ash Choreographic Commission. Our congratulations go out to the award winners.
Spring Bursaries
Recipients: Rajvi Dedhia, Abby Hanson, Frédérique Perron and Jayna Shi
The Spring Bursary was established by the School to support students in their second and third year of study who demonstrate academic excellence and financial need. This bursary also prioritizes IBPOC students and is made possible through the generosity and support of our annual fund donors. The Spring Bursary awards a total of $4,000 annually.
The Kathryn Ash Scholarship
Recipient: Rajvi Dedhia
The Kathryn Ash Scholarship is a merit-based award given to a deserving student entering their final year of study. It is made possible by donations to the Kathryn Ash Scholarship Fund. The fund was established by a group of generous donors, in memory of Kathryn Ash, former chair and president of the School’s board of directors. The scholarship amount equals half of the upcoming year’s domestic tuition, which is $3,495 this year.
Leslie Wood Leadership Award
Recipient: Katie Adams-Gossage
The Leslie Wood Leadership Award is presented to a third year student who has displayed leadership qualities and has made a significant contribution to the life of the School. The award is named in honour of Leslie Wood, the exceptionally devoted former chair and president of the School’s Board of Directors, and recognizes Leslie’s dedication to the School and the role model she has provided to us all. The leadership award is $1,000.
The Winchester Prize
Recipient: Frédérique Perron and Katie Adams-Gossage
The Winchester Prize was established through the generosity of Lindy Green and Sam Chaiton. The Prize is presented for choreographic distinction and perceived potential for creative development. In addition to a cash prize of $500, the recipients will receive support to further develop their work with the guidance of a mentor, as well as the presentation of their work under the aegis of the SummerWorks Performance Festival, valued at up to $20,000.
L-R: Katie Adams-Gossage, Jayna Shi, Frédérique Perron, Rajvi Dedhia, Abby Hanson.
Photos 1-3 by Aidan Tooth. Photos 4-5 by Jeremy Mimnagh.
The Kathryn Ash Choreographic Commission
Recipient: Amanda Acorn
The Kathryn Ash Choreographic Commission is awarded by the School to a choreographer selected to create a production with the students. We are thrilled to have alumni Amanda Acorn joining the School and working with the third year class in the fall for their December production.
Photo by Talia Shipman
Amanda Acorn is a choreographer and artist based in Tkaronto, Canada. Her practice includes somatic movement, improvisation, writing, drawing and exploring the body as an empathetic and malleable system. She creates intimate, sensorial encounters and responsive environments for shared embodied exchange. Her newest group work, no place, explores the body in dialogue with the material world through emergent, relational practice and an evolving construction of space and place. She is a graduate of the Canadian College of Performing Arts and the School of Toronto Dance Theatre’s Professional Training Program. Her work multiform(s) (2015), was awarded the Canadian Stage Award for Direction at SummerWorks Performance Festival and was subsequently presented in Montréal at the Festival TransAmériques (2016), Workers Arts. Heritage Centre in Hamilton (2017) and was remounted in Toronto, at the Music Gallery and the AGO (2018). Her solo and group works have been presented in diverse venues in Toronto including the Art Gallery of Ontario, The Citadel, Videofag, Toronto Dance Theatre, Summerworks Festival, The Music Gallery and many site-specific locations in collaboration with ArtSpin. From 2015 through 2019 she had the opportunity to present her work at festivals and venues across Canada including the Festival TransAmériques in Montréal, Workers Arts Heritage Centre in Hamilton, Festival of New Dance in St John’s, Dancer’s Studio West in Calgary, as well as the Push Festival and Gold Saucer Studio in Vancouver. She was the emerging artist in residence at Dancemakers (2016-2018) where she created the site-specific work Leisure Palace, presented at InFuture and began the initial research for no place. She co-founded the artist-led, grassroots dance organization, the Love-In with Eroca Nicols in 2010. Amanda is a passionate facilitator of movement and works to build spaces for care through the intersections of her art practice and her work as a movement guide, teaching contemporary technique, improvisation and Pilates. She is furthering her study of the dialogue between bodies through an MA in Interdisciplinary Studies from York University as well as the practice of Gestalt Psychotherapy through the Gestalt Institute of Toronto.
