Announcing our new Artistic Director

As we begin the 2026/27 school year, we are excited to share some wonderful updates about what’s ahead for Dance Arts.

First, we want to take a moment to recognize and thank Heidi Strauss for the extraordinary role she has played in bringing us to this moment. When Dance Arts needed someone to step forward in 2024, Heidi heroically swooped in and took on an enormous responsibility. With tremendous care, she brought us back into a period of growth, progress, and renewed possibility. Thank you, Heidi!!

And now, as Dance Arts enters a new chapter, we are thrilled to announce that Natasha Poon Woo will be joining Dance Arts as our new Artistic Director, beginning January 4, 2027.

Natasha brings a deep and longstanding dedication to the training and development of emerging dancers. We are looking forward to seeing the energy, ideas, and perspective Natasha will bring to the school, and to working with her as we continue to build on the strong foundation that has been established.

To support Dance Arts through the first semester as we prepare for Natasha’s arrival, we are also delighted to welcome the incredible Val Calam as our Interim Managing Director. We are so grateful to Val for stepping in during this period of transition and look forward to working with her, learning from her experience, and benefiting from all that she brings to the school.

Below, you will find a personal message from Natasha to the Dance Arts community:

“It is with great honour and excitement that I step into the role of Artistic Director at Dance Arts this year. With this privilege comes the opportunity to deeply invest in what has long been my strongest passion: commitment to the education, professional development, and mentorship of the next generation of dance artists.

Having grown up in Toronto while spending my formative training years at Canadian Contemporary Dance Theatre, my dance world has always been intertwined with and animated by that of Dance Arts (then known as The School of Toronto Dance Theatre). We shared studios, a theatre, common areas and community spaces; for decades the Cabbagetown neighbourhood has been buzzing with the energy of Toronto dance and countless young artists’ palpable potential to flourish. When I began attending then-School of TDT performances as a high school student, what I witnessed expanded my scope of what contemporary dance could encompass. I was invigorated by the rigour, talent and passion so clearly embodied by other emerging dancers like me.

In the years since, having built a career rooted in performance, rehearsal direction and teaching, I have continued to be inspired by Dance Arts’ unwavering commitment to the education of emerging contemporary dancers. With a nearly 60-year history of fostering success, the school has long established itself as an exceptional and renowned artistic institution in Canada. I am honoured to help carry its legacy forward, empowering graduates to pursue their dance careers anywhere in the world, equipped with the skill, passion, and resilience to thrive.

To guide the school through its incoming era of cultivating new generations of professional dance artists is a responsibility I am both thrilled and humbled to take on. I am proud to join the exceptional staff and faculty of Dance Arts as we unfold this next chapter together.”

– Natasha Poon Woo

Welcome to our new and returning students and faculty for the 2026-27 year!

We were thrilled to welcome back our new and returning Dance Arts students for their first week of school. After introductions and orientation, the students enjoyed a pizza lunch, a meet and greet with TDT, and finished the day with a student council-led scavenger hunt to get to know Cabbagetown (and each other!).

We are back in full swing, with classes, workshops, and rehearsals. Wishing all students, faculty, guest artists, and choreographers a fantastic year! We are so excited for what’s in store for you all this season!

On September 3rd, in preparation for the 2026-27 school year, we held a retreat for new and returning core faculty. We are proud to announce that over 50 professional artists will be in the school this year, sharing their expertise with the students. This includes a vast variety of contemporary dance practices, and other workshops in African dance styles, Krump, Improvisation, Intimacy Coordination, Injury Prevention and more! We are thrilled to announce the students will have the opportunity to learn and perform work by renowned artists from Toronto and beyond; alumni Elke Shroeder, Pulga Muchochoma, Anna Finkel; local choreographers Ame Henderson, Lukas Malkowski, Rumi Jeraj, and a special remount of “Canvas 5×5” by the late Tedd Robinson remounted by alumna Susanne Chui and Rhonda Baker.

Follow us on instagram or sign up for our newsletter to stay up to date on all things regarding performances, auditions, and workshops! Check out our website to learn more about each faculty member here.

Photo credits
1. Natasha Poon Woo, Photo by Drew Berry 2. Natasha Poon Woo, Photo by Fran Chudnoff 3. Dance Arts students/staff, and TDT dancers/staff, Photo by Megan Nadain 4. Dance Arts Core Faculty, photo by Megan Nadain.