WHO'S WHO

ARTISTIC DIRECTOR

DEBORAH LUNDMARK

Deborah Lundmark, TILT’s Artistic Director, launched TILT sound + motion with partner Michael deConinck Smith (Managing Director) at the 2002 Canada Dance Festival. The debut marked the fruition of a long-time dream for the founders, who envisioned a contemporary ensemble of emerging dance professionals equipped to speak directly and provocatively to contemporary audiences.

In many ways TILT picks up where the founders’ first passion, the Canadian Children’s Dance Theatre (1980), leaves off. Ms. Lundmark has created more than 30 works for CCDT including collaborations with Danny Grossman, Holly Small, The Toronto Children’s Chorus and the Toronto Symphony Youth Orchestra.

Her dances have delighted audiences across Canada and as far away as Singapore, Malaysia and the People’s Republic of China. In her spare time, Ms. Lundmark oversees her 600-student School of CCDT, located with the two companies in their 509 DANCE facility in the heart of Toronto’s Old Cabbagetown.
 

THE COMPANY

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Michael Caldwell began to train intensively in dance in 2003 after completing bachelor's degrees in art history and film at Syracuse University. Possessing a keen visual awareness, he began his professional dance training at The School of Toronto Dance Theatre, collaborating with wonderful choreographers such as Conrad Alexandrowicz, Bill Coleman, Danny Grossman, Christopher House, Sasha Ivanochko, Karen Jamieson, Mitch Kirsch, Sharon Moore, Julia Sasso and Michael Trent.

Upon his graduation, Caldwell joined CORPUS for their 2006 / 07 season and will continue with the company through 2008. He is a founding member of the Toronto-based Crazyfish Collective, where he acts as a dancer and choreographer. He has recently worked independently for William Yong / Zata Omm Dance Projects, Keiko Ninomiya / AKA Dance Collective, and Santee Smith / Kaha:wi Dance Theatre and has toured as a core company member of the Dusk Dances summer festival throughout Ontario for the past two years.

Caldwell has presented his choreography in festivals / shows in Toronto and Pittsburgh, having recently presented work in a self-produced show for the Crazyfish Collective, inviting Boston-based vocalist Jackie Chisholm to sing in his work. He will also collaborate with vocalist Patricia Ruggles, for a performance in New Jersey in April 2009 and present a new work in the Dusk Dances 2009 summer season. Caldwell is thrilled to join TILT sound+motion for their 2008 season.

Elke Schroeder began her artistic training studying various disciplines of dance and theatre at Creative Dance Workshop in Oshawa, Ontario. After graduating from Bowmanville High School in 2000, she spent her first year of university at Herstmonceux Castle in the United Kingdom. The following year she continued her studies as a drama major at the University of Toronto. In 2002, Ms. Schroeder decided to return to dance and became a student at The School of Toronto Dance Theatre. In May 2005, she graduated from STDT, where she had the opportunity to work with such inspiring dance artists as Serge Bennathan, Marc Boivin, Peter Chin, Paul-André Fortier, the Danny Grossman Dance Company, Christopher House, Sasha Ivanochko, Sharon Moore, Julia Sasso, Heidi Strauss and Michael Trent.

Ms. Schroeder has danced at fFIDA, the Junction Arts Festival and at In a White Room. In 2004, she performed and helped create the role of ‘the girl’ in The Power of the Dog directed by Christopher Brauer for Equity Showcase Theatre. Ms Schroeder has worked with Darryl Tracy, Yvonne Ng, Kaeja D’Dance and Heidi Strauss and has created and shown several performance art installations in the city. She has continued her dance training in Toronto and in Europe, and is currently on the path to becoming a yoga instructor. This is her second season with TILT.

Brodie Stevenson was born in the small village of Oweekeno on British Columbia’s central coast. After studying theatre for four years in Victoria and Vancouver he discovered dance through the practice of Contact Improvisation. In 2004 he enrolled at The School of Toronto Dance Theatre where he has had the opportunity to work with such choreographers as Paul-André Fortier, Darryl Hoskins, Ted Robinson, Heidi Strauss, and Darryl Tracy.

Since graduating Stevenson has worked with choreographers Piotr Biernat, David Earle, D.A Hoskins, and Darryl Tracy. He recently finished working with Toronto Dance Theatre as an intern and is now happy to be working with the wonderful people of
TILT sound+motion.

Emily Tench is a Toronto-based dancer, director and choreographer. She is a graduate of the School of Toronto Dance Theatre and The Rotterdam Dance Academy. In 2005 she joined the Dutch contemporary dance theater company Theatergroep DOX, for their project Darkside which toured the Netherlands and Belgium extensively. During that time she was also featured in a short dance film, by Agnija Šeiko of Lithuania. Emily performed Frozen Sand, a solo also choreographed by Šeiko, at the 2006 Prague Dance Festival, Tanec Praha.

Last year she performed the new work ZERO with MOVE: The Company at the Vancouver International Dance Festival. Emily currently runs her own interdisciplinary dance and dance film company, Deformo Productions and is presently in the creation phase of a new work entitled the Departure Project. Her dance film Crumbled House premiered at MADance Screen Salon in October. Emily is thoroughly enjoying her second season with Toronto’s TILT sound&motion.

Jessica Wilson began dancing in Whitby, Ontario in 1990 when she discovered her passion for movement. She has since studied and graduated from the Quinte Ballet School of Canada, and the School of Toronto Dance Theatre. She has had the privilege working with distinguished teachers such as Alexander Gorbatsevich, Patricia Miner, Risa Steinberg, and Christine Wright and performed works by Christopher House, Sasha Ivanochko, Sharon Moore, Julia Sasso, and Michael Trent.

She has also studied lindy hop through the Toronto choreographer David Tom. Wilson has performed at fFIDA, as well as the Canada Dance Festival in 2006 with her graduating class. She is a co-founder of the newly emerged Crazyfish Collective, and is in their 2nd season with the group. Jessica is excited to be working with TILT sound+motion.

GUEST ARTISTS

Originally from Quebec City, Louis Laberge-Côté started studying dance, music, and theatre at a very young age. During his adolescence, he danced, choreographed, and taught for many local dance companies with whom he toured throughout Canada and Europe. At 20, he won the Jury Award, the Audience Award, and the Competitors’ Award for Outstanding Performance of his own solo choreography Je suis malade at the Québec Provincial Dance Festival "Encore 96". After graduating from the modern dance professional training program of L’École de Danse de Québec, he moved to Toronto where he graduated from The School of Toronto Dance Theatre, on a scholarship from the Quebec foundation FCAR (Fonds pour la Formation de Chercheurs et l'Aide à la Recherche).

In 1999, Laberge-Côté joined Toronto Dance Theatre, and he danced with the company for 8 seasons. During this time, he performed nationally and internationally in the works of TDT Artistic Director Christopher House, as well as in pieces by Kate Alton, Valerie Calam, Peter Chin, Elizabeth Chitty, Kim Frank, D.A. Hoskins, Sasha Ivanochko, Sharon Moore, Matjash Mrozewski, Yvonne Ng, and Sara Porter. In 2001, he was nominated with TDT for a Dora Mavor Moore Award for Outstanding Performance in an Ensemble, in Christopher House's Severe Clear.

Recognized for his “refreshing spontaneity” (National Post), his “masterful physical control” (Globe and Mail), his “wit and elegance” (NOW Magazine), and his “ability to infuse even ordinary movements with drama” (Toronto Star), Laberge-Côté also enjoys a very active career as a freelance artist, touring in North America, Europe, and Asia. As an independent artist, he has appeared with CORPUS, the Chimera Project, the Danny Grossman Dance Company, DNA Theatre, Fougère Dance, and the Newton Moraes Dance Theatre. He has also danced the works of choreographers Peggy Baker, Serge Bennathan, Nova Bhattacharya, Darcey Callison, Roberto Campanella, Peter Chin, Natasha Gascho, Maxine Heppner, Sasha Ivanochko, Allen Kaeja, Susan Lee, Hiroshi Miyamoto, Sharon Moore, Shawn Newman, Yvonne Ng, Keiko Ninomiya, Lincoln Shand, Holly Small, Santee Smith, Heidi Strauss, Darryl Tracy, Michael Trent, and Marvin Vergara.

His choreographic works have been described as “vivid” (NOW Magazine), “utterly enchanting” (Globe and Mail), “highly entertaining” (24 hours), as a “pure pleasure” (Stage and Page), and as a “triumph... with tremendous depth and subtext” (Classical 96.3FM). They have been presented in many venues in Canada, including the DanceOntario Week-End; Dusk Dances; L'École de danse de Québec; the 2002 Festival collégial de danse du Québec; fFIDA (where he received, in 2003, the Paula Citron Award for Best Choreography for Futari en trois couleurs, co-choreographed with Keiko Ninomiya); the Guelph Contemporary Dance Festival; the KalaNhidi Festival; the dance festival: made in canada/fait au canada; Ryerson Dances; The School of Toronto Dance Theatre; TILT sound + motion; Toronto Dance Theatre; and the Toronto International Dance Festival. He is one of the co-founders of the collective 3M Dances, with whom he has presented 3 different productions in Toronto since 2002.

Working in film as well as on stage, he has been part of five Bravo! Fact productions: Cinnamon Hills (director: Tara Raquel Cates), Numus (director: Seth-Adrian Harris), Urban Creatures (director: Francine Zuckerman), A Day at the Office (director: Robert Deleskie), and Romeo and Juliet before parting (director: Jay Field). Laberge-Côté has also taught contemporary and creative dance, improvisation, and composition workshops for many schools and studios in Canada including L’École de danse de Québec, McMaster University, The School of Toronto Dance Theatre, Toronto Dance Theatre, York University, and the 509 Collective in Toronto. Involved in his community, Laberge-Côté is a member of the Canadian Alliance of Dance Artists – Ontario Chapter (where he was a Board Member from 2004 to 2007 and the Chair from 2005 to 2007), the Dancer Transition Resource Centre, and the Canadian Dance Assembly. He also sat on the Dance Division Jury of the Toronto Alliance for the Performing Arts during the 2006-07 season.

He was recently nominated for a Dora Mavor Moore Award for Outstanding Performance in Heaven (choreography: Sasha Ivanochko), and NOW Magazine called him the “Dance Most Valuable Player” in Toronto for the year 2006. He is currently on the faculty at Ryerson University and is Artist in Residence at the Canadian Children’s Dance Theatre.

Erika-Leigh Stirton (Rehearsal Director) is a graduate of the University of Guelph and of the Professional Training Program at The School of Toronto Dance Theatre. She has trained with such notable teachers as Patricia Miner, Risa Steinberg, and Christine Wright, and has performed works by Sylvain Émard, Christopher House, Sasha Ivanochko, Allen Kaeja, Sharon Moore, Julia Sasso, and Michael Trent. Stirton's passion for movement evolved from her experience as a rhythmic gymnast. As a competitive athlete, she has represented Canada at three World Championships and the Pan American Games; she holds five National Championship titles and five gold medals from the 1998 Commonwealth Games. In addition, Stirton is the athlete representative of rhythmic gymnastics to Gymnastics Ontario and Gymnastics Canada. She is a level II certified coach, and a provincial level judge.

Stirton was the 2006-2007 Metcalf Foundation intern at The School of Toronto Dance Theatre. Now as a faculty member, she is developing her abilities as a teacher and rehearsal director. Currently, she is pursuing her love of modern dance as a founding member of the newly formed Crazyfish Collective, and is thrilled to be working on Sylvain Émard's newest project Wave. Recently she has also worked with Black and Blue Dance Projects, The Kemi Collective, TILT sound + motion, and Zata Omm Dance Projects.

OFFICE & PRODUCTION STAFF

Michael de Coninck Smith, Managing Director, michael@ccdt.org  

Co-founder of TILT sound+motion and CCDT, Michael has directed the planning and staging of over one hundred TILT and CCDT productions as Managing Director and Production Manager. In 1990, Michael produced CCDT’s first major international tour to the People’s Republic of China, and has led TILT and CCDT tours around Ontario. Currently, Michael is overseeing the production of 20 Ontario Community Residencies designed to introduce young people to contemporary dance throughout the province.

Heather Campbell, Marketing & Development Assistant, development@ccdt.org 

Raised in Saint John, New Brunswick, Heather studied English literature and art history at Concordia University before moving to Toronto in 2001 to work in journalism and publicity. Heather joined the 509 Dance crew as Marketing Assistant in 2004 and is currently the Marketing and Development Associate for TILT sound+motion, the Canadian Children's Dance Theatre and the School at 509 Dance.

Janelle Rainville, Production Manager

Janelle Rainville began her relationship with dance at the age of 3, in the traditional blue tutu & sequins - unfortunately it doesn’t fit anymore. Janelle has stage-managed for over 35 dance companies and independent choreographers including the National Ballet School, Dancetheatre David Earle, MOonhORsE Dance Theatre, CORPUS and Peggy Baker. She is currently the Production Stage Manager for the Danny Grossman Dance Company. She has toured Malaysia & Singapore with the CCDT as well as across Canada with Kaeja d’Dance. In the realm of theatre, Janelle has had the pleasure of working with Theatre & Company (Kitchener), Theatre Cambridge and the Globe Theatre (Regina). In her “spare” time, Janelle sits on the Board of the Canadian Alliance of Dance Artists (CADA), as well as teaches stage management at Fanshawe College. A big thank you to her husband, Rob, for keeping the candle burning, during her long days away.

Arun Srinivasan, Lighting Designer

Arun designs for dance, theatre, music, and special events. Dance artists include Robert Desrosiers, Danny Grossman, Claudia Moore, Denise Fujiwara, Peter Chin, David Earle, Newton Moraes, Corpus, and CCDT. For theatre, Spark Productions, SummerWorks, Cahoots Theatre Projects, Fallen Rock Productions and Buddies In Bad Times Theatre. Arun has assisted on new galleries at The ROM and worked with Mirvish Productions as the Toronto associate lighting designer for The Lion King.

Special events include The Walk of Fame, CTV’s Fall Launches, The David Suzuki Foundation and It’s Always Something for Gilda’s Club. In 2003, he was fortunate to receive a Dora nomination for Outstanding Lighting Design. He has enjoyed working with TILT over the past few seasons and is pleased to have designed several of its works. Productions have taken him to Ukraine, Malaysia, Singapore, India and across North America. When not in the theatre, he can be found at the park on the monkey bars with his wife and son. Arun is a member of the Associated Designers of Canada.