Visit the new Film Releases page to view CCDT's recent dance films and mini-documentaries, created in the time of Covid-19.
Artistic Director | Deborah Lundmark
- digital programme -
SpringSong 2026
WELCOME NOTE
It’s an honour to welcome you to SpringSong 2026. Since stepping into the Director role this year, I’ve been inspired by our young dancers — their dedication to their craft and to one another. Watching them grow and develop their artistic voices has been a joy.
This performance marks the culmination of a year of training, rehearsal, collaboration, and creation, featuring works by choreographers at the forefront of dance education in Canada. We are proud to remount Salients by Deborah Lundmark, a work that reflects the strength and fearlessness of this group. We also bring back In the Flicker, A Spark by Megan Nadin, whose mentorship has been integral to these dancers’ development.
This year, I created What Holds, What Breaks, inspired by the spirit of play and shaped through a process rooted in spontaneity and discovery. We are also excited to present Party Animal by Ryan Lee, a vibrant work full of energy and ownership. Finally, we premiere Between These Waves by Zachary Cardwell, whose thoughtful approach and generosity have brought a rich new work to life.
Thank you to all artists, staff, and families for your continued support. Enjoy the show!
— Helen
LAND ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
CCDT would like to acknowledge that this performance takes place on the traditional territory of the Mississaugas of the Credit, the Anishnaabeg, the Chippewa, the Haudenosaunee the Wendat and other nations both recorded and unrecorded. The students, faculty and staff are grateful to be able to learn, share and dance on this land. Dance is a vital part of Indigenous culture with generations of Indigenous peoples practising on these lands, yet colonization has deeply impacted their ability to freely express and pass on these practises. As we share in movement and expression this afternoon, I invite you to reflect on your own connection to this place and consider how we can work together toward meaningful reconciliation.
PROGRAM INFORMATION
In the Flicker, A Spark (2025)
Choreography: Megan Nadain
Music: Aaron May & David Ridley, Travis Lake, Alex G
Dancers: Full company
I had a vague impression of the feeling I wanted to convey with this new work when suddenly I came across a comic on Instagram by Niall Breen and exclaimed, “AH HA! This is it!”
Boundless thanks to the dancers for diving in with such ‘full hearts & strong spirits’, eagerly committing to counting the seemingly uncountable music and reminding me that no matter what there is ‘still time for dancing and falling love.’
What Holds, What Breaks (Premiere)
Choreography: Helen Cox
Music: A New Age by Chromatic, The Vast Ocean by Chromatic, End Titles by James Newberry
Dancers: Aisling Helmer, Freya Sibley, Madeleine Borg, Kate Li, Serena McGinley, Petra de Villiers, Annabeth Seedhouse, Iman Abidi
This piece is a work exploring play within structure. Built around simple rules—stay within a box of light, maintain connection, and sustain jumping—the piece uses constraint as a framework for creativity. As the work unfolds, those rules begin to shift and loosen, revealing how structure and instinct interact, and where rules begin to hold differently or fall away entirely.
Between These Waves (Premiere)
Choreography: Zachary Cardwell
Music: II. Warmth, Gigue 6.6 and Now I'm Scared by Peter Gregson
Dancers: Full Company
Between These Waves, a work set to three emotive compositions by cellist Peter Gregson. The piece moves through themes of loss and hope, exploring how these states are experienced individually and held collectively.
Developed through a collaborative process with the ATPs, Deborah and Helen, alongside outside eyes Angela Blumberg and Meghan McMartin, the work unfolds as a shifting landscape of speed, weight, and light—weathering like a storm at sea—reflecting the evolving nature of shared creative practice.
~intermission~
Salients (2025)
Choreography: Deborah Lundmark
Music: Greg Harrison
Dancers: Avielle Cole-Kim, Maya Greenwood, Violet Harris, Adele Hawke, B (Elizabeth) Lee, Alexis Perritt, Eve Pittendreigh, Inaaya Rajani Kiffer
Party Animal (2025)
Choreography: Ryan Lee
Music: LVDF, Yosi Horikawa
Dancers: Full Company
SpringSong
Artist Biographies
Deborah Lundmark
Co-Founder, Artistic Director & Resident Choreographer
Deborah Lundmark, Co-Founder, Artistic Director and Resident Choreographer, has created more than 40 works for her company. These include collaborations with the Danny Grossman Dance Company and blues artists Thompson Egbo-Egbo and Jerome Godboo. From her Street Songs (1980) to Salients (2023), Lundmark has impressed audiences and critics alike with the power, precision and artistry of her unique company. She has commissioned over one hundred works from a who’s who of Canadian choreographers including David Earle, Carol Anderson, Tedd Robinson, Santee Smith and from abroad, Colin Connor, Sidra Bell, Kevin Wynn, Roderick George, Jennifer Archibald and Alexander Whitley. Her company won Toronto Arts Foundation’s prestigious Arts for Youth Award and has been critically acclaimed as "a national treasure… numbered among the ranks of Toronto’s top dance companies" by The Globe and Mail. Her dancers have gone on to perform with many of the world’s leading companies including the Limón Dance Company, Mark Morris Dance Group, Doug Varone and Dancers, Gallim Dance, Company Wayne McGregor and Skanes Dansteater, among many others.
Photo by Gary Ray Rush
Michael deConinck Smith
Co-Founder & Managing Director
Michael deConinck Smith, Co-Founder, Managing Director and Tour Manager, has directed the staging of over three hundred CCDT productions including five appearances at the Canada Dance Festival. He conceived and produced CCDT’s acclaimed collaboration with the Toronto Boys Choir and the Hanson Singers, the original WINTERSONG – dances for a sacred season, now a three-decade-old tradition. In 1990, Michael led CCDT’s first international tour to the People’s Republic of China, and the following year the premiere of Songs of Innocence and of Experience, featuring commissions by ten leading choreographers, realized one of his long-cherished dreams. From 1997 to 2000 he planned CCDT’s extensive tours of Northern Ontario, and in 2002 led the company’s return to Southeast Asia with performances in Singapore and Malaysia. In 1994, Michael oversaw the purchase and renovation of CCDT’s 509 Dance studios, now an intergenerational crossroads for Canadian dance. Since 1997, Michael has led his company’s Ontario Arts Access program introducing more than 350,000 young people to contemporary dance. He led CCDT’s Scotland tour to the Commonwealth Youth Dance Festival and, his touring highlight, managed the Company’s inaugural appearances at the storied Joyce Theater in New York City as part of the José Limón Company’s International Dance Festival in celebration of their 70th Anniversary.
Photo by Gary Ray Rush
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Helen Cox
Accelerated Training Program Director & Choreographer
Helen Cox, M.A. is an educator, choreographer, and mentor whose career bridges the UK and Canada. She began her teaching career in the United Kingdom, working with organizations such as The Royal Ballet School, The Royal Opera House, Rambert School of Ballet and Contemporary Dance, the ISTD, Trinity Laban, and Central School of Ballet.
Since relocating to Canada in 2022, Helen has been on faculty at Alberta Ballet School and served on the Board of Directors for Dancers’ Studio West. Now based in Toronto, she joins Canadian Contemporary Dance Theatre as Director of the Accelerated Training Program and faculty member with the school.
Helen is also entering her third year as a Rambert Grades Ambassador, representing in Canada a contemporary dance syllabus developed by Rambert and Rambert School that champions creativity, individuality, and artistic expression.
Ryan Lee
Choreographer
Ryan Lee graduated from Toronto Metropolitan University with a Bachelor of Fine Arts. He has been fortunate to have the opportunity to work with such companies as Human Body Expression, ProArteDanza, Toronto Dance Theatre, Kaeja d’Dance, Anandam Dancetheatre, inDANCE, The Chimera Project, Frog in Hand and TOES for Dance. Much of this work included creating pieces for the stage and mentoring emerging artists. Ryan holds a faculty position at Centennial College, teaching Contemporary and Partnering courses and has been a lecturer at Toronto Metropolitan University since 2020. He has been commissioned to make choreographic works by ProArteDanza, Anandam DanceTheatre, TMU, Dance Arts Institute, George Brown College, Branksome College, The Emerging Artist Intensive, Canadian Contemporary Dance Theatre, Cawthra Park, Etobicoke School for the Arts and Rosedale Heights School for the Arts. Ryan’s work has been presented at festivals such as Dance Ontario Dance Weekend, SummerWorks and dance:made in canada.
Photo by Drew Berry
Megan Nadain
Choreographer
Megan Nadain (she/her) is a Toronto-based dancer, choreographer and dance educator originally from North Vancouver, BC. She is a graduate of The School of Toronto Dance Theatre and was the recipient of the The Hnatyshyn Foundation Developing Artist Grant during her first year. She has performed as a company member with Dancetheatre David Earle and has worked independently with Darryl Tracy, Nicole Nigro, inDANCE, Toronto Heritage Dance and Miranda Abbott.
She has the pleasure of being a faculty member at The School of Canadian Contemporary Dance Theatre and directs CCDT’s Accelerated Training Program. Megan is part of the Artist Leadership Team at Dance Arts Institute (formerly the School of Toronto Dance Theatre) where she also teaches in The Professional Program. Also at Dance Arts Institute she has worked as a Rehearsal Director for Darryl Tracy, Keith Morino and Mohammadreza (MOMO) Akrami. She has worked as a Dance Educator at York University and The National Ballet of Canada's In Studio program and facilitates the dance programs for JK-Grade 10 at the York School. Two projects that she has been involved with recently that she is exceptionally passionate about are Bridging Generations Through Dance with Dancing with Parkinson’s and Moving together: Choreographic mappings of children with diverse dis/abilities and their neurological responses to a dance-play event with Coralee McLaren.
Photo by Dancetheatre David Earle
Zachary Cardwell
Choreographer
Zachary Cardwell is a Toronto-based dancer, choreographer, and educator. A graduate of Arts Umbrella’s Post-Secondary Dance Program, he began his career with Toronto Dance Theatre, performing works by Christopher House and guest choreographers. He has since performed across Canada, Mexico, Holland, and Italy with companies and independent artists including Echo Chamber Toronto, Zata Omm, Dusk Dances, hART dance, Angela Blumberg, and Samantha Sutherland. He teaches ballet, contemporary dance and adaptive dance at Canada's National Ballet School and across the GTA.
Thank you CCDT for premiering Between These Waves.
Photo by Natasha Gerschon
Canadian Contemporary Dance Theatre presents
SpringSong
2025/2026 Season
CCDT and the School of CCDT Founders & Directors
Deborah Lundmark & Michael deConinck Smith
Director, Accelerated Training Program
Helen Cox
Dancers
Iman Abidi, Madeleine Borg, Avielle Cole-Kim, Petra de Villiers, Maya Greenwood, Violet Harris, Adele Hawke, Aisling Helmer, Inaaya Rajani Kiffer, B (Elizabeth) Lee, Kate Li, Serena McGinley, Alexis Perritt, Eve Pittendreigh, Annabeth Seedhouse, Freya Sibley
Production Stage Manager
AJ Morra
Lighting Design
Arun Srinivasan
Instructors
Carmen Cairns, Britta deConinck Smith, Deborah Lundmark, Angelica Scannura, Ryan Scheel, Stephanie Violin
Accompanists
Raphael Roter, Jake Oelrichs
Manager, School of CCDT
Kathryn Fallowfield
Wardrobe
Britta deConinck Smith
Director, Marketing & Outreach
Shikha Chowhan
Thank you
Canadian Contemporary Dance Theatre is profoundly grateful for the generous support from the friends and family of our aspiring artists. It is thanks to donations from people like you that we are able to foster artistic growth within these young dancers, both in the studio and live onstage.
Thank you to our CCDT Board of Directors
Philip Akin, President
Paula Prociuk Blacklock, Vice President
Kenny Pearl, Director
and a special thank you to our individual contributors
Farheen Mahmood & Safdar Abidi
Kaija Vogel & Vassilios Alexiou
Farah Ali & Cale Pittendreigh
Caitlin Stidwill & Steven Borg
Blessyl & Ryan Buan
Susanna Chwang & Kevin Harris
Angela Cole-Kim & Alex Kim
Naakai Garnette & Tai Simm-Smith
Julia Hamilton & Thomas Tyson
Valerie Hawke & Brian Hawke
Zahra Karimi
Rubina Khan
Tae Hee Kim & James Perritt
Laurendade & Jacques Lee
Anna Manuel
Emilie & Jim McGinley
Lisa Mendelson
Tara Norton & Bruce Greenwood
Maggie O’Connor
Zahra Rajani
Anne-Sophie Ramette & Thomas Robert
Jennifer Rayner
Karen & Jeffrey Seedhouse
Sonya Teece & Andy Soter
Erin & Jason Vandenberg
Linda Van Den Brink & Etienne De Villiers
Stephanie Violin & Tim Sibley
Sharon Whyte & Andrew Lewis
Nancy William
Ying Xu & Leo Li
Jessie Yam
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