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
A thrilling adventure in movement that will leave audiences breathless with the art form’s endless possibilities
CCDT’s March to June touring program for school and public audiences is a versatile 60- to 90-minute performance featuring four to five contemporary dances commissioned from a who’s who of North American choreographers. These include Toronto’s fast-rising choreographic stars, Hanna Kiel (Human Body Expression) and Alyssa Martin (Rock Bottom Movement); and American phenoms, Nicole Caruana (UANA DANS, New York) and Charles Moulton (Garrett+Moulton Productions, San Francisco), famed for his mesmerizing Ball Passing spectaculars, most recently featured at Fall For Dance North.
As a 60-minute student matinee, Teasing Gravity - dances for the young and fearless is hosted by Artistic Director Deborah Lundmark, enriched by workshops, a downloadable dance teaching aid (EveryDay Movement) and a Performance Guide, and rounded out with a post-show Q&A with the dancers. As a 90-minute public performance, with intermission, the repertoire is supplemented according to the anticipated audience and can include a pre-show chat with the Artistic Director.
2023/24 TOURING INFORMATION
Presenters are welcome to attend a performance, compliments of CCDT
Venue: Ideal for 300 to 1000 seat theatres adaptable to most venues with min 24' x 32' stage
Cast: 10 (shared accommodation)
Crew: 4
animateur, tour manager, rehearsal director/wardrobe, stage manager/lx designer
Technical Rider: available upon request
CCDT receives Ontario Arts Council Touring support for most travel expenses
CONTACT: Michael deConinck Smith, Managing Director
michael@ccdt.org | 416-924-5657
IG: @ccdtcompany
FB: CanadianContemporaryDanceTheatre
Highlight Reel & Videos: vimeo.com/ccdt
CELEBRATING 40 YEARS OF WINNING AUDIENCES TO DANCE
Canadian Contemporary Dance Theatre is a repertory company founded in1980 by Artistic Director Deborah Lundmark and Managing Director Michael deConinck Smith. Presentation highlights include appearances at Toronto’s Princess of Wales and Royal Alexandra Theatres and five invitations to the Canada Dance Festival in Ottawa. As a pioneering dance touring company, CCDT has introduced an audience of more than 400,000 to dance through its Ontario Arts Access program and undertaken national tours spanning Vancouver to Quebec City. Farther afield, the Company has performed in Singapore, Malaysia, China and Scotland. Culminating a three-decade relationship with the José Limón Dance Company, CCDT performed to standing ovations at New York City’s storied Joyce Theater as part of its sister company’s historic 70th anniversary International Dance Festival. Most recently, CCDT was featured in Harbourfront’s inaugural Junior International Festival and at Fall For Dance North, Toronto’s premiere international dance festival.
A Review by Presenter, Patti Kinghorn, THEOP (Deep River, ON)
On Friday, April 5, 2019 , I had the privilege of attending a performance of Teasing Gravity at the Burlington Performing Arts Centre. Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed my outing and I concluded that the Northern Dance group has made an excellent selection for the 2019-2020 season.
UNHUSH
Choreography by Apolonia Velasquez
This piece was a joyful example of Apolonia’s work. The movement is athletic, engaging, beautifully performed with a great blend of contemporary and street moves. The piece features all of the elements of great dance – ensemble, solos, duets, levels, variety of emotions, casual but engaging costuming and a development from shadow to light. The dancers are well trained and beautiful to watch.
I personally loved this piece. A little part of me wondered about the complex aspects of the lighting in our small theatres! This is certainly a piece that I would love to have in our presentation of the company.
Nine Person Precision Ball Passing
Choreography by Charles Moulton
This piece is an interesting visual presentation. For those of us who attended Fall for Dance two years ago, we saw this performed by a very large group. The choreography is the same (or very similar) for this group of 9 performers. They use brightly coloured balls and the timing is quite challenging and very musical at the same time.
My first reaction was to wonder if our audience would expect more movement at a dance presentation, but I did conclude that the colour, precision and variety of ball passing would be intriguing for an audience. I did check with some people sitting near me- most loved it – one woman thought it was clever, but too long. (I personally think that is half of the beauty – this group maintains the timing and intricacy for about 10 minutes.) Then I concluded that it is a nice contrast to the other pieces and should be considered for our program.
A Day of Light
Choreography and Direction by Hanna Kiel
For my dance presenter partners, I don’t need to say much about this one. In a weekend of dance presentations, (Ontario Dance Weekend), this piece stood out as being filled with so much joy, light and beautiful movement that we loved it from start to finish. Costumes are youthful, flattering and attractive. The quality of the movement is a delight from start to finish. This piece is a yes please and a key to our presentation next season.
that infinite feeling
Choreography by Alyssa Martin
For those of us who are familiar with this choreographer, we know to expect the unexpected – and this piece was certainly fun. Staring with bright pink youthful costumes, this piece was vibrant, humorous, and full of delightful choreography. On the surface, it is a lighter theme than the others, but seems to hit on the teen angst and the need to find your power and go for it on your own terms. The movement is every bit as complex and demanding as the other dances that we saw in the program. Young people in the audience really loved it, and they were vocally supportive throughout the piece. Older audience members just smiled a lot and enjoyed it.
If this piece were to be included in our presentation next season, I really would work hard to get a reasonable turn out of young people in the audience – the joy and delight coming from them in Burlington was contagious!
