Visit the new Film Releases page to view CCDT's recent dance films and mini-documentaries, created in the time of Covid-19.
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Artistic Director | Deborah Lundmark
Photo by David Hou from Scintilla by Justin Rapaport | Dancers: Jamarie William and Zada Britton
Celebrating 37 years of illuminating the solstice through dance—Canadian Contemporary Dance Theatre presents
WINTERSONG
dances for a sacred season.
A longstanding seasonal tradition celebrating the solstice, WINTERSONG has warmed the hearts of family audiences for almost four decades. This year we are delighted to feature a World Premiere by Elon Höglund (Tentacle Tribe) and a gleaming selection from our repertoire by Hanna Kiel, Justin Rapaport, Carol Anderson, and Apolonia Velasquez.
"a thoroughly refreshing take on the season"
- Michael Crabb, Toronto Star
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"CCDT can take its place among the ranks of Toronto’s top dance companies"
- Paula Citron, The Globe and Mail
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December 12 & 13, 8:00pm
December 14, 2:00pm
The Terminal Theatre, Queens Quay Terminal,
3rd Floor, 207 Queens Quay West
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**If you're interested in booking a school matinee performance, please email Shikha at development@ccdt.org.​​​​
To learn more about this extraordinary revival and how The Fleck - now The Terminal Theatre - was saved from closure, read The Toronto Star’s full story on this inspiring comeback.
PROGRAMME
Midvinterblot (World Premiere) - Choreography by Elon Höglund (Tentacle Tribe)
A Day of Light (2018) - Choreography by Hanna Kiel
Scintilla (2024) - Choreography by Justin Rapaport
Nowell Sing We (1988) - Choreography by Carol Anderson
UNHUSH (2017) - Choreography by Apolonia Velasquez
WINTERSONG '25 Photos by David Hou
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Elon Höglund, is a Swedish multidisciplinary artist, internationally recognized as a dancer, choreographer, and music producer. A pioneer in blending street dance, contemporary movement, and theatrical expression, he began training in breaking and hip-hop at age seven, alongside martial arts such as kung fu, capoeira, and tae kwon do, which shaped his unique movement philosophy. Since 2001, Höglund has choreographed and performed across theatre, dance, and contemporary circus. He was part of the original cast of Cirque du Soleil’s The Beatles LOVE in Las Vegas, performing as a soloist and choreographing his own sections. He has a long-standing collaboration with Cirque Éloize, originating in iD and later serving as associate director and choreographer for iD Reloaded, and has worked with renowned choreographers including Dave St-Pierre, Daniel Ezralow, and Victor Quijada. In 2012, he co-founded Tentacle Tribe Dance Company with Emmanuelle Lê Phan. The award-winning company tours internationally with productions like Nobody Likes a Pixielated Squid, Fractals of You, and Dirt, combining intricate choreography with philosophical and visually striking storytelling, often set to Höglund’s original music.
Recipient of the Dance Ontario Innovation, Manifesto Innovation & Originality, KM Hunter, and Soul Pepper Dance Awards, Apolonia Velasquez is a director, choreographer, actor, and educator. Her dance company GADFLY's work includes Dora Mavor Moore Award-winning ‘Klorofyl'. Apolonia has been commissioned to create work for Decidedly Jazz Danceworks, Ryerson Theatre School, Dusk Dances, The School of Toronto Dance Theatre, Citadel + Compagnie and the School of Dance to name a few. Her work has been presented in Festivals such as Luminato, Nuit Blanche, Festival DansEncore, 100Lux, Ontario Dance Weekend, and Manifesto. Apolonia is also the founder of TUDS Festival and the Aybrid Dance Intensive. She has acquired a considerable amount of experience in the television, entertainment and theatre dance industries. She has worked with artists such as: Katy Perry, Kiesza, Serena Ryder, Shawn Desman, Anjulie, Massari, NINEONE#, KHAY, and Jesse Cook. She has directed and choreographed for Ted Talks, Nike, Bench clothing, Make Up For Ever, American Crew, Canada Goose, Revlon, GM Canada, Manulife, Sephora, and for commercials for Pepto Bismol, Quaker, YouTube, Emergen-C, Oculus, Honda, Pizza Hut, Snapdragon, Destination Ontario, Cox Communications, and Chevrolet; as well as for tv shows Danser pour Gagner, Beauty and the Beast, and Gwen Stefani's Kuu Kuu Harajuku.
Dora winner Hanna Kiel is from Seoul, South Korea, and moved to Vancouver in 1996. She has presented her work at 12 Minutes Max, PlanB Singles and solos Festival, Dancing on the Edge Festival and Pulse at the Scotiabank Dance Centre in Vancouver. In 2007, she collaborated with Yoko Ono as a dancer and choreographer at the Centre A. Moving to Toronto in 2008, Hanna has continued choreographing for: Rosedale Heights School of the Arts, Conteur Dance Academy, George Brown Dance, Toronto Metropolitan University, School of Toronto Dance Theatre, Kenny Pearl’s Emerging Artist Intensive, IGNITE, ProArteDanza, Ballet Jörgen, Alias Dance Project, The National Ballet of Canada, Canadian Contemporary Dance Theatre, Toronto Dance Theatre, Kaeja d'Dance, Dusk Dances and Decidedly Jazz Danceworks in Calgary. She also collaborated with Tarragon Theatre on their 23/24 production ‘Cockroach’ and is currently working with Silk BathCollective as a choreographer. In 2012 she won Northwest Dance Project’s ‘Pretty Creatives’ international choreographic competition and she was an E-choreographer in 2015 for Springboard Danse Montreal. Hanna is a founder and artistic director of Human Body Expression and a resident choreographer at Canada’s Ballet Jorgen.
Justin Rapaport, is a dynamic freelance artist who has worked with Ballet BC, Kidd Pivot, Anne Plamondon and PARA.MAR Dance Theater. A graduate of the Juilliard School, his choreography has been featured by Peter London Global Dance Theater, HD Theatre, Boykin Dance Projects and many more. Justin’s work was recognized at the 2021 Copenhagen International Choreographic Competition, where he received the Danish Dance Theater Award.
Dance artist/author Carol Anderson started her performing career in 1970 with pioneer Judy Jarvis’ first dance/theatre company. She was a founding member of Dancemakers, dancing, teaching, and choreographing from 1974-1988, and was AD from 1985-88. Since 1988 she has often worked with CCDT, and has choreographed ten pieces for the company. She has taught and choreographed in numerous professional, educational and community settings across Canada. A prolific dance writer, she has chronicled Canadian dance since the late 1980s, in biographies, collections, notes, articles and online resources. Professor Emerita of York U’s Department of Dance, Anderson continues to move, make, and write.
WINTERSONG TRAILER
Midvinterblot by Elon Höglund
SCINTILLA by Justin Rapaport
WINTERSONG Highlight Reel, by Eddie Kastrau