Evolve! Performing Arts Program

North York Arts is thrilled to launch our pilot program: Evolve!

Evolve! is a program that gives new and emerging Toronto-based theatre and dance artists an opportunity to explore, develop, revise or complete a work using high quality, accessible space and services.

Evolve! is a response to gaps in resources that serve to support the developmental stages of artists or arts groups in dance and theatre in North York and the wider Toronto community. The goal is to build the capacity of participating artists while creating more opportunities for the public to access arts in North York.

This year, Evolve! will take place at the Meridian Arts Centre and the Aga Khan Museum.

 

2020 participating artists and arts groups:

NOTICE: Remaining rehersals and performances cancelled due to COVID-19.

Neetika Sharma
January 21-24, 2020 | February 14 & 18, 2020
Meridian Arts Centre

The Haniin Project (working title) is a reflective study of that transition period between holding on to a feeling/emotion/thought and letting it go. It is an exploration of a constant tug of war between emotions that arises right before something dear must be allowed to release and let go. The choreography is set in the roots and vocabulary of traditional classical dance form of North India called Kathak. Using poetry and classical rhythms, the piece celebrates and explores sentiments that are not always acknowledged or defined.

Born in Libya, to Indian parents, Neetika started her performance journey at the age of 10. Today, she is a passionate Kathak performer, choreographer, instructor, arts manager and Culture and Diversity advocate.  She has a keen interest in exploring various layers of traditional Kathak repertoire and presenting them with new and relevant interpretations through research, creation and performance.

Cacao Collective | CANCELLED 
Aga Khan Museum

Traditional song and dance celebrate the resilience and joy of Venezuela’s cacao farmers fighting to preserve their way of life in the face of industrialization and a national crisis. Developed between Venezuela and Canada, this project also shines a light on the global chocolate trade and diasporic identities.

Click here to learn more.

Cyborg Circus Project | CANCELLED 
Aga Khan Museum

A striking exploration of trust, vulnerability, and human limits. In this piece, wheelchair dancers Shay Erlich and Jenna Roy examine today’s pressure to appear hyper-competent in all areas. Their work subverts expectations, offering new ways of understanding disability and imagining how disabled and non-disabled people can create a new world that does not demand hyper-competence.

Click here to learn more.

Elsewhere by Anaya Bobst | CANCELLED 
Aga Khan Museum

Originally from Sweden, Anaya Bobst is a dancer, choreographer and arts administrator. She currently works for Canada’s National Ballet School, presents her own works and teaches dance. Anaya brings a diverse and holistic set of experiences to the dance field as she has collaborated with other artists and worked for festivals, educational organizations and companies in Canada, the United States, Switzerland and Sweden. Anaya has presented her own works in the United States and Sweden and pursued a B.F.A in Dance and a minor in Entrepreneurship from Point Park University, USA.
 
Elsewhere portrays Anaya’s personal experiences during a time of despair. By differentiating expectations from reality, Anaya hopes to create a world into which people can enter. A world that reflects universal emotions and conditions. Movement and text create  the framework for this piece that addresses themes of solitude, curiosity and frustration
  
To learn more click here.

Grupo Teatro Libre | CANCELLED 
Meridian Arts Centre

Grupo Teatro Libre has, as its mission, a collective and collaborative way of doing theatre.  We present works by Latin Amerian playwrights in Spanish, their original language.  We offer workshops, dramatized readings and theatre presentations.  The group is open for whoever wishes to participate, as long as they wish to work according to the group’s participative philosophy.

For more information, contact infogrupoteatrolibre@gmail.com.

2018/2019 Participants

Cinematoscape : August 20th - 26th 2018

Cinematoscape is a multi-disciplinary arts company based in Toronto. They believe in the power of stories to illuminate, inspire, educate, and engage through an immersive 'cinematic escape'. Check out our Snapd Arts Feature with with Cinematoscape where Simeon and Danielle discuss why they are excited for The Incubator!

To learn more about Cinematoscape click here

Victoria Mata: September 4th - 9th 2018

Victoria Mata is a Venezuelan-Canadian choreographer-dancer with a background in urban planning. Mata’s sensibility to inclusion and passion for border stories is due to her eclectic upbringing in three continents. Mata’s career was first sculpted by pedagogic, self-directed training, which proceeded with local and internationally renowned choreographers leading her to showcase her repertoire throughout out the Americas. An active member of Toronto's progressive arts community and the abolishment of violence against women, Mata's aspiration is to continue being a catalyst for artistic curiosity.

See some of Victoria's work:
https://vimeo.com/252869142
https://youtu.be/anfsqkAvnY4
https://youtu.be/8gMjAdSjW0A 

dance Immersion and Artists in Motion (AIM) Dance Company: January 21-24, 2019, February 27-28, 2019

North York Arts has partnered with dance Immersion, a not-for-profit organization that produces, promotes and supports dancers and dances of the African Diaspora. dance Immersion did an open call for artists and collectives who were interested in participating in Evolve!. AIM Dance Company, run by artistic director and choreographer Shameka Blake, was selected. They will be developing their work in January and hold workshop presentations in February.

To learn more AIM's performance and how you can get tickets, click here.

Possibilities of Dialogue: March 16-17, 2019, April 6-7, 2019

Conceived and activated by NYC-based dance artist Marielis Garcia and Toronto-based dance artist David Norsworthy, Possibilities of Dialogue is an exchange of energy and awareness. Inspired by the parallels between making a dance and having a conversation, the performance is an abstracted collaborative creative process; moments of listening, curiosity, disagreement and spontaneity unfold through movement and text. It is often playful, lively and physically virtuosic, sometimes uncomfortable, sometimes surprising and almost always responsive to and inclusive of the audience. Audience members are welcome to observe and interact through the invitations that are offered.

To learn more about Marielis click here and David click here.

 

Love Notes by: ZESTcreative:  May 29 - 31, 2019

Love Notes is a medley of live music and movement to share our stories of infatuation, romance, family, and friendship. A soundtrack to fall in love to; and maybe you’re not listening alone.

ZESTcreative is a collective of emerging dance artists, Zoë Kenneally, Eva Connelly-Miller, and Sarah McLennan, with a vision for dance to be a part of peoples’ daily lives. The women behind the collective are graduates of Ryerson University’s dance program and are performance artists based out of Toronto. ZESTcreative strives to make dance accessible to everyone and create works that resonate with people outside of the dance community. The collective hopes to incorporate dance arts into popular culture by collaborating with artists from other disciplines. ZESTcreative is passionate about making dance a relatable form of expression for everyone to enjoy while staying true to the artists' points of view.
 
The collective is currently creating a full length work to premier at the Toronto Fringe Festival (July 3rd-14th, 2019). For more information about the collective and Love Notes follow @_zestcreative_ on Instagram and Facebook. Stay tuned for ticket information for the Toronto Fringe Festival!

Elsewhere by Anaya Bobst: August 22, 2019

Originally from Sweden, Anaya Bobst is a dancer, choreographer and arts administrator. She currently works for Canada's National Ballet School, presents her own works and teaches dance. Anaya brings a diverse and holistic set of experiences to the dance field as she has collaborated with other artists and worked for festivals, educational organizations and companies in Canada, the United States, Switzerland and Sweden. Anaya has presented her own works in the United States and Sweden and pursued a B.F.A in Dance and a minor in Entrepreneurship from Point Park University, USA.
 
Elsewhere, portrays Anaya’s personal experiences during a time of despair. By differentiating expectations from reality, Anaya hopes to create a world into which people can enter. A world that reflects universal emotions and conditions. Movement and text create  the framework for this piece that addresses themes of solitude, curiosity and frustration
  
To learn more click here.

October 2019 Participants 

This Fall, NYA will be hosting several artists for a variety of sort-term projects. The artists participating are:

  • Brant Matthews (otherwise known as Fireguy and Owner of Dispatch Talent)
  • Anaya Bobst (dancer, choreographer, and arts administrator)
  • MalPensando ( a bilingual comedy club and school that helps people become funny, authentic, confident speakers)

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North York Arts (NYA)  collaborates with artists, arts organizations, and partners to develop, strengthen, and promote cultural programming and initiatives for North York communities

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North York Arts
5040 Yonge St.
Toronto, ON, M2N 6R8

info@northyorkarts.org

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