Contact Information:
For more information please contact:
Sarah Lochhead - Artistic and Executive Director
p. 705-718-5451
e. SimcoeContemporaryDancers [at] gmail.com
For mailing address please inquire by phone or email.
Mandate, Mission and Values
Simcoe Contemporary
Dancers is a not-for-profit professional company by and for the region of
Simcoe County that exists to encourage and showcase the development of local
professional contemporary dance. We come together to raise the visibility of
contemporary dance, create awareness, build educational opportunities, and
reach out to our public to share our love of our art form.
As residents of our
community, we are invested in growing and developing local talent and local
opportunities for professional development. Our goal is to raise visibility and participation in contemporary dance
by: Creating and performing contemporary
dance works; providing workshops/classes at an intermediate to advanced level
of training; and providing public access to dance through
performances/community involvement.
We value
and encourage inter-disciplinary partnerships with individual artists and other
local arts organizations.
The
nature of our artists and activities provides a safe, positive, neutral
environment for people to come together to take part in a shared experience. We
facilitate opportunities to converge and collaborate as a community in a
non-competitive atmosphere – providing a platform to be expressive, creatively
engaged and challenged.
The local focus of
our organization allows members of the community to enjoy a professional level
of dance in their own backyard. Our events bring community together to a shared
experience of movement, which transcends language, as we animate spaces with
choreographies that tell our stories and experiences.
We are ambassadors
for our art form within our community and ambassadors for our community within
our art form.
Our Story
Simcoe Contemporary Dancers (SCD) was created by
Sarah Lochhead in the Spring of 2009 with support from a City of Barrie Cultural
Grant. Auditions were held in May 2009 and our inaugural project “Get Out and
Dance” (a site specific project) animated
the waterfront and streets of downtown Barrie throughout the summer. With Lochhead’s
leadership and vision the activities of the company evolved beyond Barrie’s
borders to neighbouring municipalities and provincial performance
opportunities.
2009 saw the development of weekly professional
classes in Barrie providing an opportunity for local dancers to train together
and establish a sense of community, as well as specialty workshops in the
private studio sector. We acquired
donated repertoire from choreographers which led to further public performances
in unconventional spaces such as the Bayfield Mall and theatre venues like the Georgian
Theatre (for the Barrie Arts Awards).
2010 focused on choreography. Nikki Russell’s work “Loss” was
performed as part of Dance in Dundas Square in Toronto. That spring works by
Lochhead were performed as part of Corpus dance company’s provincial mall tour.
We held a *Summer Creation Period acquiring repertoire by Susan Kendal and Meaghan
Giusti. This project fostered a period of artistic change and the tradition of
holding annual auditions began. We gave workshops in high schools and expanded our
weekly class opportunities to include an Orillia location. Our public
performances included being part of the first national Culture Days initiative.
In 2011, we worked with notable Canadian modern
dancer Trish Armstrong. With solos
by Armstrong, Lochhead and the direction of Nancy Pottage, we produced our
first full length production –“Woven.” That summer SCD offered its first summer
intensive called *My Moves - Choreographic Intensive, to assist in developing skills of regional youth choreographers.
Performance highlights included the Grand Opening Gala for the Mady Centre for
the Performing Arts, and collaborating with BRAVADO!. An additional weekday
evening class was added in Barrie by request of our class participants. (SCD now offers four weekly class opportunities:
3 in Barrie – central, north and south and 1 in Orillia)
In late 2011 and into 2012 we began a guest workshop
series bringing up artists such as Lucy Rupert, and Brittany Duggan to Barrie
to increase access to professional development. Performance highlights of 2012
included: SCD apprentices at the Guelph Contemporary Dance Festival’s Youth
Moves Series; a Culture Days performance at the MacLaren Art Centre; the
patient holiday party at the Royal Victory Hospital and participation in Across
Ocean’s Choreographic Marathon in Toronto. As of February 28, 2012 we
incorporated as a not-for-profit organization. With the support of a City of
Barrie operating project grant, we have navigated both artistic and
administrative transitions, while maintaining our artistic activity and organizational
integrity.
*project funded with support from a City of Barrie
Culture Grant
