As the completion of my 12th year as Associate Director of George Brown Dance is in sight, I am taking a moment to look back and reflect on the evolution and growth of our programs. We have made changes throughout the years, both big and small, as we grow and continue to lead in both industry standards and expectations. The success of our unique programs and the dancers we graduate is due to the commitment and tireless efforts of our faculty. I am privileged to work alongside so many dedicated, committed and knowledgeable teachers, all of whom are professionals in their respective fields. As ..read more

Tell us where you grew up and how you first started dancing! Matthew Jordan: I am originally from Adelaide, Australia and trained there up until I was 18. I first started ballet kind of by accident. I was a very energetic kid and did a kinder–gym program at the local recreation centre until I was 3. After I became too old for that, I needed something else to do but I was not old enough yet to join team sports, so I started dancing at the ballet school within the recreation centre not having any idea really what ballet even was. Chabi Arauz: I grew up in Panama City, Panama. My older s ..read more

What has your career been like, so far, after graduating? My career since graduating from George Brown Dance (GBD) has been quite varied and includes performing, choreographing, and teaching. Soon after graduation I was offered a position as a Rehearsal Director for Local Participants in Ballet Jörgen’s The Nutcracker: A Canadian Tradition. This position really made use of the skills I had learned in repertoire classes at GBD because I had to study Bengt Jörgen’s choreography and then teach it to the young dancers who would be performing on stage with the Ballet Jörgen company members. I al ..read more

The Ballet Jörgen Mentorship program is a post diploma, one-year intensive professional graduate training program that functions to bridge the gap between a George Brown Dance graduate’s training, to working professionally as a dancer. We are so excited to introduce this year’s mentee: Madelyn Wiedrick! As she embarks on her journey of discipline, dedication and artistry, we will eagerly follow her progress and celebrate the strides she makes in pursuit of her ballet development. Stay tuned for the incredible moves, both on and off the stage, that she will undoubtedly be making this year. Wh ..read more

George Brown Dance Alumni at the Dora Awards Ceremony: Kathy Le, Katie Couchie, Jamaica Fraser & Peter Kelly The Dora Mavor Moore Awards (also known as the Dora Awards or the Doras) are presented by the Toronto Alliance for the Performing Arts (TAPA) on an annual basis, honouring theatre, dance and opera productions in Toronto. We caught up with 3 George Brown Dance Alumni who have been nominated this year for their work in the Dance and Opera Category. Jamaica Fraser in Bluebeard’s Castle by Against the Grain Theatre; Photo by Dahlia Katz. Jamaica Fraser graduated George Brow ..read more

Momoka Matsui; photo by Colton West Photography. “When training with Jörgen Dance Academy you’ll get the opportunity to learn from our company dancers, ballet master, and artistic director, as well as our fantastic faculty.” Our specialized Summer Intensive programs are for dancers of various levels and ages, beginning at age 9 up to our Junior Company program for pre-professional dancers ages 18 and up. Education Manager and Creative Assistant, Clea Iveson, and Assistant Education Manager, Nina Milanovski, talk about what makes Summer Dance training at Jörgen Dance Academy unique and how ..read more

Maya Gale-Buncel Kathy Le Miah Lewis The HBE Mentorship program is a one-year intensive professional graduate training program open to graduates of GBD’s Dance Performance program. This mentorship is designed to bridge the gap between student life and working professionally as a dancer. For the next year, our HBE mentors will work, train, and perform alongside HBE under the guidance of HBE Artistic Director and Jörgen Dance Choreographer in Residence Hannah Kiel. Get-to-know a few of the new Human Body Expression Contemporary Mentorship Students – Maya Gale-Buncel, Kathy Le ..read more

Photo by Spencer Bentley. “There’s something so spiritual about dancing; it brings you out of yourself and into a world, unlike your reality.” Ballet Jörgen was founded to support the development and dissemination of original choreography. We only dance ballets created on the Company ensuring an entirely original repertoire of ballets. To date, Ballet Jörgen has performed 263 original creations by 94 choreographers, including nine full-length ballets and five works created especially for children. Providing opportunities for choreographers from a range of backgrounds and identi ..read more

Leya de Bruyn has been dancing since she was nine years old, starting her dance training at Panorama School of Dance in British Columbia. Currently attending the Professional Ballet Program at the Maritime Conservatory of Performing Arts in Halifax, she primarily studies ballet and contemporary, with classes also in modern, lyrical, jazz and stage. Leya has attended Summer Intensive classes with Ballet Jörgen for the last 2 summers. We caught up with Leya before she travels to Toronto to attend Jörgen Dance Academy’s Summer IV Intensive program. Check out our conversation with Leya and find ..read more

Written by Hannah Mae Curddas (Born to Dance Anne). “That is one good thing about this world…there are always sure to be more springs.” – L.M. Montgomery, Anne of Avonlea Something I always admired about L.M. Montgomery’s writing and what she infused into Anne, was this sense of hope. The idea that, despite life’s struggles and scrapes, a new dawn would bring with it fresh joys and experiences. When our Anne of Green Gables – the Ballet® tour in 2020 was cut short due to COVID-19, we still hadn’t reached the East Coast. We still hadn’t brought Anne home. Finally, over two years later ..read more