Job Posting

Curator

Dancemakers

Curator Job Posting

April 2014

Mandate

Dancemakers animates a space where contemporary dance creation, presentation and development provoke unexpected discoveries, sensations and meanings. 

Dancemakers invites artists and publics - locally, nationally and internationally - to engage in dance that mines the relationships between bodies, environments, sounds and images, all starting from the here and now.

Dancemakers works through a rigorous meeting of collaborators who investigate the collision between dance, other fields and the questions that inform them

Context 

As Dancemakers celebrates its fortieth anniversary in an exciting new era of responsive change, the company is launching an innovative new creation/production model that will drive our vision into the future and position Dancemakers as a Canadian leader in contemporary dance.  Re-imagining how, by and for whom we make dances, the Incubation/Production House (IPH) model will invite three Resident Artists (RA) to incubate and produce new work over staggered three-year terms.  A newly appointed position of Curator will lead the crucial task of making connections between the RA creations, the field and the publics we serve. 

Title and Reporting Relationships

Job title:                      Curator

Reports to:                  Board of Directors

Works with:                 Executive Director

Reporting staff:           Resident Artists, company dancers, variety of artistic professionals

Purpose of the Job

Reporting to the Board of Directors and working in close collaboration with the Executive Director, the Curator stewards and implements the company’s vision through a strong curatorial practice that links art and the public. The Curator is the company’s lead artistic position though not a performance maker for Dancemakers.

Primary Responsibilities

·         Envisions and implements the task of making connections between the Resident Artist (RA) creations, the field and the public

·         Provides written and other interpretive materials that create curatorial understanding for Dancemakers’ public, audiences and stakeholders

·         Supports the Executive Director in outlining appropriate budgeting, resource allocation and primary partner development initiatives

·         Provides next season programming forecasts in accordance with organizational objectives and within Board defined timelines

·         Maintains an open and proactive dialogue with local, national and international organizations and individuals on new advances in curatorial and performance practices

·         Stewards a positive public profile for Dancemakers

Staff Supervisory/Management Responsibilities

·         Resident Artists: annual selection of a resident artist who create work for Dancemakers over a three-year cycle

·         Company dancers: five positions to be filled annually in collaboration with the RA’s

·         Guest Artists: select independently, or in collaboration with the RA’s, teachers, choreographers or other artists to deliver professional development activities.

·         Populates and leads the Resident Artist Advisory Committee process

·         Collaborates with the Resident Artists in defining and delivering engagement activities that emerge from the RA’s practices

·         Writes creative materials that are used in marketing the company and its projects

·         Supervises assists and is in regular dialogue with the Resident Artists.

·         Writes all creative portions of project and operating grants

Financial Responsibilities

·         Collaborates with the Executive Director to create production budgets for each incubation and production period for each RA over their three year term.

·         Collaborates with the Executive Director to identify and steward new and existing primary financial partners

External interactions

·         In collaboration with the Board of Directors and the Executive Director, acts as the artistic, vision and advocacy voice of the company to all stakeholders including paid and volunteer staff; public, individual and corporate funders; the general public; and the artistic community

·         Designs and produces outreach, audience development and educational activities and programs for Dancemakers’ publics

·         Suggests and facilitates touring opportunities for work generated by the Resident Artists

Working conditions and Environment

·         This is a part-time position based on a weekly salary over a defined number of weeks to be determined on an annual basis

·         Working hours require flexibility depending on project needs and will include evenings, weekends, some holidays and travel

·         This is a contract position

Knowledge and Skills Required

·         A clearly articulated curatorial vision and practice in the performing arts

·         A history of demonstrable curatorial practice in action

·         A strong and committed relationship to contemporary practice in dance and/or the performing arts

·         A strong understanding of the Canadian and International contemporary performance communities and their prevailing discourses

·         Experience with conceiving and implementing engagement practices with a broad spectrum of individuals including but not limited to artists, non-artists, youth and diversely-defined communities

·         Experience with conceiving and implementing field support activities including but not limited to producing, presentation, teaching and workshop design

·         A desire for and proven success with working collaboratively

·         Excellent written and verbal communication skills that can serve a number of purposes including grants, press releases, marketing and publicity and social media

·         Advanced knowledge of production budgeting

·         Understanding and experience of working in a changing environment 

Application deadline May 23rd at 5pm, 2014

Applications should be sent by email only to: info@dancemakers.org

To apply please send the following:

A 250 word bio

CV/Resume

Artistic/Curatorial Statement (general) - 2 pages max

Letter of Intent (Dancemakers' specific) - 1 page max

Only those selected for an interview will be contacted. 

Application Deadline: 
Friday, May 23, 2014
Start Date: 
Friday, August 1, 2014
Type of Work: 
Part-Time
Contract
City: 
Toronto
Province: 
Ontario
Education Level: 
University (Graduate)
Languages: 
English
French
Travel: 
Yes
Prefered Method(s) of Application: 
By E-Mail

Employer Details

Dancemakers

Robert Sauvey
15 Case Goods Lane #301
Toronto, ON M5A 3C4
Canada

MANDATE Dancemakers animates a space where contemporary dance creation, presentation and development provoke unexpected discoveries, sensations and meanings. Dancemakers invites artists and publics - locally, nationally and internationally - to engage in dance that mines the relationships between bodies, environments, sounds and images, all starting from the here and now. Dancemakers works through a rigorous meeting of collaborators who investigate the collision between dance, other fields and the questions that inform them. YESTERDAY, TODAY, TOMORROW In 1974, a group of independent dancers, led by founders Andraya Smith and Marcy Radler, joined together to create, commission and perform new choreography. Peggy Baker and Robert Desrosiers were among the early company members. In the 70s and 80s, the company's artistic directors - Anna Blewchamp, Carol Anderson, Pat Miner, Baker, Pat Fraser and Bill James led the company in building a distinctive Canadian voice for dance. Under the artistic direction of Serge Bennathan from 1990 to 2006, the company's reputation continued to spread throughout Canada, the Americas and Europe. In 2002, Bennathan and Andrea Vagianos established The Centre for Creation in its current home in Toronto's Distillery Historic District. The organization's new space includes a state-of-the-art 98-seat performance venue and a second rehearsal studio named after the late composer, company friend and advocate Michael J. Baker. In 2006, award-winning choreographer, performer and community leader Michael Trent was named Dancemakers' Artistic Director and Resident Choreographer. This season marks the company's 40th anniversary. Today, the Company performs at home and across Canada in works by Trent and invited choreographers, including Ame Henderson, k.g Guttman, Antonija Livingstone, Martin Bélanger, Nova Bhattacharya, Jacob Zimmer and Tony Chong. The current company artists - Robert Abubo, Amanda Acorn, Ellen Furey, Simon Portigal and Benjamin Kamino - join a formidable list of interpreters who over forty years have brought their artistic imaginations to bear in a repertoire of more than 100 eclectic, sometimes provocative but always engaging dances. The Centre for Creation supports the development of the field through various programs for performers and choreographers including research labs, residencies and showcases for national and international artists, and next generation training, creation and performance opportunities. The Centre is also the site for developing a rich exchange with our publics through performance, conversations, texts and study. Contemporary aesthetics, cross-disciplinary dialogues and collaborative engagement are Dancemakers' leading values that inform the work we do and the people with whom we engage.