Welcome to Dusk Dances, an outdoor dance festival that brings communities together to discover high-quality contemporary and traditional dance as well as the local environment. The brainchild of dancer/choreographer Sylvie Bouchard, Dusk Dances debuted in 1993 using the natural beauty of Toronto's Trinity-Bellwoods Park.

Co-artistic director and curator Sylvie Bouchard says about the event: “Dusk Dances brings a variety of dance styles to a varied public and to an unusual environment, a public park. My goal in inventing Dusk Dances was to bring high-quality dance pieces to the general public, a public that often has never seen that level of dance before. I wanted to make dance accessible, to remove the theatre walls in order to expose this beautiful and powerful art form. Through the years, Dusk Dances has become an event that is not only artistic, but a social and cultural one as well.”

As part of Dusk Dance’s tenth season celebrations, the Toronto-based organization received an Ontario Trillium Foundation grant in 2003 that would enable them to tour six communities across Ontario the following summer. As a result, more than 10,000 people in Toronto, Kingston, Chatham, Guelph, Deep River, Ottawa and Peterborough enjoyed a variety of genres of dance performed in a natural setting.

Photographer: Omer Yuseker Dancer and choreographer Nova Bhattacharya performs a traditional Indian dance.

“Dusk Dances gave three performances in Guelph that we co-produced,” says Catrina von Radecki, co-artistic director/general manager of the Guelph Contemporary Dance Festival. “Their visit had an enormous impact on both the community and on our festival. Each performance drew large audiences, which in turn generated an increased interest in dance and local initiatives such as ours.”

The success of the tour reinforced Dusk Dances’ belief that bringing dance to the people would create new audiences and interest. As a result, the organization decided on a new venture. They created a model that involved community groups and could be applied anywhere, but especially in communities without a developed arts infrastructure. In 2005, Dusk Dances hired two choreographers from the Jane/Finch area to hold workshops and create a 10-minute dance piece with a group of local youth. This piece was then performed within the Dusk Dance program, alongside four other professional pieces, in Driftwood Park at Jane and Finch.

With further funding from the Ontario Trillium Foundation, Dusk Dances began a three-year project. They implemented and adapted this model to fit five other communities throughout Ontario: Kingston, Mindemoya (Manitoulin Island), Chatham, Haliburton and Deep River. And again, Dusk Dances generated enormous interest and enthusiasm.

Photographer: Gary Mulcahey Dancer Angela Deiseach performs a piece choreographed by Esmeralda Enrique as part of Dusk Dances 2006 Ontario tour program.

But it’s not only communities across Ontario that benefit from Dusk Dances performances. The organization also creates a showcase in Toronto for many of Canada’s established and emerging choreographers. Choreographers like Nova Bhattacharya.

“Participating in Dusk Dances has been an incredible experience,” she says. “I’ve been involved for several years and was part of the 2004 tour. As a dancer and choreographer, I get immediate feedback on what’s engaging for the audience and what isn’t -- especially from the children. You know your piece is successful when the children are sitting quietly and with open mouths! Dusk Dances also gives dancers and choreographers a challenge by asking them to create for the outdoors. The grass is the stage, the trees, picnic tables and garbage cans the sets, the sound of nature the natural soundscape, and without fail, a dog or a child will somehow become part of the experience of art happening to people.” 
 
To date, choreographers from various backgrounds, including First Nations, Korea, India and Argentina, as well as wheelchair dancers and breakdancers have been commissioned by the festival to create a 10-minute piece.  Dusk Dances programming is diversified in terms of style and cultural representation.

“Dusk Dances is a powerful project,” says OTF project manager Sanjay Shahani. “It benefits communities by bringing people together in a public space to experience dance performances. It also helps young dancers and choreographers develop their talent and leadership skills. Dusk Dances promotes and champions Canadian dance by creating new audiences and sparking new interest. And they do all this by fusing the natural and cultural worlds and creating an extraordinary experience.”