If you seriously love to dance, you’ll have the time of your life! 

From August 12-24,  2012, You can study at a world class summer school in beautiful Nova Scotia, under nationally renowned faculty and have a great experience of camp life at the same time, with 178 acres of field, forest, organic gardens and spectacular views.  

DANS Summer Dance is a partnership with Dance Nova Scotia, a two-week dance intensive for serious dance students age 12 and over. The amazing faculty are intelligent and supportive and really care about the students. The program provides  intensive training and a final performance along with educational and career advice and being at Ross Creek makes it a magical experience unline any other dance program.  

At DANS Summer Dance we employ some of the finest teachers in the country. Small class sizes and lots of personal contact ensure that every student has access to a calibre of training not possible in most of the larger summer programs. Together with our partners, the Ross Creek Centre for the Arts, we are thrilled to offer a unique total immersion dance experience combined with the fun and friendship of a summer camp in a glorious rural setting.

Serious dance students want to be the best they can be, doing the thing they love most—dancing!  Whether your main interest is in ballet, modern or stage dance, dance training provides a host of beneficial side effects from physical fitness to improved concentration, personal discipline and self-esteem AND IT’S FUN!

The program began in 1990, under the artistic direction of Sally Brayley Bliss, internationally renowned former dancer and trustee of the Antony Tudor repertoire.  Working closely with our fabulous faculty of master teachers, and with input from the wonderful dance teachers right here in Nova Scotia, Dance Nova Scotia is continually refining the DSD program in response to the latest research into the science and art of dance training

In addition to daily classes and rehearsal, there is time for the fun things of camp life, camp fires, cabin challenges, crazy talent shows and time to just chill with new friends who love to dance as much as you.  Thanks to the professional staff at the Ross Creek Centre for the Arts, DANS Summer Dance also offers our students positive experiences and the opportunity for personal growth and development.

Students are lodged on site in our rustic cabins with a view of the forest and the water and close to the central communal campfire. Dormitory cabins are a short walk from the main building which houses showers and bathrooms.

Faculty

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Robert McCollum
Each summer Robert arrives in Nova Scotia  armed with the very latest in effective safe training practices taught by Irene Dowd, one of the world’s foremost authorities in dance kinesiology. Robert trained at the American Ballet Center, the School of the Joffrey Ballet and with the renowned Maggie Black, Peggy Baker and Louis Falco in New York. He danced professionally in both the United States and Canada. He is on the faculty of the Canadian Children’s Dance Theatre, the School of Toronto Dance Theatre and the National Ballet School Teacher Training Program.  Robert has choreographed for musical specials, opera and live theatre, most recently with Toronto’s Soulpepper Theatre. Robert has gained international renown as a teacher and has been the subject of numerous newspaper and magazine articles, including a full page spread in the Globe and Mail and the popular U.S.magazine, Dance Teacher. Robert believes that dance training begins with awakening the dancer within; that a passion for hard work is sprung from a passion for the dance and that every individual can achieve their personal best.  Students leave his classes feeling better about themselves and their dancing.

Darryl Tracy
Darry Tracy is a local independent dance artist, choreographer, and teacher of contemporary dance. He has appeared in works by many of Canada’s leading choreographers including. Along with Heidi Strauss, he is co-Artistic Director of Four Chambers dance projects, which received a Dora Mavor Moore nomination for their performance in the Italian-based company Déjà Donné’s piece Rustling Shadows in 2005 .  As a choreographer he has set work on companies in Toronto, Montreal, New Brunswick, and the United  States. Tracy is also known for his work with young dancers and has choreographed for youth ensembles and  performing arts high schools. He is on the faculty of The School of Toronto Dance Theatre, and is a regular teacher at the 509 Collective, Canadian Children’s Dance Theatre, and Dance-Teq. He has also  taught master classes across Canada, the United States, and Europe. Tracy sits on the Board of Directors of CCDT and on the Artists’ Committee of the Artists’ Health Centre. He is also a part-time private physiotherapist for Physio-Logic Neurological Rehabilitation Clinic, and a dancer with Montreal-based Sylvain Émard danse.

Tanya Evidente
After graduating from Canada’s National Ballet School, Tanya Evidente danced with the National Ballet of Cuba and the Ballet Ciutat De Barcelona. Returning to Canada, she danced for Ballet Jörgen  for two years before joining the National Ballet of Canada.  Having recently retired from performing, Tanya teaches ballet in the Dance Department at Ryerson University, and at Dance Teq. She has taught company class for Ballet Jörgen,  master classes for the National Ballet’s Western tour and as part of the company’s ‘Kids Corps Program’. 

Sara Coffin
Sara Coffin, a Nova Scotia native, is a Vancouver based dancer and choreographer. Sara is the recipient of the 2005 BC Emerging Dance Artist Award. She completed her B.F.A. in dance at Simon Fraser University and a degree in Kinesiology at Dalhousie.  She has worked with the Holy Body Tattoo, Mascall Dance, Susan Elliott, Lesandra Dodson, Deborah Dunn, Peter Chin, and the TILT: sound + motion dance company, Toronto. Coffin’s choreography has been presented in Halifax, Toronto and Vancouver. Sara is a co-founder of S.I.N.S. (Sometimes In Nova Scotia), a collective based in Nova Scotia that traverses Canada and received the  Iris Garland Emerging Choreographers Award in 2009. She is currently acting Artistic Director of the renowned MOCEAN Dance company in Nova Scotia.

Ruth-Ellen Kroll Jackson
Ruth-Ellen Kroll  Jackson returned to Halifax after dancing for five years with one of the world’s finest modern dance companies “The Parsons Dance Company”.  She began her dance training at Halifax Dance and was an original member of The Young Company, where she originated the role of Frieda/Mouse Queen. in The Nutcracker.  Ruth-Ellen obtained  a B.F.A. in Dance from the North Carolina School of the Arts (NCSA) where she danced in works by some of the most revered choreographers of the 20th century.  Ruth-Ellen also performed with the Martha Graham Dance Ensemble, New York City Opera and Cortez and Company. She has taught numerous master-classes at universities and summer festivals including Skidmore College Summer Festival, North Carolina School of the Arts, Jacob’’s Pillow, New York University, and Parsons Dance Company Intensive in New York.  She is also a certified Pilates instructor.

Admission

• Admission is restricted to dance students age twelve to eighteen except by special permission. Students must have turned twelve by July 31, 2011 and not turn nineteen until after August 20, 2011.
• RAD and Russian students must be about to enter Grade 5; CDTA students must have completed Grade 5. (Teachers who are not familiar with these levels should contact the DANS office regarding placement.)
• The student’s ballet teacher must complete the Teacher Evaluation form and submit it directly to Dance Nova Scotia.
• Students must be in good general health. The program will be strenuous, but not overly so provided youngsters are in good health. Dance Nova Scotia must be notified if the student becomes injured before attending DANS Summer Dance.
• There are places for 40 residence students and 6 day students. Program hours are 9:00 am to 9:00 pm and includes Saturday, August 15. Day students must register for the meal plan and participate in extra-curricular activities. For a picture of life at summer school and a complete list of rules and regulations visit www.dancens.ca after April15.
• Send in your registration form by May 31, with a $250 non-refundable deposit. You will be notified of acceptance and the bursary amount by June 15. A late registration fee may apply after May 31.
• Payment in full must be received by July 15, 2012.
• Fees may be paid by post-dated cheques. Contact the office for details.
• There will be no refunds given after July 01, 2012, except for documented medical reasons. In this case only, DANS will give partial credit towards fees for next year’s summer school.
• Approximately 30 bursaries of up to $200.00 for residence students are available on a first come, first serve basis. Day students may be eligible for a bursary of up to $100.00.

Registration is online at www.dancens.ca. You can contact  Dance Nova Scotia  at 1113 Marginal Road, Halifax, Nova Scotia B3H 4P7 P:(902) 422-1749 ; F: (902) 422-0881 or summerdance@dancecns.ca for more information about the DANS Summer Dance programs, or email our Education Director ateducation@artscentre.ca about camp life, food, accommodation, recreation and more at Ros Creek during the program.