The Impact Edition

By Gillian Jones, Executive Director

After the final performance each season, our Dance Victoria team takes a collective breath. While there is much to do over the next few months to prepare for the next season (which, by the way, has a brand new trailer!), the more public-facing work of welcoming audiences to the Royal Theatre, coordinating special events, and bringing our visiting companies’ artistic visions to the stage is (at least momentarily) paused. In this moment, it feels important to reflect on what we have just accomplished — both as a staff and Board of Directors, and as a broader community of dance lovers — to support and elevate dance in our city. And so, we’re pleased to share with you this special issue of Footnotes: The Impact Edition!

The 2024/25 season showcased four internationally renowned dance companies within the Dance at the Royal series. These included the milestone of Dance Victoria’s first contemporary flamenco presentation, Compañía Rafaela Carrasco; the celebrated returns of Ballet BC and Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo; and a stunning Victoria premiere by one of my “bucket list” companies, A.I.M by Kyle Abraham. Alongside the moments we shared at the theatre, Dance Victoria continued our commitment to commission and invest in dance creation by B.C. and Western Canadian choreographers. Read on to learn more about recent Chrystal Dance Prize winner and DV Artists in Residence Belle Spirale Dance Projects, whose double bill UNIVERSUS by Alexis Fletcher and Fernando Hernando Magadan will transfix audiences at the McPherson Playhouse next January.

We also continued to expand Dance Victoria’s activities in the community, prioritizing free access, local partnerships, and long-term relationship-building. Our audiences may be aware of the masterclasses we offer to the dance community in connection with each company’s visit. What you may not know is that over the past two seasons, we have partnered with the Inter-Cultural Association (ICA) of Greater Victoria, Victoria Women’s Transition House, and a local elementary school to offer customized movement workshops to individuals in our community who would not otherwise have access. Most recently, DV Artist in Residence Kay Huang led an impactful workshop for new Canadian youth in partnership with the ICA, described by Dance Victoria’s Community Engagement Manager, Larissa Sharma, in this issue.

There is much more to celebrate, and so I’ll let this issue speak for itself. Please know that whether you are reading this as a Dance Victoria subscriber, donor, or business sponsor; whether you attend single performances or works-in-progress when you can; whether you are a dance artist or student (or wish to be!) — any impact we make is dependent on your enthusiasm and love for this art form. Thank you for your support, and thank you for reinforcing what we at Dance Victoria know to be true: Dance is a necessity, and dance is magic! I can’t wait to sit in the audience together again in 2025/26.

With gratitude, Gillian Jones FN