THE 10TH ANNIVERSARY CAMPAIGN
We have created a twoweek signature contemporary dance festival for Toronto
LOOKING BACK
Fall for Dance North (FFDN) launched in 2015 as a sold out, three night, gala-style phenomenon with a unique concept: an audience development initiative of mixed bills, including of-the-moment works and international companies that rarely appear in Toronto, for a supremely affordable ticket price.
Across the subsequent eight years, we have expanded to a two-week multivenue, multi-experiential festival that launches the dance season.
$15 tickets, 30 original commissions, 4 Artists in Residence, 66,000 audience members in-theatre, 100,000 free public encounters with the artform, 30,000 dance lovers digitally connecting when the arts were needed most - This is FFDN: a community centred by dance.
We enter our 10 th Anniversary season in 2024 with a tremendous sense of accomplishment and hearts filled with gratitude for everyone who has supported and shaped our meteoric growth.
Our first festival was praised for its energy: “It felt like the audience’s collective enthusiasm and joy would blow the roof off the Sony Centre.” We have been twice named by the Globe and Mail as a cultural event of the year. We have received consistent critical acclaim: “As this festival inevitably always does, it gave us new perspectives and cracked open the world of dance a little more.”
Existing to break boundaries and remove barriers, FFDN is proud to be Toronto’s premier professional international dance festival now and well into the future.
FFDN 2018: Compagnie Hervé Koubi, photo by Bruce Zinger
FFDN 2022: Dianne Montgomery and Artists, photo by Bruce Zinger
MISSION STATEMENT
FFDN is Toronto’s premier professional international dance festival that exists to break boundaries and remove barriers.
With pluralism and affordability at its core, FFDN celebrates, nurtures and amplifies established and emerging Canadian dance artists, creates global connections, and inspires future audiences to sustain the artform.
Let’s dance forward together and move the future!
FFDN
2023: Mthutuzeli and Siphe November, photo by Bruce Zinger
FFDN 2019: Anne Plamondon and TMU Artists, photo by Bruce Zinger
DANCING FORWARD
With a goal of raising $1 million, Dancing Forward is a campaign to honour the festival’s 10th Anniversary, to celebrate Artistic Director Ilter Ibrahimof’s legacy, and to welcome the company’s next leadership.
By joining the Dancing Forward Circle you will:
Celebrate founding Artistic Director Ilter Ibrahimof’s decade of leadership;
Support the FFDN artistic vision, including major festival presentations; and
Augment the reserve fund that assures FFDN the resilience necessary to meet the unexpected, from major disruptions to special opportunities.
Major Donors make FFDN possible and enjoy special behind the scenes experiences that demonstrate the direct impact of their investment.
Photography by Bruce Zinger
FROM THE ARTISTIC DIRECTOR
It is fair to say that FFDN put the Toronto dance scene back on the map. Now, there is more dance being programmed across the city and audiences are unabashedly displaying their love for the artform. This is exactly the impact we hoped for - expanding the audience for dance not just at FFDN but throughout the year.
I will forever appreciate our knowledgeable and generous Patrons who saw what FFDN could become and helped us realize that vision. My final 10 th Anniversary curation celebrates our past and delves deeper into the future of the artform
Joan and Jerry Lozinski have been with FFDN every step of the way and have committed to growing my legacy in its future. I am so honoured and grateful. Theirs is a tremendous gift to FFDN’s new leadership, one that will position them to develop the next decade with confidence. I hope you will join Joan and Jerry in celebrating and supporting the continued vision for what Toronto’s international dance festival can be.
- Ilter Ibrahimof / ARTISTIC DIRECTOR OF FALL FOR DANCE NORTH
Dancing Forward is led by Joan Lozinski, O.C. and Jerry Lozinski, O.C.
FFDN is a unique way to discover and support new artists, while also expanding audiences for organizations we already love. Ilter’s founding vision has brought us much joy and satisfaction.
We see the tremendous impact of FFDN and have proudly committed to leading the Dancing Forward Campaign because we know FFDN’s continued potential will benefit many in the years ahead. We hope everyone who loves FFDN will join us.
Let’s dance forward together and move the future!
FFDN’s continued potential will benefit many in the years ahead.
- Joan Lozinski O.C. / DIRECTOR AND PAST CHAIR OF FFDN
Photo by Aleksandar Antonijevic
Photography by Bruce Zinger
HIGHLIGHTING THE FIRST 9 YEARS
64 ticketed shows for an audience of 66,000, plus exceptional free eventsFFDN is a source of joy, inspiration and community.
Tkaronto Open
FFDN 2023, photo by Marlowe Porter
Ballet BC
FFDN 2015 & 2023, photo by Michael Slobodian
Hubbard Street Dance Chicago
FFDN 2016, photo by Todd Rosenberg
72-Person Ball Passing
FFDN 2017, photo by Zhenya Cerneacov
Mthuthuzeli and Siphesihle November FFDN 2023, photo by Bruce Zinger
SPOTLIGHTING THE 10TH ANNIVERSARY PROGRAMMING
In his final season, Ilter and the artistic team are in conversation to confirm these artists for the 10th Anniversary season.
PLUS! National Ballet of Canada, an expanded Tkaronto Open, Malpaso Dance Company (Havana), 3rd edition 8-Count, and the return of FFDN’s International Presenters Program - an international industry event.
photo by Sasha Onyshchenko
photo by Nance Price
Wayne McGregor Photo by Andrej Uspenski
FFDN BOARD OF DIRECTORS 2024
MESSAGE FROM THE CHAIR
I am incredibly impressed with the dance festival that Ilter has built for the city in only 10 years.
Valerie Wilder / CHAIR
Karen Sparks / VICE CHAIR
Joan Lozinski, O.C. / PAST CHAIR
Gerry Hannochko / TREASURER
Aleksandar Antonijevic
Peggy Baker / C.M., O.ONT.
Marah Braye
Erin Eizenman
Tanya Howard
Jim Hwang
Emma Sako
Zdenko Teply
As a former dancer, Artistic Director, and Executive Director at several international ballet companies, I know how critical it is to keep moving the artform forward by spotlighting fresh perspectives and exceptional performers. Ilter leaves a tremendous legacy for Toronto.
The FFDN Board has set a strategic vision with carefully identified opportunities to serve the dance milieu and build on FFDN’s established presence on the performing arts calendar.
I hope you will consider joining lead donors Joan and Jerry Lozinski in celebrating Ilter’s tenure and investing in FFDN’s future.
Your major gift will have a profound impact on dance in Toronto.
- Valerie Wilder / CHAIR
Photography by James Braund
THE IMPACT OF PRIVATE DONATIONS
By offering high-quality experiences at the most affordable ticket price, the FFDN model prioritizes public affordability over earned revenue. We cultivate dance appreciation and entice the dance-curious in order to grow the future base of the artform. FFDN succeeds in interweaving dance with the cultural fabric of the city, establishing its value and importance where public and private funding decisions are made.
As the FFDN inaugural Artist-in-Residence, I had the resources to work on a larger choreographic scale, workshop my ideas, and realize two fully-produced performances. My association with the festival propelled my choreographic voice onto the Canadian scene and boosted my confidence to pursue a direction that scared me in many ways. It prepared me for what was to come and am grateful for FFDN’s generous support.
I look forward to each new festival program from Fall for Dance North with a tremendous sense of excitement and anticipation. Artistic Director Ilter Ibrahimof casts his discerning and appreciative gaze around globe, across genre, and deep into the Toronto milieu to curate a gorgeous array of dance that offers magnificent discoveries and rich pleasures. If you are moved, as I am, by the courage, prowess, and expressive capacity of dancers, and by the very particular experience of humanity offered by the art of dance, I hope that you will champion this ambitious initiative, so central to the cultural life of our city.
As Artistic Director of Red Sky Performance, I have been involved with FFDN in multiple ways over the years from performance engagements, artist talks, and interviews. am impressed with the work FFDN does to meaningfully cast a spotlight on artists and companies that are often underserved in the Canadian dance landscape.
JOAN AND
The National Ballet of Canada is committed to the development of dance audiences and, with that shared goal, is delighted to have supported Fall for Dance North since its inception. applaud the festival for its investment in process and for providing creative opportunities that continue to push the artform.
Anne Plamondon CHOREOGRAPHER, PERFORMER, TEACHER AND CURATOR
Peggy Baker FFDN BOARD MEMBER
Sandra Laronde ARTISTIC DIRECTOR RED SKY PERFORMANCE
Hope Muir
JERRY LOZINSKI ARTISTIC DIRECTOR
FFDN 2016: Company Wang Ramirez, photo by Nika Kramer
FALL FOR DANCE NORTH YEAR-ROUND STAFF
The very first festival was infused with such love that I couldn’t help but want to join FFDN soon after. People from every part of the dance community were there to witness dancers of multiple disciplines giving their whole selves on the stage and audiences responding ecstatically in kind. Price was not a barrier to enjoyment and everyone felt welcome.
As Director of Advancement and Philanthropy, I have the enormous pleasure of becoming friends with the many donors whose passion for dance supports FFDN and the artists we present. On behalf of the entire FFDN team, I want to thank you for keeping us dancing forward!
- Melissa Forstner / DIRECTOR OF ADVANCEMENT AND PHILANTHROPY
Ilter Ibrahimof / ARTISTIC DIRECTOR
Aviva Fleising / GENERAL MANAGER
Melissa Forstner / DIRECTOR OF ADVANCEMENT AND PHILANTHROPY
Lily Sutherland / EXECUTIVE PRODUCER
Milana Glumicic / PRODUCER, DIGITAL PROGRAMMING
Felicia Myronyk / ADVANCEMENT OFFICER
Melina Osorio / FINANCE OFFICER
Faith Buchanan / EDUCATION AND RESIDENCY COORDINATOR
Simon Rossiter / DIRECTOR OF DESIGN
Barney Bayliss / DIRECTOR OF PRODUCTION
Bradley Langham / BOX OFFICE MANAGER
A gorgeous array that offers magnificent discoveries and rich pleasures.
FFDN
2018: Red Sky Performance, photo by Bruce Zinger
Photography by Marlowe Porter
Cover photo: FFDN 2023: Ballet Black, photo by Nick Guttridge
Back cover photo: FFDN at AGO 2019, photo by Marlowe Porter