Fall For Dance North Celebrates 8th Edition With Return of In-Person Performance in September

Toronto's premier international dance festival Fall for Dance North (FFDN) announces its return to in-person programming with its eighth edition from Sept. 17 to Oct. 8, 2022 - keeping all festival tickets at $15 for any seat. FFDN's vast and diverse line-up of innovative programming will include 15+ world premieres from movement artists, musicians and filmmakers, presented at six venues across Toronto, in partnership with more than 13 arts organizations. In addition to the return of FFDN's foundational indoor mixed programme at the festival's home stage, Meridian Hall, featuring internationally celebrated artists, the festival will expand its programming to present a series of full-length and double bill presentations, both indoors and outdoors, while offering digital engagements to enhance the experience of the organization's fast-growing local and global audiences.

"This year's annual festival represents a particularly thrilling evolution of FFDN, as we return to our signature venues at Meridian Hall, Theatre at the Creative School, and The Citadel for indoor performances, while also continuing to expand our organization's footprint in Toronto and beyond," says Ilter Ibrahimof, FFDN Artistic Director. "We are immensely proud of this edition's vibrancy and diversity, which features a fulsome representation of performance genres - including tap, jazz, hula, contemporary circus, traditional Indigenous, ballet and screendance - created and performed by more than 200 acclaimed dancers, choreographers, directors, and musicians from across North America. We are elated to once again come together to celebrate a joyous mix of high-quality, accessible performance in a variety of inspiring environments, in collaboration with our longtime programming partners across Toronto."

The festival's most anticipated presentation, ARISE: 2022 Signature Programme, at Meridian Hall on Oct. 6-8, will showcase a festival commission from visionary tap dancer Dianne Montgomery; a traditional Indigenous Hawaiian performance from Ka Leo O Laka | Ka Hikina O Ka Lā; a shared world premiere with Soundstreams of a new short film by award-winning actor and director Michael Greyeyes with live orchestral accompaniment; and the FFDN premiere of Canada's National Ballet School, showcasing 110 ballet students in a monumental work by choreographer Jera Wolfe.

This year's striking line-up also includes the second season of FFDN's popular outdoor performance series, Heirloom, with performances across Ontario from Sept. 17-25 and at Toronto's Evergreen Brick Works on Sept. 20; a jazz-themed double bill presentation, Margarita & Family of Jazz, showcasing the work of FFDN's 2021/22 John and Claudine Bailey Artists-in-Residence Natasha Powell and Kimberley Cooper, with their respective companies Holla Jazz (Toronto) and Decidedly Jazz Danceworks (Calgary) on Sept. 30 to Oct. 2; and the Canadian premiere of a full-length performance from Phoenix-based Indigenous dance collective, Indigenous Enterprise, on Oct. 7-8.

Additional festival presentations include the return of Night Shift, produced and co-presented by Citadel + Compagnie, which offers world premieres by nine emerging dancemakers from Toronto over three nights of in-person performances at The Citadel: Ross Centre for Dance. And, for the first time, a short dance film series titled 8-Count with live, in-person screenings at the Betty Oliphant Theatre (Sept. 23) and the Sandra Faire and Ivan Fecan Theatre at York University (Sept. 24), featuring world and Canadian premieres by director/choreographers Loughlan Prior (New Zealand), Zui Gomez (New York) and Roshanak Jaberi and Karen Kaeja (Toronto).

A variety of free in-person and digital ancillary events will be offered throughout the festival, including the third season of the FFDN podcast Mambo; a social dance evening with a panel discussion on jazz dance at Union Station; a free concert series at the Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts with select artists from Indigenous Enterprise, presented in collaboration with the Canadian Opera Company; and various workshops, artist talks and more.

For FFDN tickets and information, visit: ffdnorth.com

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