Toronto Dance Theatre Has Appointed Andrew Tay As Its Artistic Director

On March 5, 2020, the board of directors of Toronto Dance Theatre (TDT) announced the appointment of award-winning curator, choreographer and performer Andrew Tay as the company's new Artistic Director.

A visionary leader with a profound commitment to community, Tay has served as Artistic Curator at Montreal's Centre de Création O Vertigo since January 2017, helping to lead the organization through a significant transition in mandate. There, he implemented thriving performance programming that draws a growing, loyal audience. His joyful, engaging approach to art is evident throughout his own choreography and performance events, which he has mounted with Sasha Kleinplatz through their company Wants&Needs danse since 2005.

"I am thrilled to be appointed the new Artistic Director of TDT, and to bring my skills as curator, choreographer and artistic instigator to the organization," says Andrew Tay. "I believe we are at an exciting time where the success of a dance company cannot be measured solely by the works it creates for the stage, but also by its engagement with community, willingness to reflect on current social issues, and accountability to the challenges of a rapidly shifting milieu. I look forward to building on Christopher House's legacy, expanding a culture around dance and choreography at TDT where risk taking is encouraged, where we make space for new voices, and where we approach our work with a serious sense of playfulness and joy - which I believe to be political!"

With support from Ontario Arts Council, Toronto Dance Theatre engaged Jane Marsland to facilitate a comprehensive Artistic Director search. The search committee included Seika Boye, Jeanne Holmes, and TDT Board members Leslie Ann Holbrow, Charles Pavia and T.J. Tasker. The committee was thrilled with the level of applications received from dance leaders, and is delighted to select a visionary, community-driven artist to lead Toronto Dance Theatre into the future.

"The Board is excited and energized by Andrew's unique voice and bold vision as Toronto Dance Theatre continues into its sixth decade," says Charles Pavia, Board President of Toronto Dance Theatre. "It is his ability to create excitement and breed curiosity, while further cementing TDT as a catalyst within the dance community here in Toronto and across the country, that helped make him the singular choice for the position at this time. We believe that while he will respect tradition, he will also challenge the status quo; and we are very excited to see where he will take the company with his generous nature and constant curiosity."

Current Artistic Director Christopher House will be completing his tenure with Toronto Dance Theatre in August 2020, following a transition period between his and Tay's leadership.

ABOUT ANDREW TAY

Andrew Tay was born in Windsor, Ontario where he attended the Walkerville Centre for the Creative Arts. Since finishing his B.F.A in contemporary dance at Concordia University, Andrew has presented his work at venues and festivals throughout Canada, New York and Europe. His work has appeared in films, installations and multimedia projects for companies such as Moment Factory, Bravo! and Gentilhomme. He has worked with well-known choreographer Doris Ulhich (Vienna) in the creation of More than Naked, which toured extensively throughout Europe.

In 2005 Andrew co-founded (with collaborator Sasha Kleinplatz) the company Wants&Needs danse. Since then the company has produced the wildly popular dance events Piss in the Pool, Short&Sweet and Involved in Montreal. In June 2012, the duo choreographed the Cirque du Soleil show Les Frontieres de Pixels and were nominated for a Quebec Notables award in the Arts&Culture category.

Residencies have included the Foundation Jean-Pierre Perrault, the summer artist in residency program at studio 303, Usine C (Montreal), Montreal Danse Choreographic Atelier, The Harbourfront Centre (Toronto), the K3 centre for choreographic research (Hamburg), sign 6 (Brussels) and Skånes Konstförening (Malmo, Sweden).

Andrew was awarded the Dance WEB scholarship in May 2012 (Vienna, Impulstanz festival). In 2013 he was chosen to participate in the Rencontres internationales de jeunes créateurs (Montreal, Festival TransAmériques 2013) and 8 Days, an annual intergenerational meeting of dance artists from across Canada organized by the company Public Recordings. He has also participated in The Copycat Academy (as part of the Luminato Festival, Toronto) curated by Hannah Hurtzig (Berlin) for two editions, and created work with dancers at Toronto Dance Theatre through the company's inaugural Emerging Voices Project in 2015. He has served as a board member of ELAN (the English Language Artists Network in Quebec) and the RQD - le Regroupement québécois de la danse.

In 2016, his work Fame Prayer / EATING was awarded the Vanguard Award for Risk and Innovation from the Summerworks Performance Festival Toronto. Fame Prayer was subsequently presented at Fierce UK (Birmingham) 2017 Theatre La Chapelle (Montreal) 2018 and Diver Festival (Tel Aviv) 2019. Make Banana Cry (co-authored with Stephen Thompson) premiered at the M.A.I in 2017, and was later presented La Galerie de l'UQAM in the context of the exhibit Refus Contraire 2018 as well as the Nottdance Festival and Fierce UK in 2019. The work will continue to tour internationally for 2020.

Since January 2017, Andrew has been the Artistic Curator of the O Vertigo Centre for Creation in Montreal, reimagining the company's activities in its new mandate as a choreographic centre and artist incubator. He actively thinks about community, irreverence and resistance in both his performance and curatorial practices.

ABOUT TORONTO DANCE THEATRE

Founded in 1968 by Patricia Beatty, David Earle and Peter Randazzo, Toronto Dance Theatre is one of Canada's largest and most active contemporary dance organizations. The company has produced a unique body of original choreography during its fifty-two year history and contributed to the artistic development of hundreds of dancers, choreographers, and other artists from across Canada.

Toronto Dance Theatre's company dancers are remarkable individuals who play an essential role in the creative process. With a broad range of skills and experience, they are capable of physical and expressive virtuosity as well as powerful ensemble work.

Christopher House has served TDT for over four decades, first as a dancer and resident choreographer, then as Artistic Director, beginning in 1994. House will be stepping down as Artistic Director at the end of TDT's 2019/20 Season.

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