Fall for Dance North Unveils 9th Annual Festival Line-up Featuring Cassa Pancho's Ballet Black, Candoco & More

Fall for Dance North, Toronto’s premier international dance festival, has revealed mainstage events of its 9th annual programming, to take place at various venues throughout Toronto, from Sept. 26 to Oct. 7, 2023 – with all tickets (still!) priced at just $15. FFDN’s 2023 program showcases an electrifying range of live performance from local and international dancemakers – with choreographers hailing from Mozambique, Sweden, South Africa, Israel, The Netherlands, the UK, the US, and Canada – coupled with high quality digital programming to support the festival’s fast-growing local and global audiences. 

FFDN features Toronto premieres from four internationally revered ensembles that push the boundaries of professional dance – from the UK, Cassa Pancho’s Ballet Black, which celebrates dancers of Black and Asian descent, and Candoco, the world’s leading company at the forefront of conversation around dance and disability, as well as the US’s Charlotte Ballet, formerly led by The National Ballet of Canada’s Artistic Director Hope Muir, and Gibney Company of New York City, that is redefining what a 21st century contemporary dance company looks like.

“Fall for Dance North’s 9th anniversary season celebrates beauty and resilience, with dance creations by local and international choreographers, giving space for diverse perspectives and deeply vulnerable stories,” says Ilter Ibrahimof, FFDN Artistic Director. “This year’s festival sees a return to our festival roots, with a heavy emphasis on dynamic live performance, while continuing to expand our digital offerings for global audiences. The programming directly reflects themes of moving forward together – a study of how the human body moves and bends to help us reset and build shared communities for a sustainable future full of love and courage.” 

FFDN 2023 presents the highly anticipated return of two Signature Programmes, at Meridian Hall from Oct. 4-7. HEARTBEATS: Signature Programme 1, co-presented with TO Live on Oct 4 & 5, will showcase a commissioned solo work with live music from Toronto-based Pulga Muchochoma; the Toronto company debuts from New York City’s Gibney Company, performing Swedish choreographer Johan Inger’s famous piece Bliss (first created on Italy’s Aterballetto) and London’s Candoco with a new work by British dancemaker Jamaal Burkmar; plus the Toronto premiere of the work Heart Drive by Dutch team Imre and Marne Van Opstal performed by Ballet BC. 

UNBOWED: Signature Programme 2 on Oct 6 & 7, co-presented with TO Live, will feature a work created by Gibney Company associate artist Jesse Obremski, Light-Print, performed by TMU School of Performance’s Dance Department; the highly anticipated in-person premiere of My Mother’s Son from brothers Mthuthuzeli and Siphe November (first presented virtually at FFDN’s 2021 festival); a second work from Gibney Company, Oh Courage! by Tony Award-winning choreographer Sonya Tayeh performed with live music by The Bengsons from Brooklyn, and the Toronto company debut of London’s Ballet Black with NINA: By Whatever Means, also created by Mthuthuzeli November, highlighting the music and activism of the late Nina Simone. 

Festival highlights also include the presentation of Ohad Naharin’s interactive KAMUYOT, presented in-the-round by Charlotte Ballet (Sept. 26-30) in two different venues (Toronto Metropolitan University Theatre and Holy Blossom Temple); the return of the short dance film series, 8-Count (Sept. 27 & 28) with two live screenings at the Hot Docs Ted Rogers Cinema and York University’s Sandra Faire and Ivan Fecan Theatre followed by online streaming; and a sneak preview screening of Swan Song, co-presented with TO Live, a CBC original documentary series that follows the creation of Karen Kain’s Swan Lake for The National Ballet of Canada (Oct. 3) before the series premiere on CBC and CBC Gem in November 2023. The Meridian Hall event will feature an artist chat with Kain and select featured dancers, as well as a short live performance of excerpts from Swan Lake, in partnership with The National Ballet of Canada. 

FFDN’s fan favourite series, NIGHT/SHIFT, will also return, in partnership with Citadel + Compagnie. Nine Ontario-based dancemakers will present new works live at The Citadel from Oct. 5-7, as well as live streamed for home audiences on both FFDN and The Citadel websites.

A variety of free in-person and digital ancillary events will be offered throughout the festival and announced in August. 

Festival packages are now available at ffdnorth.com - with single tickets on sale the morning of July 10, 2023. Tickets will be available for $15 (+ fees & HST) per performance (except for the NIGHT/SHIFT live streams, which are $5 each and $15 for all three). 

Additionally, all ticket purchasers who are new subscribers to the arts and culture streaming service, Marquee TV, will be offered a special two-month free trial to Marquee TV’s full library, which includes a collection of FFDN-produced films. 

The 2023 Festival Packages:
 

FLEX Package 

Combine any two or more mainstage events (HEARTBEATS: Signature Programme 1, UNBOWED: Signature Programme 2, KAMUYOT, 8-Count, Swan Song, the NIGHT/SHIFT livestreams) to build your own personalized package and receive 10 percent off your entire purchase.
 

SUPER FAN Package 

Includes five mainstage events (HEARTBEATS: Signature Programme 1, UNBOWED: Signature Programme 2, KAMUYOT, 8-Count, Swan Song,) at $60 for 20 percent off ($75 value), which comes with free live streams for all three evenings of NIGHT/SHIFT. 

Box office services for FFDN 2023 is proudly managed by TO Live. For FFDN ticketing and package information, please visit: ffdnorth.com

About Fall for Dance North

(ffdnorth.com)

Presenting its first festival in 2015, and inspired by Fall for Dance in NYC, Fall for Dance North is a commitment to support the professional dance community. FFDN nurtures the dance audiences of the future, supports the creation of new work, educates the next generation, and connects the global dance industry with Canadian artists. Year-round activities and digital innovations are expanding to meet FFDN audiences where they live, play and explore. FFDN is an inclusive, accessible celebration of community made better through professional dance.

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