On September 8th, 2021 the Dancemakers board of directors publicly shared a call for an Artistic Producer position.

The call was extended until October 15, 2021 for a final deadline for applications.  

A hiring committee comprised of local and national dance artists, Ralph Escamillan (Vancouver), Marie Claire Forté (Montreal) and Coman Poon (Toronto), was assembled to engage and lead the hiring process along with representatives of the current board of directors. The hiring committee engaged in thorough and rigorous consideration of the aspects of this role and the skills needed to artfully and respectfully engage with the organization and the communities it serves and will serve moving forward.  

As of January 3rd, the Dancemakers board of directors is happy to announce that Cara Spooner has been hired as the Artistic Producer. 

Cara comes to Dancemakers with a wealth of experience leading community-led and community-engaged processes through her 5+ years employed at Workman Arts as well as from past roles at DanceWorks, Series 8:08, Dance Collection Danse and FADO. She has also worked as a dancer, performer and choreographer since graduating from York University in 2007 and has a Masters of Performance Studies from the University of Toronto’s Drama, Theatre and Performance Studies program.

- Dancemakers Board of Directors

From Cara: 

I am humbled to have the opportunity to work with Dancemakers and the dance communities it serves as we engage in new processes to honour and respect those who will interact with the organization moving forward.

As the intentions of the organization expand, not only who but how people engage with Dancemakers will start to be further investigated, especially as we begin working in nomadic structures without a physical home.

I genuinely value fostering quality relationships with collaborators, team members and stakeholders and am deeply invested in offering meaningful opportunities to a wide range of ages, abilities, skills and intersectional experiences. I see this 'process' work as an integral and creative part of what is 'presented' (for me, it is the work). I strive to be accountable through open and clear communication and by creating opportunities for people to connect and be valued as contributing members of a community. 

I am looking forward to working with the current board and dance communities to allow Dancemakers to become a more porous, responsive and nimble organization which supports the research and development of dance creation through collaborative decision-making processes.