Established in 1998, the Guelph Contemporary Dance Festival is committed to providing Canadian contemporary dance artists with the opportunity to perform outside major metropolitan areas as well as providing our audience with challenging, state-of-the-art contemporary dance from across Canada.
The GCDF annually presents a diverse blend of high-calibre dance works that clearly push the boundaries of contemporary dance. Dances presented during the Festival dates are grouped into four separate series—the Mainstage, Site-Specific, Noon-Time and Youth Moves Series.
The Mainstage A and B presentations profile the works of established choreographers and dancers, while Youth Moves focuses on the work of dancers in elementary and secondary school. Both the Site-Specific and Noon-Time series provide new and established artists with the opportunity to perform in unique outdoor venues throughout Guelph's downtown. The Off-Site series features performances in an intimate gallery setting.
The Festival also offers a Talkback Series in association with its Mainstage and Off-Site performances to encourage greater dialogue between audience and dancers. This supports our efforts to educate the public about contemporary dance, efforts that we also make during the year through five initiatives: Arts Explosion: March Break Camp, Linamar for the Performing Arts, Workshops in Schools, Workshops for the General Public, and Master Classes. Performances throughout the year include the Fall Extravaganza, Off-Site Series, and CSA Nooner Series.
We aim to enthrall and educate, so we hope our festival will spur your interest in contemporary dance and sustain it well into the future.
