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Lecture: Dancer and Athlete Career and Life Transitions - A pioneering collaborative venture (Michael Du Maresq, Amanda Hancox)Career and life transition paths for professional dancers and high performance athletes share strikingly similar cultures, issues and challenges. In 2014 an innovative collaborative project brought leaders together from Canadian dance and sport sectors to explore career and life transition issues specific to their unique communities. This pioneering project enabled these communities to share knowledge, best practices and networks and provide a platform for dialogue and future strategic partnerships. Both sectors recognize that preparation for career transition and career development are healthy, holistic approaches to a dancer and athlete’s career.
Our presentation will reveal research conducted by the project and our project’s experiences from focus groups, consultations, a literature review and a major international conference presented by the project in 2016. It will also share emerging national and international trends in career development practices and career transition programs and services for these populations. Topics will include mental health, identity, loss of community, adaptive and maladaptive transitions and transferable skills. It will also discuss and explore the tangible benefits of cross-sector collaboration. |
Michael Du Maresq |
Michael Du Maresq spent 20 years as a dance artist in Canada working with choreographers including, Sarah Chase, Hari Krishnan and Denise Fujiwara as well as creating over 10 of his own original works.
Michael served as Grants Officer at Toronto Arts Council for various disciplines including, Dance, Music and Literary Arts and was Associate Theatre Officer from 2011 - 2013. In 2006 he founded his company mDm Consulting and has worked with over 30 arts organizations supporting strategic planning, organizational development and research. Michael has been Managing Director of Leading Edge After Performance (LEAP) since 2015. Michael was a co-founder of Series 8:08 and committee member of Dance 2020. He was also a past board member and Chair of Dance Umbrella of Ontario. He was a founding artist and is a past Chair of the Artists’ Health Centre Foundation which co-founded and partners with the Artists’ Health Centre at Toronto Western Hospital. He also volunteered in a significant role as Venue Operations Manager for Pan Am Games 2015 and as a Sport volunteer for the 2017 Invictus Games. |