Congratulations to this year's recipient of the Healthy Dancer Canada research award Alyssa Hughes for the presentation Surveying the Silence: Exploring Mental Health and Psychological Skills Needs in Competitive Dance Training. The HDC research award is granted in recognition of a research quality and significance to Healthy Dancer Canada’s mission to empower dancers and all who engage with the art of dance by nurturing a culture of wellness within a vibrant dancing community.

Alyssa is a Master’s student at the University of Lethbridge in the Psychology for Active Living and Sport (PALS) Lab. Growing up as a dancer, she is passionate about bridging her academic background in kinesiology and psychology with her personal experiences in the arts. Her research focuses on understanding mental health in youth competitive dance and identifying ways to enhance resources and supports available to both dancers and educators. Alyssa is committed to advancing knowledge that helps foster psychologically safe and supportive environments in the dance community.

Congratulations, Alyssa, on your outstanding research achievements. We look forward to seeing what you do next.

​Healthy Dancer Canada is accepting applications and nominations for the 2025 BIPOC Emerging Dance Artist Scholarship. This scholarship supports emerging BIPOC artists pursuing careers in dance in Canada. It is open to artists aged 18-30 who self-identify as emerging/early stage professional dance performers and/or choreographers in any and all genres. For additional information visit BIPOC Emerging Dance Artist Scholarship - Healthy Dancer Canada. Applications are due by May 1.

The Annual Healthy Dancer Canada Conference, coordinated by HDC Conference Coordinator Jamie Hawke, was held in Calgary AB on November 30 and December 1. Over 60 people joined us in-person and virtually from around the world, including Australia, Italy, and USA! Lecture presentations, workshops, performances centred on building community and collaboration in dance research and practice. We also welcomed guests from Dancer’s Studio West to speak about the role of community and collaboration in the creative process.

Additionally, we welcomed the National accessArts Centre as part of the Thomas Poulsen Symposium on Dance and Disability led by founding member and Past President Andrea Downie. The symposium included a panel discussion, a workshop, and performances by Meg Ohsada (AB), Propeller Dance (ON), and All Bodies Dance (BC). 

In recognition of her ‘outstanding commitment to educating future professionals in the field of dance medicine and science’, HDC Vice-President Dr. Sarah Kenny has been selected by the International Association for Dance Medicine and Science to receive the 2024 Dance Educator Award. Congratulations Sarah!

HDC Member Jada Kiss, a 4th year BSc Exercise and Health Physiology student, received a Student Research Award for her oral presentation titled: Normative Data for Preseason Screening Assessments in Female University Contemporary Dancers at the International Association for Dance Medicine and Science annual conference in Rimini, Italy. ​

Congratulations to Sarah Hin Ching Yu and Jai Yi (Judy) Luo, this year's Healthy Dancer Canada BIPOC Emerging Artist Scholarship Winners 2024! Thank you to all of this year's applicants, who are receiving Healthy Dancer Canada memberships.

Sarah Hin Ching U 余衍晴 (she/her) is a Chinese-Canadian dance artist/choreographer, trained and influenced by a multitude of styles including contemporary, ballet, breaking and hiphop. My main intentions in my creations are  1. Explore and promote the cross-pollination between contemporary dance and street dance. 2. Investigate the integration of new media tools such as AI editing and Augmented Reality application in performance-making, pushing the boundaries of choreography beyond physical movement.
 
My work has been presented by Dancing on the Edge (Vancouver), National Arts Centre, Capsule: Video series (Ottawa), The Dance Centre (Vancouver), NewWorks (Vancouver), REvolver(Vancouver), DanceWorks (Toronto), Skampede (Victoria), Free Flow Dance Theatre (Saskatoon), Good Women Dance(Edmonton) among others.  In 2022, I received the Professional Performing Artist Award from British Columbia Arts Council and have recently received Professional Development award to train under bboy Savage Rock in the art of breaking. I been awarded residencies at Circuit est (Montreal), Dance Arts Institute (Toronto), Impulse Theatre (Victoria), City of Port Coquitlam, ArtStarts (Vancouver), and Plastic Orchid Factory. Other notable performing credits include Dancing on the Edge 2019 with Danse Carpe Diem/Emmanuel Jouthe (Montreal) and Nuit Blanche 2021 with Jackie Latendresse (Saskatoon). I graduated Simon Fraser University in 2021 with a BFA in dance and kinesiology. Website: https://www.sarah-u.com/.

Thank you to Allegro Performance + Wellness for supporting this recipient!

Jia Yi (Judy) Luo is a Chinese-Canadian dance artist based out of Toronto, Ontario. She voyages towards people, patterns, puzzles and play with her trusty blue suitcase. Building on faith and the gift of grace, physical movement and dumpling parties are her chosen mediums to meet and bridge communities. Judy is a former member of touring company Rambert 2 (London, UK). She holds her BFA in Performance Dance from Toronto Metropolitan University and is a laureate of the Hnatyshyn Foundation’s Developing Artist Grant. Known for her stage presence and versatility, her commercial credits include Nike, SportChek, Tim Hortons, Hallmark Channel, Jessie Reyez and Feist. Judy collaborates alongside Anne Plamondon (Montreal), Liam Francis (UK), and Nova Bhattacharya (Toronto). Switching between the hats of performer, rehearsal director and educator, she marvels at the body's intelligence and delights in sharing this fascination with others. Follow along her creative endeavours on her Substack publication, "mindthemoves." Website/blog https://judyluo.substack.com/.

Thank you to TAB Fitness for supporting this recipient!

Indigenous Performing Arts Alliance (IPAA) is hosting a free online event. Join facilitator Avril Helbig for Grant Writing Workshop 101: A Path to Funding Success on Tuesday, April 9th, at 6 PM EDT. Information and registration at Grant Writing 101 Tickets, Tu, Apr 9, 2024 at 6:00 PM | Eventbrite.

Explore becoming a member of IPAA. As a member, you'll gain access to exclusive benefits, workshops, and resources. Visit the website at  https://ipaa.ca/become-a-member/ to learn more and sign up.