Audition Information
Introduction
The Contemporary Company is a new company created September 2009, from the merging of our Modern (founded 1987) and Jazz (founded 2004) companies. Sometimes Modern Dance is also called Contemporary Dance, and we also know that Contemporary Dance is becoming popular at studio competitions and on TV's SYTYCD. Our Contemporary Company create, perform and compete with Contemporary, Jazz and Lyrical styles as well as Open categories blending styles such as Acro and Hip Hop. Dancers train in all styles, as well as some ballet and hip hop, yet will be able to choose a major focus as the year progresses. Past professional teachers and choreographers have included Linda Garneau (Jazz), Rachel Parnaby (Jazz), Lisa Collins (Jazz), Heidi Strauss (Modern) and Malgorzata Nowacka (Modern), David Norsworthy (Contemporary, Jazz), Meghan MacNeil (Contemporary & Jazz), Michele Black (Contemporary), Louis Laberge-Cote (Contemporary), Darryl Tracy (Contemporary). Returning and incoming dancers will audition together for 16-18 places in the company.
Current Dancers
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Eric Abel - Contemporary Student Co-DirectorHometown: Aurora, Ontario Eric started dancing 13 years ago, when he joined the Somerville Dance Academy in Oak Ridges, Ontario. Competing competitively for the past 10 years, Eric has competed all over Ontario and worldwide. Eric has won Gold and Silver medals at the International Dance Championships in Reisa, Germany as well as being recognized as the Overall Senior Performer at the Toronto Kiwanis Dance Festival and the Orillia Opera House Dance Festival for 3 consecutive years. Professionally, Eric just recently was Coricopat in the Mirvish production of CATS and has worked in the past with Blake McGrath, Dave Campbell, Matthew Clark and Amy Wright. Eric has his Honours Certificate of Advanced Tap and Pre-Professional Level given from the P.A.E.C. and is looking forward to co-leading the contemporary company again and working with all of MDC's dancers this year! |
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Amanda Hardinge - Contemporary Student Co-DirectorHometown: Mississauga, Ontario Amanda Hardinge began her dance training at the age of three. Despite her young age, Amanda’s commitment and love for dance was immediately evident. At the age of six Amanda began dancing competitively and her passion for dance intensified with every class and performance. Amanda has trained diligently in the following disciplines: Ballet/Pointe, Jazz, Tap, Lyrical/Contemporary, Hip-hop, and Musical Theatre. Amanda has completed all of her RAD Grades 1-8 Examinations as well as the Intermediate and Advanced Foundation Vocational Examinations with the highest achievement of Distinction. She has been honoured to win numerous group and solo awards over the years. Her two most revered dance achievements are a full scholarship to “Dance Fusion”, a summer 2010 intensive workshop, at York University where she learned from choreographers such as Annie Wood, Linda Garneau, Jillian Meyers, and Danny Lawn and participating in the 2011 Dance Canada Pageant where she won the title of Ms. Dance Canada 2011. At the Pageant, Amanda had the opportunity of working with choreographers such as Ryan Foley and Breanna Willis. Amanda’s experience in these two life changing events inspired her to strive for her fullest potential not only in dance but in other aspects of her life as well. Amanda is thrilled to be a part of the McMaster Dance Company this year and is looking forward to a year of success and great memories. |
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Allison McAvella - Contemporary Student Co-DirectorHometown: Burlington, Ontario Alison began taking ballet classes at the age of 4. She was advised to seek studio training and by the age of 13 had expanding her diversity in dance to ballet, jazz, modern, lyrical, tap, musical theatre, hip hop, and pointe and had found her way to Linda Collins School of Dance. She completed her RAD ballet examinations up to grade 8 receiving honours with distinction and has been competing since the age of 7 at competitions across Ontario and the States. Throughout her competitive years Alison has won overalls for solos, duets, trios and group performances. This past year, Alison got to work with Leon Blackwood and Shane Simpson as they choreographed her competitive hip hop number. Throughout high school, Alison led the dance team with a group of fun energetic dancers. She is excited to continue her life as a dancer with a new group of students who share the same love for the art as she does! |
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David Anzarouth Hometown: Ottawa, Ontario David began training in gymnastics at the age of 6, at the Corona School of Gymnastics. He showed much potential in the sport and was asked to advanced to competitive at the age of 9. David has competed throughout the province of Ontario achieving Level 7 at the age of 12. He began dancing at the age of 15 performing in musicals, and experimenting in styles such as lyrical, ballet, tap, jazz, and musical theatre. David has worked at summer camps as a performance instructor, directing and choreographing many musicals such as Grease, The Drowsy Chaperone, and Fame! This spurred on his love for dance and performing to continue at McMaster University. David is extremely excited to explore the world of dance and continue to learn and grow as part of the McMaster Dance Company. |
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Samantha Bubnich
Hometown: Mississauga, Ontario Samantha Bubnich fell in love with dance at the age of 3, when her mother enrolled her in a ballet class at the Mississauga School of Dance. At the age of 7 she began her training in jazz, tap, musical theatre, lyrical, contemporary, pointe and acrobatics. Recently, she began to expand her training in various styles of urban dance including hiphop, house, locking, dancehall and waacking. Sam has competed in various competitions across Canada and the United States, winning numerous scholarships and overall solo titles, including “Overall Intermediate Soloist” at Terpsichore Dance Celebration in 2011. Samantha has the opportunity to pass on her passion, as she teaches dance to young children in and outside the studio. Samantha is also a part of Faction crew, a crew founded by choreographer Natalie Nesteranko, which allows her to explore a variety of urban styles, surrounded by supportive and inspiring individuals. She is ecstatic to be a part of both the Urban and Contemporary companies here at Mcmaster, and hopes to inspire her fellow company dancers as much as they inspire her. |
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Madeleine Cox
Hometown: Peterborough, Ontario Maddie began dancing at the age of four in a creative movement class and gradually was introduced to ballet at this age. After four years of ballet training, she began dancing competitively with Premiere Studio of Dance in additional styles including jazz, acro and tap; eventually performing and competing in a wide variety of genres, including ballet, jazz, tap, lyrical, hip-hop, acro, musical theatre, contemporary, modern, and song and dance. She also auditioned and became a part of the Integrated Arts Program at PCVS, and throughout her high school career she was involved in school-wide competitions in both dance and drama. As one of five schools to be invited to perform at the US Opens of Surfing, Maddie travelled to California with a select group from the dance program at PCVS to compete in dance and modelling before an audience of over 10,000! Maddie has also been involved with assisting and teaching dance for the past few years, including assisting with teaching an adapted dance program for students with physical disabilities. She is extremely honoured and excited to be a part of the McMaster Dance Company for hopefully many years to come! |
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Tanya Dlugosz
Hometown: Mississauga, Ontario Tanya has been all over the map when it comes to her dancing career. Beginning at age four with Ukrainian folk dance, she danced with Arkan Dance Company for 10 years at which point she began practicing ballet; she quickly fell in love with this style of dance. As she moved forward with her ballet she took up pointe and travelled to Italy in the summer of 2008 to showcase dance across the country. It became clear to Tanya that dance needed to become a bigger part of her life so in 2010 she joined the competitive dance team at Annex Dance Academy where she competed in ballet, lyrical and jazz across Ontario. She thought her career would be over once she began university but after taking her first year without any dance she came to the conclusion that it was necessary for her to find a way to do it again. With that thought in mind she was lead to audition for McMaster Dance Company’s contemporary team and she has never looked back. She is incredibly excited to grow as a dancer and performer for the next three years with the company and learn from all of its talented dancers! |
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Nicole EllisHometown: Dundas, Ontario Nicole has been a competitive dancer since the age of eight. She first trained recreationally in tap and ballet before moving studios to dance lyrical, acro, hip hop, jazz, and ballet competitively. In 2009, Nicole started attending Rythum Plus Dance Company, which offered her higher levels of dance training. She competed her grade seven RAD ballet exam in 2011 with distinction. Also in 2011, Nicole travelled to the Dance Masters of America National Competition in Orlando where she placed within the top 10 for two teams and her tap duet. After coming to McMaster in the fall of 2012, Nicole joined the McMaster Dance Company and enjoyed working with new people and performing throughout the year. She is thrilled to be on the contemporary company this year and looks forward to being introduced to new styles, working with new people, and performing this year. |
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Katie GouldHometown: Richmond Hill, Ontario Katie has been dancing competitively since the age of eight but was truly a dancer before she could walk. While her true passion is tap dancing, she has also trained in a variety of styles including Ballet, Modern, Jazz, Contemporary, Hip Hop and Pointe. In 2010, she completed her grade 8 R.A.D exam. Katie grew up training at Dansecore School of Dance under the direction of Anne Sprincis. She has attended many dance conferences and workshops where she has been provided the opportunity to work with distinguished choreographers. Katie has travelled across Canada and the United States to compete in regional and national competitions winning many awards along the way. Currently, she is the choreographer at the Richmond Hill Center for Performing Arts summer camp. Katie has enjoyed performing with the McMaster Dance Company this year at events including Chocolate Fest and ACDFA. She is very excited to be part of the McMaster Dance Company family and to continue pursuing her love of dance. |
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Rachel KalasHometown: Caledon, Ontario Rachel’s dance training began at The Academy of Performing Arts at the age of three. When she turned eight she moved to Lynn Morrison’s School of Ballet in Brampton and began to compete. Rachel has competed in ballet, pointe, jazz, lyrical and contemporary. She is also trained in tap and has been exposed to a wide variety of other dance forms. Rachel graduated from Mayfield Secondary School’s Regional Arts Program for dance in June 2012. She has completed her BATD ballet grades 3-5, elementary, intermediate, and advanced pointe examinations, attaining Honours recognition and was starred for scholarships in ballet. In 2010 she earned her Associate Teachers in BATD Ballet with all her marks in the 90s. She has gotten the opportunity to teach at her studio in Brampton and at Citrus Dance in Orangeville as a ballet, jazz and lyrical instructor. Rachel is thrilled to be part of the McMaster Dance Company and is very excited to be dancing with the energetic and dedicated dancers of MDC. |
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Dominique KrawchenkoHometown: Hamilton, Ontario Dominique Krawchenko has been studying ballet at the Hamilton Conservatory for the Arts since she was 3 years old. Training under HCA’s founder/artistic director, Vitek Wincza and senior classical teacher, Olga Krymchanska, Dominique has a strong background in Russian ballet. In addition to her ballet training, Dominique has also trained in a variety of other dance forms including jazz, tap, lyrical, contemporary, hip-hop, modern and character. In more recent years, she has applied her technique and passion for dance through various performances and workshops around the greater Toronto area. Dominique is very grateful for the opportunity to be a member of the McMaster Contemporary Dance Company. |
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Allison ShallcrossHometown: Oakville, Ontario Allison began recreational dancing at age 7 and was invited to join the competitive team at age 8. She has trained extensively in Jazz, Tap, Ballet, Contemporary, Modern, Lyrical and Hip Hop and has completed her ballet RAD exams up to the intermediate level. Allison's love of dance continued when she was accepted into the Dance Program at Etobicoke School of the Arts where she trained in Modern and Ballet. Allison has been awarded many individual and group awards during her competitive years. She has had the opportunity to learn from a variety of choreographers including Stacy Tookey, Billy Larson Mike Minery, Linda Garneau and Teddy Forance. Allison has also assisted and taught many dance classes in the past couple years and loves to help assist in choreography with her teachers. Allison was thrilled to be accepted into the Dance Program at McMaster and looks forward to an exciting year of dance. |