Introduction
It is surprising for an individual to meet a famous person in the neighborhood or in a vacation resort, but how much more surprising it is for a person to get a job with a notable individual. I was shocked when as a new immigrant I got a job at The Anna Wyman School of Dance Arts and I was privileged to work with a Canadian choreographer, dancer and the Artistic Director, Anna Wyman. Through my work with her, I was able to explore the history of Canadian modern dance and to learn about my employer’s significant offerings to it. Wyman has made a great contribution to Canadian modern dance in the 70’s and 80’s with her dance company that was called- Anna Wyman Dance Theatre. Although, nowadays, we cannot admire her dance theatre anymore, the legacy resounds in her work as an artistic director, choreographer and teacher at The Anna Wyman School of Dance Arts.
Dance Company History
Since “dance in Canada has reflected the traditions of its immigrant cultures”, Anna Wyman with her Austrian dance roots has fit perfectly into the growing modern dance community when she immigrated to Canada in 1968 and soon settled in Vancouver (Wyman and Crabb). The mid- 1960’s was the a great time for Canadian modern dance according to The Canadian Encyclopedia when classical ballet and modern dance “contributed to a remarkable flowering of dance in Canada” (Wyman and Crabb). Wyman, with her strong roots in classical ballet and great interest in modern dance, began her dance troupe- Anna Wyman Dancers in 1971. In 1973, after ample performances at The Vancouver Art Gallery, the troupe was granted federal financial support which led Wyman to establish her dance company- Anna Wyman Dance Theatre (AWDT).
AWDT performances were mostly b...
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Steve Paxton: Speaking of Dance – Conversations with Contemporary Masters of American Modern Dance. Academic Internet Video. Directed by Douglas Rosenberg. Oregon: Alexander Street Press, 1996.
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[6] Cohen, Selma Jeanne. International Encyclopedia of Dance: A Project of Dance Perspectives Foundation, Inc. New York: Oxford UP, 1998. Print.
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