Performance
Kaeja d’Dance has presented over 100 original works and has been commissioned to choreograph works on dance companies locally and internationally. Kaeja d’Dance’s first major full-evening concert and international tour to Venezuela propelled the company forward in 1991. Their initial Canadian tour with Old Country (1996) inspired three international commissions with NorrDans, Sweden (1996, 1999, 2001) and the Transitions Dance Company (UK), followed by commissions from across Canada, Mexico, India, Portugal, Sweden, and the USA. Their second major work, Resistance, toured North America for five years (2000-2005), as well as opening Toronto’s Harbourfront Centre season in 2000. A commission from the Canada Dance Festival, Asylum of Spoons (2004) toured Canada for five years (2004-2009) and inspired a matinee version for schools called Tabled Manners as well as a BRAVO! Network TV-hour dance film, which continues to receive an abundance of airtime.
For nearly two decades, the synergistic relationship of Allen as primary choreographer and Karen as principal interpreter and muse has infused the trademark of Kaeja d’Dance. With the premiere of full evening events such as BIRD’S EYE VIEW (“#1 Greatest Hit of Nuit Blanche 2007 ” – Toronto Star), Stable Dances ("[T]he ultimate excerise in audience development...a vehicle for contemporary dance to be taken to the masses in a strategic manner with absolute artistic integrity" - Canada Council Assessment, 2008) & Abattoir ("a fierce and disturbing work...edgy & intriguing" - Globe & Mail, 2008), Karen’s voice as choreographer/co-choreographer of Company work has brought a new vitality to the Company.
With Karen’s current emphasis on community-driven professional dance works and site-specific installations that inhabit the masterful inclusion of public participation, and Allen’s culturally-significant collaborations with international and local artists, these two Directors have continued to provide extreme dance performance experiences in Toronto, Canada and around the globe. Their signature aesthetic explores the equal partnership of men and women through Kaeja Partnering, and is known for its athletic intensity, sensual articulation and theatrical imagery. The Company celebrates themes in their work that relate to family history, relationships, community and the human condition. Karen & Allen’s partnership is a match of two distinct sensibilities.
Karen & Allen’s numerous performance/creation awards include: K.M. Hunter Award (1996), Bonnie Bird (1997, U.K.), Clifford E. Lee (1999), Paul D. Fleck (Allen-2001 & Karen-2005), UNESCO citation (2000), NOW Magazine’s Top Ten Artists (2001) & 25th Anniversary Issue (2001) and a DORA performance nomination (Karen-2009). They are regularly featured in print media, online and film documentaries. Since 2000, they have been distinguished in the Canadian and Dance & Theatre Encyclopedias, and Canadian Who's Who Encyclopedia.
Education
Kaeja d’Dance has been at the forefront of dance education since its inception. Karen & Allen Kaeja are widely sought after as teachers of Kaeja Partnering, Contact Dance, Improvisation, Composition, EXPRESS DANCE and dance on film. For over 20 years they have been actively educating nationally and internationally to more than 40,000 learners, including non-dancers and professionals of all ages. Karen & Allen introduced Contact Dance to the official teaching program at the National Ballet School (1998-2002), and their partnering expertise has been endorsed by some of the finest training institutions in the country where they reside on faculty, including the School of the Toronto Dance Theatre (since 1991) and Ryerson University (since 2002), along with regular guest artist positions at Conferences and Universities as well as master classes throughout the world. In 2009 they were the first dance artists invited to give the opening keynote speech for the Council of Drama and Dance in Education (CODE) conference.
In 2000, EXPRESS DANCE: Educators’ Resource to Teaching Dance was published by Dance Collection Danse based on the EXPRESS DANCE Approach developed by Karen & Allen Kaeja. This resource is currently a bestseller, and is widely used by educators across Canada and the USA. With two multi-year grants from the Ontario Trillium Foundation (2001-04 & 2005-2008) and multi-year support from the Anonymous Fund at the Toronto Community Foundation (2004-2009) the Company launched Kd’D2 (2001-2004) - a project of emerging professional dancers, who toured acclaimed works from the Company repertoire; and Community Leaps! (2005-present) – a project bringing intensive EXPRESS DANCE enrichment opportunities to tens of thousands of underserved students and teachers in the Toronto area.
In addition to long-term support from Toronto District & Toronto Catholic District School Boards, in 2008 & 2009, the success of the Community Leaps! program attracted first-time major corporate gifts from TELUS Communications and TD Bank, as well support from the Hal Jackman and J.P. Bickell Foundations. In recognition of our contribution as an educational partner, the TDSB awarded Kaeja d'Dance with two "Caring Connections" awards in 2007 and 2009. In 2009, Allen’s newest book Transcending Media: Adapting the Dance Production Asylum of Spoons from stage to film was published by Lambert Academic Publishing.
Film
Kaeja d’Dance has made its mark in the art form that is revolutionizing both film and dance. Pioneers in the emerging genre of Dance on Screen, the Kaejas have created 19 acclaimed dance films (including 8 Bravo!FACT shorts, 2 one-hour and 4 half-hour productions) since 1997. Frequently broadcast on Bravo!, & CBC television, the films have circulated to over 400 international festivals and have received many awards including Special Jury Mention IMZ Dance Screen (Europe 2001, Zummel), Best Performance Award at the Moving Pictures Festival (2000, Zummel), a Certificate of Distinction from the American Dance Festival (2002, Resistance), nomination for a Gemini Award for Best Direction of a Performing Arts Program (2004, Old Country – a CBC commission), and a nomination for best choreography at the 10th American Choreography Awards (2004, Departure).
In 2005, Kaeja d’Dance co-produced, co-directed and choreographed Asylum of Spoons, which received a Banff World Television Award nomination and was short-listed for the Special Jury Prize. In 2006, the production of Aroma, Terrain, Site & Sense (two half-hour television programmes) launched the Company’s inaugural US/Canada collaboration with Wisconsin Public Television. In 2009, Of the Heart, Allen’s latest film (co-directed by Doug Rosenberg), received Dance for Camera (NY) & Videodanza Barcelona Special Jury Mention Nominations.
Many of the Company’s films reside in the permanent collections of key international organizations, educational institutions, universities and libraries including the Jewish Museum, the Museum of Modern Art (New York) and Yad Vashem (Israel). Kaeja d’Dance films have made the Company accessible to a wider audience. Our development of film work has paved the way for a new generation of Dance on Screen filmmakers, and through new initiatives like MADance Screen Salon (2007, 2008) and REELm|o|v|e|s (2009- ) we are creating platforms to support new artists in this developing field.
