Peter Cipriano, president and representative of the Irpinia Club, was at 91亚色 to present the cheque Thursday. Cipriano has donated time and energy to various healthcare ventures over the years, including Humber River Regional Hospital, Etobicoke General Hospital, Princess Margaret and Sunnybrook Hospitals, the Canadian Cancer Society and the United Way.

From left, Peter Cipriano of the Irpinia Club hands 91亚色 Professor Joseph DeSouza a cheque for $20,000 for his research

鈥淚t feels fabulous to get early support for our project,鈥� said DeSouza, who conducts research out of听his in 91亚色's Sherman Health Science Research Centre. 鈥淚t will really help this research get off the ground.鈥�

DeSouza and National Ballet dance instructor Rachel Bar will expand their research to study the neuromechanisms of dance, rhythm and beat of music, and their potential therapeutic benefits to Parkinson's patients. Parkinson鈥檚 is a disease of the central nervous system that limits the motor capabilities of patients. They will monitor and record changes in brain patterns of dancers with the ultimate goal of figuring out a therapy to help Parkinson鈥檚 patients improve their mobility.

"There is anecdotal evidence that improvement in motor function may be achieved, and if we can prove this through scientific research, it could mean a great deal to the quality of life of those coping with Parkinson's disease and their caregivers," said DeSouza.

Preliminary data, conducted by , showed increased supplementary motor area (SMA) activation in the brains of dancers after listening to music they are practicing and performing dances to, compared to control dancers that are not learning the dance. The researchers are interested in how the brain is overcoming motor difficulties during diseased brain states like Parkinson's disease, and how dance therapy for Parkinson's disease can help these patients can move more.

The sensorimotor regions of the brian activated when subjects visualized dancing to music

Using fMRI (functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging) to determine the learning process, the research team hopes to determine the neural mechanisms that occur between listening to music, learning the dance and eventually the dance becoming an automatic association for the brain 鈥� the pre-learning brain and the post-learning brain.

National Ballet dancers were scanned for short periods of time in an fMRI machine before, during and after learning routines to measure the blood flow to different areas of their brain to determine how different areas respond to learning movements. Researchers monitored the neural circuits (medial frontal areas 鈥� SMA) that focus on the sequencing of movements. By looking at these highly trained areas of the brain in professional dancers, they hope to conduct further research to figure out therapies for patients that will allow Parkinson鈥檚 patients to learn new movements.

Peter Cipriano takes a turn in the fMRI

Working in partnership with scientists at McMaster and Western University, the team will train National Ballet dancers to lead dance and movement classes听for Parkinson's patients.

"We are extremely grateful for the support of the Irpinia Club and its members," said DeSouza.

Republished courtesy of YFile鈥� 91亚色鈥檚 daily e-bulletin to research stories on the research website.

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World Scenography 1975-1990 documents lighting, set and costume design

The book covers set, lighting and costume design for all forms of performance, from theatre and dance to opera and spectacle. Encompassing material from hundreds of contributors, it highlights some 430 significant works from more than five dozen countries.

Co-editors Peter McKinnon, professor of stage design and production in the Department of Theatre, Faculty of Fine Arts at 91亚色, and Eric Fielding, professor emeritus of scenic design at Brigham Young University, Utah, led an international team of researchers and associate editors for the project.

The editors point out that the publication is neither encyclopedic nor a collection of "greatest hits".听 The intent, they say, is to showcase, contextualize and document for posterity 鈥渄esigns that mattered, that made a difference鈥�: seminal designs that had a major impact on the development of the art form, its practice and reception.

Groundbreaking productions cited in World Scenography 1975-1990 include the political puppetry of the American Anti-Bicentennial Pageant at the University of California (1975); English director Peter Brook鈥檚 Mahabharata (1985), which was staged in quarries in France and Australia, as well as in theatres in the US and Spain; and the opening ceremony for the 1990 Commonwealth Games in Auckland, New Zealand.

Notable designers featured include Tony and Drama Desk Award-winner Maria Bjornson of France/UK (Phantom of the Opera, 1988); German designer Achim Freyer, winner of the Prague Quadrennial lifetime achievement award (Woyzeck, 1989; The Magic Flute, 1982); Sun-Hi Shin of Korea (A Bicycle, 1983; An Encounter, 1990); Canadian designer Andr茅 Caron (Cirque R茅invent茅, 1987, 听for Cirque du Soleil); veteran Broadway designer Robin Wagner (A Chorus Line, 1976; On The Twentieth Century, 1978; Dreamgirls, 1981); and 91亚色 theatre听 Professors Teresa Przybylski and Phillip Silver.

World Scenography 1975-1990 is the first publication in a projected three-part series. It builds on the foundation established by Stage Design Throughout the World, a four-volume series edited by Ren茅 Hainaux that concluded in 1975. McKinnon and Fielding are already planning volumes two and three of World Scenography, to span 1990-2005 and 2005-2015, respectively. When complete, the World Scenography series will be the largest, most comprehensive scholarly work on theatrical design ever created.

McKinnon notes that the motivation and passion behind this epic endeavour is the transitory nature of design for live performance. 鈥淭heatre design work is as ephemeral as the work of the actor,鈥� he says. 鈥淥nce the show is over, it disappears. If we don鈥檛 photograph, catalogue and preserve our design work, we run the risk of losing it forever.鈥�

The editors of World Scenography are themselves leading contributors to the field.

Peter McKinnon

McKinnon has served as lighting designer for some 450 shows, principally dance and opera, across Canada and internationally, and has produced shows off- and on-Broadway and in Edinburgh, Scotland. A past president of the Associated Designers of Canada, he was an organizer of the Canadian exhibit at the 2007 Prague Quadrennial of Performance Design and Space. His editorial credits include the international lexicon Theatre Words听补苍诲 One Show, One Audience, One Single Space by Jean-Guy Lecat.

Fielding has designed scenery and/or lighting for more than 250 productions for stage, film, television and special events. He designed the gold medal-winning American exhibit at the 1991 Prague Quadrennial and created the World Stage Design exhibition, directing its premiere showing in Toronto in 2005. He is a 30-year member of United Scenic Artists 829, a Fellow and former vice-president of the United States Institute for Theatre Technology, and former editor of the journal Theatre Design &Technology (TD&T).

World Scenography 1975-1990 is designed by Randal Boutilier (BFA '00), an alumnus of 91亚色鈥檚 Visual Arts Program. The series, to be published both in print and online, is an official project of听the International Organization of Scenographers, Theatre Architects and Technicians (OISTAT). Both McKinnon and Fielding are long-serving executive members of OISTAT, a UNESCO-recognized organization that draws together theatre production professionals from around the world. The long list of international supporters of the World Scenography project includes the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada.

McKinnon and Fielding will be in attendance at a reception marking the Canadian launch of the publication on Thursday, April 5, 7 to 10pm at TheatreBooks, 11 St. Thomas Street, Toronto.

For more information, visit the听World Scenography series website.

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Established and emerging artists in 91亚色鈥檚 Faculty of Fine Arts bring their collective talents to a riveting new production of a baroque classic: Henry Purcell鈥檚 opera Dido and Aeneas. This epic story of love and betrayal plays out at the Sandra Faire听& Ivan Fecan Theatre on 91亚色鈥檚 Keele campus for two performances only, March 1 and 2.

Lead artists Joseph Farahat and Charlotte Gagnon

Based on a chapter from The Aeneid, penned by the Roman poet Virgil in the first century BC, Dido and Aeneas recounts the tragic tale of Dido, Queen of Carthage, and the Trojan hero Aeneas. Dido loses her heart to the fierce, handsome warrior Aeneas after he is shipwrecked on her shores, only to be devastated when he abandons her to continue his quest to find Rome.

This story of doomed love has resounded through two millennia. 91亚色鈥檚 production, a collaboration between faculty and students from the departments of Music, Theatre and Dance, is a strikingly contemporary but timeless re-imagining. Thirty performers play the characters as well as the place, forming a living set on an otherwise empty stage.

鈥淭丑颈蝉 Dido project is the realization of a dream I鈥檝e had since I joined 91亚色,鈥� said Professor Catherine Robbin (left), who heads听91亚色鈥檚 classical vocal music program. 鈥淭here鈥檚 so much talent and expertise in our performance programs, and it鈥檚 a joy to bring it together in an opera production. The experience of combining our creative energies is tremendously exciting and rewarding, both for the students involved and for those of us who teach and work professionally in the field.鈥�

An internationally renowned mezzo soprano, Robbin fills the dual roles of music director and producer for the production. She is no stranger to Dido and Aeneas, having sung the title role in the 1982 Stratford Festival production, which earned her critical accolades as听 鈥渁 voice which is unquestionably the greatest, in its range, that Canada has produced in several decades鈥� (The Globe and Mail). Her discography features many baroque composers, including Purcell, Handel and Vivaldi, in collaborations with leading conductors such as Christopher Hogwood, Trevor Pinnock and John Eliot Gardiner.

Presiding over the orchestra pit for 91亚色鈥檚 Dido and Aeneas is Robbin鈥檚 Music Department colleague, award-winning choral conductor and composer Professor Stephanie Martin (above). Martin, who serves as music director for the historic Church of St. Mary Magdalene and conductor of Toronto鈥檚 Pax Christi Chorale, directs the 16- member 91亚色 Baroque Ensemble.

The stage director is theatre Professor Gwen Dobie (left), who brings extensive directing credits in contemporary opera and theatre to the table. Dobie鈥榮听most recent productions include 翱辫别谤补听贰谤辞迟颈辩耻别 and Sound in Silence for her company, Out of the Box Productions; the Canadian premiere of the Danish opera On this Planet by Anders Nordendoft; and the world premiere of the opera Eyes on the Mountain by Canadian composer Christopher Donison.

Susan Lee (BFA 鈥�90, MFA 鈥�10), an alumna and current faculty member in 91亚色鈥檚 Department of Dance, brings her long-standing interest in interdisciplinary collaboration to Dido and Aeneas. In a performance career spanning two decades and three continents, Lee has originated roles in almost 50 world premieres by some of Canada鈥檚 most highly acclaimed choreographers. Her own choreography has been described as 鈥溾�� a tour de force of magic and mystery鈥� (The Globe and Mail). She brings that magic to bear on this production, contributing original choreography to the work.

Starring in the role of Dido is fourth-year music major Charlotte Gagnon. Gagnon recently won first prize at the Newmarket Voice Festival Senior Scholarship Competition, as well as two awards for opera performance and the prize for outstanding performing ability and career potential in classical singing. She also placed second in her class at the 2011 National Association of Teachers of Singing Ontario chapter competition.

First-year music student Joseph Farahat sings the role of Aeneas. Both young artists are studying with eminent soprano Norma Burrowes in 91亚色鈥檚 classical vocal performance program.

In total, the cast for Dido and Aeneas features 21 singers, four actors and five dancers. Not only performers, they also play an active role on the production side. Dressed all in white, they have designed their own costumes based on their personae in Purcell鈥檚 opera 鈥� or 听in the case of the non-speaking roles, inspired by characters drawn from the classical literature of five centuries, who were betrayed or betrayers in their time.

Eschewing a physical set, Professor Elizabeth Asselstine, chair of the Department of Theatre, and Professor William Mackwood, who teaches design and production in the Department of Dance, have created elaborate lighting and projection designs for the show. Working with a technical team of four theatre students, they paint the white-costumed canvas of the performers with evocative colour and special effects.

Tickets听are $17, or $12 for students and seniors.听For tickets, contact the Box Office at 416-736-5888.

Republished courtesy of YFile鈥� 91亚色鈥檚 daily e-bulletin.

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91亚色鈥檚 Department of Dance is spearheading an innovative health initiative that sends students into the community to lead weekly dance activity classes for older adults at partner institutions in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA).

The program, supported by the Government of Ontario鈥檚 Healthy Communities Fund, focuses on the positive and preventative effects that dance can have for seniors. Drawing on the specialized training the student instructors bring to the project, injury prevention and health promotion are at the core of the program. It features carefully designed movement exercises that build strength, encourage flexibility and full range of motion, proper alignment and coordination, and cardiovascular conditioning.

鈥淭he benefits of dance and music for physical and mental health cannot be overestimated,鈥� says听Department of Dance听笔谤辞蹿别蝉蝉辞谤 Mary Jane Warner (right), the project manager. 鈥淏lending fitness and recreation through dance with the opportunity for creative expression is powerful motivation. Fitness strategies like this can help seniors stay active, in their homes and out of hospital beds.鈥�

According to the Ministry of Health & Long-Term Care, the number of seniors in Ontario is expected to double in the next 16 years. In 2009, 18 local hospitals reported that community services such as recreational and exercise classes, along with facilities for the elderly, are hugely insufficient to meet their referral and discharge needs.

91亚色鈥檚 Dance Department launched the project last fall with one-hour weekly dance classes held in the community. Over the course of eight to 10 weeks, more than 190 seniors at 10 facilities across the GTA took part. Three additional locations and five more classes were added last month to accommodate the growing demand from enthusiastic participants.

Current community partners include North 91亚色鈥檚 Bernard Betel Centre, Black Creek Community Health Centre, Downsview Services to Seniors, Elspeth Heyworth Centre for Women at two locations in North 91亚色 and one in Woodbridge, North 91亚色 Seniors Centre, Toronto Heliconian Club, St. Clair West Service for Seniors, three Unison Health and Community Services in North 91亚色, and Vaughan Community Health Centre. Feedback from the seniors and student-teachers 鈥� as well as the institutions hosting the sessions 鈥� is overwhelmingly positive.

鈥淚t鈥檚 incredibly satisfying when you hear how much these classes mean to the participants. You really feel like you鈥檙e making a difference in people鈥檚 lives,鈥� says project coordinator and research associate April Nakaima. 鈥淥ne woman, a diabetic, was congratulated by her doctor for the drop in her blood sugar; she credited the class for this good outcome. Several other women credited the class with helping them lose inches from their waistlines. Another participant says she found the dance class more beneficial in combating her depression than other programs. Getting responses like this after just eight weeks has been both astounding and deeply gratifying.鈥�

Nakaima, a former research coordinator at St. Michael鈥檚 Hospital in Toronto, serves as adviser and guest lecturer to the program. She brings extensive expertise and experience to the project, having previously developed a highly successful dance program for older adults living in government-assisted housing.

The participants are incredibly diverse, and so the project delivery must be too, Nakaima says. 鈥淥ne of the most fascinating aspects is accommodating such a wide range of fitness, mobility, socio-economic and cultural backgrounds. Some classes are done with people mostly seated. A couple of groups need translators. We even take music requests from the participants.鈥�

Rhea Bowman, one of 16 student teachers, leads seniors in a dance class

Sixteen student teachers from 91亚色鈥檚 Dance Department are taking part in the program, earning course credit for their third-year pedagogy class. With a range of teaching experience under their belts and a targeted orientation program, they bring a solid foundation to their training to lead the dance activity classes. The pedagogy classes prepare them to teach in dance studio settings, recreation and community centres, and the public school system. The course covers teaching participants of all ages and abilities, with a strong emphasis on creative movement as a form appropriate for everyone, including the elderly. There are also courses in kinesiology, conditioning, somatics and injury prevention that prepare the students to work safely with participants.

Some students are planning to teach dance in community settings or within the school system. Others bring a particular interest in dance therapy or rehabilitation, looking to serve clients with special needs, such as the elderly or people recovering from illness or injury.

鈥楾he experience has been amazing,鈥� says fourth-year dance major Rhea Bowman, who is teaching her second group of predominately Spanish-speaking participants at the Black Creek Community Health Centre. 鈥淲e dance to Spanish, soca and calypso music, and some of the ladies have taught me more intricate Spanish dance steps. They are teaching me Spanish words too!

鈥淚 feel very passionate about fitness for older adults after seeing how beneficial this dance class is for them,鈥� says Bowman. 鈥淚 would love to continue to do this work after the year is done.鈥�

Bowman鈥檚 classmate, Candace Calarco, who is teaching at the Elspeth Heyworth Centre for Women located near 91亚色鈥檚 Keele campus, is equally enthusiastic. 鈥淪o far, this placement has been a totally positive and exciting experience,鈥� she says. 鈥淲orking with seniors has really expanded my knowledge about movement and the human body, and how to teach a group with a wide range of physical abilities.鈥�

The student teachers come together each week to share their experiences and strategies on solving the challenges they encounter in the course of their teaching. Input is also invited from the participating seniors and community partners. This ongoing feedback loop strengthens the experience for everyone involved.

鈥淭he student teachers from 91亚色鈥檚 Dance Department are professional, knowledgeable instructors who address the physical exercise needs of our clients while taking their medical conditions into consideration,鈥� says Rukhsana Naheed Cheema, the seniors coordinator at the Elspeth Heyworth satellite location in Vaughan鈥檚 Blue Willow Activity Centre. 鈥淭he pleasant personalities of these skilled instructors add to the seniors鈥� love for the program. It has not only improved their health, but their mood and spirits as well. They hope it can go on forever.鈥�

Plans are in the works to create a dedicated course to keep the program running in the future.

Republished courtesy of YFile鈥� 91亚色鈥檚 daily e-bulletin.

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playGround, the annual juried fringe festival of 91亚色鈥檚 Department of Theatre, celebrates its 20th season with two dynamic programs running Feb. 14 to 17 in the Joseph G. Green Studio Theatre,听139 Centre for Film & Theatre at91亚色鈥檚 Keele campus.

Well-known for its uncurbed spirit and risk-taking mindset, playGround is a student-produced seedbed for the next generation of theatre artists. It showcases original works conceived, written, performed and produced by up-and-coming playwrights, directors, designers and actors from all levels of91亚色鈥檚 undergraduate theatre program.

Meg Moran and Meara Tubman-Broeren, both fourth-year students studying devised theatre in the Department of Theatre鈥檚 Creative Ensemble, are the co-artistic directors of this year鈥檚 edition of playGround. With the help of a peer jury, they selected the most promising ideas from the almost four dozen proposals submitted.

鈥淣ot only does the festival showcase the work of emerging artists of our generation and community, it also deals with what鈥檚 important to us as students right now,鈥� said Tubman-Broeren. 鈥淲hat unifies all the pieces is our mandate, which is to foster innovative and experimental theatrical work which engages its audience and ignites thought and discussion.鈥�

鈥淧roducing the festival has been a challenging and lengthy process, with its share of ups and downs, but overall it鈥檚 been very rewarding,鈥� said Moran. 鈥淭丑颈蝉 is a unique opportunity for us as students to work so independently. It鈥檚 been a real learning experience for Meara and me.鈥�

The old adage:, 鈥渨hen you want a job done well, give it to a busy person鈥�, rings true for this duo. In addition to their work with playGround, they are collaborating with other members of the fourth-year Creative Ensemble on a show slated to run March 27 to 30.听 Moran is also assistant-directing the upcoming Theatre @ 91亚色 production of Edward Bond鈥檚 Restoration, which will run March 18 to 24.听 And Tubman-Broeren is performing in a physical theatre adaptation of Shakespeare鈥檚 King John, which will be playing downtown this summer.

playGround 2012 ranges from light comedies to dark dramas, and from staunch realism to dance theatre.听Here鈥檚 an overview of the featured productions:

Series A听

Meat is a dystopic romance in which a young doctor鈥檚 morality is put to the test when his work forces him to explore, sacrifice and examine what it truly means to be human.听

Belly Doll is imagined and choreographed as a unique melding of traditional belly dance and theatrical performance.听

The Doorstep 鈥� In every relationship, there are conversations. These conversations are intimate, emotionally driven, and personal, and have the potential to be the beginning, or the end, of something beautiful.听

Old Town explores the nature of familial responsibility and sibling dynamics framed within the question: When is it time to grow up?听

The Watching Game is a raunchy comedy revolving around people watching.听

A Working Woman follows the story of a prostitute on the precipice of a life-changing decision.听

Emerging Artists Collective 鈥� 鈥淎 lowbrow commentary on highbrow art鈥�, exploring the challenges and pitfalls faced by the current generation of young artists.听

Womb - What if we weren鈥檛 told the whole story? Before there was Adam and his wife, Eve, there was Adam and his equal, Lilith. Womb explores the possibilities of a world where Lilith was the first mother.听

Series B听

Danny and Annie looks at the different ways love comes in and out of our lives.听

Drafts - Everybody is looking, but is anybody really seeing?听

Wonder鈥檚 Lost Where Wonder鈥檚 Found 鈥� A woman winds her way through the ridiculous annals of compulsion and the heart-aching longings of loneliness while seeking to remember the miracle of life.听听

The Abstraction 鈥� Two men in a gallery contemplate an abstract work of art and decide what it means to each of them.听

The Vagina Dialogues is a verbatim piece composed of interviews with91亚色University students about the misconceptions and mysteries surrounding the vagina.听

Da Capo explores a composer, his muse and the various layers of their relationship through movement.听

Cracked - At the end of her life, Ida Hookman must finally face the consequences of her self-obsessed lifestyle and defend her autonomy in the process.听

Emerging Artists Collective presents a new devised work that examines the artist鈥檚 place in the city of Toronto.听

Each program is presented three times over playGround鈥檚 four-day run. Series A plays Tuesday, Feb. 14 and Wednesday, Feb. 15 at 7:30pm, with a matinee Friday, Feb. 17 at 1pm. Series B has a matinee Wednesday, Feb. 15 at 1pm, and runs Thursday, Feb. 17 and Friday, Feb. 17 at 7:30pm.

Moran and Tubman-Broeren encourage patrons to purchase their tickets in advance, as performances do sell out. Tickets are $7 per show and are available through the 91亚色 Box Office website or by calling 416-736-5888.

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From investigating how typography could reduce medication errors to using math as a tool to teach jazz, Faculty of Fine Arts scholars and practitioners have a fascinating array of research projects to share听during the Fine Arts Research Celebration Monday, Feb. 6.

Robert Hach茅, vice-president research & innovation, and Barbara Sellers-Young, dean of the Faculty of Fine Arts, are co-hosting the event, which takes place from 2 to 4 pm in the McLean Performance Studio, 244 Accolade East Building, Keele campus. Everyone is welcome to attend the free celebration, but an RSVP is requested. You can RSVP or call Lia Novario at ext. 33782. Light refreshments will be provided.

Right:听Nancy Latoszewski performing

The program features a live dance performance, film clips and four presentations that showcase some of the diverse academic and applied creative work being done by Fine Arts faculty and graduate student researchers.

鈥淭丑颈蝉 research celebration highlights multi-disciplinarity in the Faculty of Fine Arts, from dance to music to digital media and beyond,鈥� said Hach茅. 鈥淲e invite the 91亚色 research community to join us to learn more about the exceptional research activities taking place in this Faculty.鈥�

鈥淭he arts are so much more than entertainment,鈥� says Sellers-Young. 鈥淎rts and culture are at the heart of our day-to-day lives, and those who are engaged in the arts 鈥� as practising artists, theorists, historians, critics and many other ways 鈥� play an important role in shaping civic society and addressing the critical issues of our day. The presentations at the Fine Arts Research Celebration illustrate this engagement and the diverse contributions our researchers are making.鈥�

Visitors to the Fine Arts Research Celebration will be greeted by clips of visual arts Professor Katherine Knight鈥檚 vivid feature documentary, . Knight鈥檚 film follows the renowned Canadian artist as she prepares massive new works depicting archetypal cities and familiar, yet disquieting, landscapes for two 30-year retrospectives 鈥� one at the Winnipeg Art Gallery and another at the National Art Gallery in Ottawa.

Left: Wanda Koop in a still from the film KOOP: The Art of Wanda Koop

Drawing the viewer into the framework in which the artist works, the film explores the science of vision, colour and perception 鈥� including Koop鈥檚 visit to 91亚色鈥檚 Centre for Vision Research to have her vision tested in the 3D Vision Research lab. (See YFile story Feb. 22, 2011.)

Design Professor will present a talk, titled 鈥淓valuating Graphic Design for Patient Safety: An investigation of the Use of Typographic Principles to Differentiate Look-Alike Medication Names鈥�.

She was the principal investigator on a recent study conducted at Toronto鈥檚 University Health Network, investigating how the principles and practices of graphic design and typography might be used for interventions intended to help health-care professionals make accurate medication selections.

Right: An example of using Tallman lettering with parts of the word enhanced to help distinguish it from similar medication names

鈥淲e know that look-alike, or orthographically similar, medication names are one of the causes of medication errors,鈥� says Gabriele. 鈥淭allman lettering (enhancement of words by changing parts of the word to capital letters) is currently recommended to help differentiate similar names.鈥�

In her new study, she tested tallman lettering applied to look-alike medication names alongside other ways of enhancing names using three different scenarios. 鈥淩esults indicated that tallman lettering might not be as effective as previously reported,鈥� she says. 鈥淭he research also revealed the importance of designing and testing interventions for specific users in contexts that reflect actual situations and activities in practice.鈥�

In his lecture-demonstration 鈥淢usic is Math: An effective Approach to Teaching Jazz Improvisation within General Music Education鈥�, Professor Ron Westray听(left), 91亚色鈥檚 Oscar Peterson Chair in Jazz Performance, explores how the mathematical qualities inherent in western music can be used as a tool for ear training through music improv.

鈥淵ou can view the chord-to-scale relationship in jazz improvisation as virtual data that can be transposed throughout relative and absolute functions, much like basic math,鈥� says Westray. 鈥淭ranslating music into math helps demystify simple improvisation. It levels the playing field and makes it easier for non-specialists to teach jazz improv.鈥�

Westray, an internationally known jazz trombonist, will illustrate the concept by means of a PowerPoint presentation punctuated with live performance examples, including the participation of听jazz majors from the Department of Music.

Digital Media Professor Mark-David Hosale听will discuss 鈥淣onlinear Narrative as a Conceptual Framework for Media Art鈥�, with an overview of the core technical and esthetic motivations unpinning his work as a media artist.

Right: Digital media art by Mark-David Hosale

鈥淭he approach to addressing narrative issues in my work is derived from thinking of narrative as a model of knowledge,鈥� he says. 鈥淚 see the stories we tell each other and ourselves as an expression of what we know. From this perspective, my works can be understood as knowledge spaces that are a conceptual reflection of a modern understanding of knowledge and nature, which is inherently nonlinear.鈥�

The challenge of capturing the qualities of nonlinear narratives has led Hosale to develop an abstract model useful in the conceptual analysis and practical development of his work. In his presentation, he will explain how the model is based on a composite of operations, structures and characteristics that provide the governing principles behind a software framework and hardware platform.

Canadian dance history is the focus of the presentation by dance Professors Darcey Callison and Carol Anderson,听补苍诲 Professor Emerita Selma Odom. They will read excerpts from their contributions to , an anthology to accompany an exhibition of the same name organized by Dance Collection Danse in partnership with the Theatre Museum of Canada.

During the 1970s dance boom, audiences worldwide flocked to performances. Artists were energized and innovative. In Canada, dance finally found an intellectual home in universities across the country. The decade was also defined in Canada by political, social and cultural debate inspired by second-wave feminism, gay rights, multiculturalism, separatism and nationalism.

How was this turbulent decade reflected in dance? How did the major issues and ideas of the day inspire or influence dancers and choreographers, and how did they respond? Renegade Bodies: Canadian Dance in the 1970s explores how the art form contributed to, and was informed by, this vibrant zeitgeist.

Moving from the page to the stage, dance MFA candidate Nancy Latoszewski will perform a five-minute excerpt from her solo dance, Carriage. The work revisits the challenge she faced in transitioning from the life of a prima ballerina to motherhood. While intensely personal, the work also speaks to the wider experience of undergoing a tremendous life change. Through her choreographic and performance research, with works such as Carriage, Latoszewski investigates how danced narratives can communicate personal stories and contribute to current interests in oral history and storytelling.

In addition to the public presentations, there will be a display of books and materials in other publication formats.

Visitors will have the opportunity to engage with other research projects by Fine Arts faculty on Fine Arts Research Day in Vari Hall on Wednesday, Feb. 29, from 10am to 2pm, as part of 91亚色鈥檚 Research Month.

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The event, Queering Theatre in Toronto, will take place Thursday, Jan 5, 2012, from 2 to 4pm in Winters Senior Common Room, 021 Winters College, Keele campus.

Right: Marie Rickard

Newton, a recently appointed Winters College Fellow, is the founding artistic director of Ecce Homo Theatre. His newest musical, , is scheduled to run from Jan. 5 to 15, 2012, as part of the 2012 Next Stage Theatre Festival at the Factory Theatre in Toronto.

Written and directed by Newton, Loving the Stranger or How to Recognize an Invert, introduces the audience to Montreal鈥檚 Peter Flinsch, a theatre designer, visual artist and gay survivor of Nazi Germany, who was arrested in 1942 for kissing a friend at a Luftwaffe Christmas party. It takes in everything from the cabarets of 1920s Berlin and the battle over gay marriage to the office of the Prime Minister, and is billed as a provocative expressionist cabaret.

鈥淭he goal of my work is to balance politics and entertainment, to combine dance, music, text and design into a total theatrical experience in the hopes of challenging my audience intellectually and emotionally,鈥� says Newton.

鈥淚 agree with Schiller's notion of the stage as a moral institution and I endeavor to create work on big themes for troubled times. My output as a playwright and director with Ecce Homo Theatre seeks to achieve intimacy through artifice using a queer aesthetic as a tool for destabilization, to draw attention to hypocrisy and deflate the un-ironic. As one of my former teachers, Charles Marowitz, once said, 鈥淟aughter can be a hammer-stroke in the hands of deft satirists.鈥�

Newton听is听a contributor to the forthcoming collection,听TRANS(per)FORMING Nina Arsenault: An Unreasonable Body of Work (Intellect Ltd.), edited by 91亚色 theatre Professor听Judith Rudakoff.

His previous work includes three consecutive productions for the SummerWorks Theatre Festival in which he was playwright and director of The Pastor Phelps Project: a fundamentalist cabaret, The Ecstasy of Mother Teresa or Agnes Bojaxhiu Superstar and Loving the Stranger or How to Recognize an Invert. Newton鈥檚 work has also been performed at the Rhubarb Festival 鈥� Leni Riefenstahl vs the 20th Century 鈥� and the Victoria Fringe Festival 鈥� Woyzeck Songspiel.

In addition, Newton was a participant in the inaugural presentation of The Ark at The National Arts Centre English Theatre in 2006, and is a past member of the听BASH! Emerging Artist Program at the Canadian Stage Company, the Ante Chamber Creator鈥檚 Unit with Buddies in Bad Times Theatre and the Director鈥檚 Lab of the Lincoln Center Theater.

He has also served as apprentice director for the Ensemble Studio of the Canadian Opera Company for its 2009-2010 season, where he directed a production of Pergolisi鈥檚 La Serva Padonra. Newton鈥檚 recent work includes a stint as director/dramaturge for Bella: The Color of Love with Teresa Tova and Mary Kerr at the Philadelphia Theatre Company. It was a commission for the 2011 Philadelphia International Festival of the Arts.

The show is being supported by the Toronto Arts Council, the Ontario Arts Council, the Next Stage Theatre Festival and Buddies in Bad Times Theatre.

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This world premiere is the season opener for Toronto鈥檚 DanceWorks and kicks off Harbourfront Centre鈥檚 dance series NextSteps 11/12.

The show is co-produced by Native Earth Performing Arts and Signal Theatre, a company Greyeyes founded for this production.

Right: Ceinwen Gobert听performs in from thine eyes

Greyeyes听developed from thine eyes in collaboration with Aboriginal writer Yvette Nolan. It is set to an original score composed by former 91亚色 theatre student Miquelon Rodriguez and Sharon Hann (BFA 鈥�06) designed the costumes.听听

The title is taken from a passage in the Koran: "Lift the veil from thine eyes鈥�. It refers to making the passage from this life into the next and seeing ourselves and others truthfully.听听

The six performers, including dance grad Shannon Litzenberger (MA 鈥�05), express the struggle to find meaning at the end of their lives as they confront their deepest fears, most cherished memories and each other.听

鈥淭hese thoughts about mortality came from conversations with my mother before she passed,鈥� said Greyeyes. 鈥淚n my culture [Plains Cree], we don鈥檛 view death as an end. It is the next step on a journey. For me as an Aboriginal artist, it鈥檚 essential that my company communicates my worldview and cosmology.鈥澨�

The cast has been rehearsing on campus in the Joan & Martin Goldfarb Centre for Fine Arts over the summer and moves into the Joseph G. Green Studio Theatre in the Centre for Film & Theatre next week for additional preparation.听

Left: Michael Greyeyes

91亚色 theatre Professor James McKernan is serving as technical director and has involved the production in colleague Peter McKinnon鈥檚 research project on sustainability in live performance. 鈥淏uilding on existing data and tools already in use in the construction industry, we鈥檙e using from thine eyes as a test piece to create a budgeting tool that tracks the carbon footprint of a show, similar to the way designers track financial expenditures on their materials,鈥� said McKernan.听听

The design team has been designing a shadow production, tracking the materials they would have used were sustainability not a factor. At the end of the production, the two tracking documents will be compared, so the sustainability gains can be measured. The extra time and work involved in designing two editions of the show and sourcing the most sustainable materials available is where support for the project from the Social Sciences & Humanities Research Council of Canada has been most valuable, McKernan noted.听

Left: James McKernan

鈥淲e鈥檙e learning that sustainability at this stage in the game is all about long-term planning,鈥� he said. 鈥淲e鈥檝e found that the eco-option is rarely more expensive 鈥� it鈥檚 just sometimes harder to find and more time consuming to buy. Hopefully, as the demand grows and as designers learn the best sources for these materials, it will become even easier to reduce the impact of a production on our environment.鈥澨�

from thine eyes runs Sept. 22 to 24 at Harbourfront Centre鈥檚 Enwave Theatre. For more information and tickets, visit the 听website.

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Professor Mary Jane Warner (left) in the Faculty of Fine Arts is a noted historian of modern dance and has worked extensively to document the Canada鈥檚 choreographic heritage through videography, notation and writing. In addition to her Social Sciences听& Humanities Research Council of Canada-supported research, dedicated to the preservation of the masterworks of iconic Canadian choreographers, she currently serves as president of the Board of Directors of the Toronto Heritage Dance collective.

The collective, which has a mission to celebrate the work of Toronto鈥檚 senior choreographers, presents its inaugural, self-titled show at the Winchester Street Theatre Sept. 15 through 18. Six award-winning choreographers who have spearheaded the development of modern dance in Canada will gather to share world premieres and revivals in this evening of chamber dance. 91亚色 faculty member Terrill Maguire joins Adjunct Professor Danny Grossman, Patricia Beatty and Laurence Gradus in showcasing new work, while David Earle and Peter Randazzo remount signature dances from past years.

The Winchester Street location is a fitting venue for the event, as it is the home of Toronto Dance Theatre, the groundbreaking company Beatty, Earle and Randazzo founded in 1968.

鈥淏ringing the three co-founders of TDT together again in the space where the company they started continues to thrive, alongside some of their influential peers, is a poetic and perfect way to launch the performance component of Toronto Heritage Dance,鈥� said Warner.

The combination of historical and new works on the program, created by some of the city鈥檚 leading choreographers, reflects both the rich legacy and current vibrancy of Toronto鈥檚 modern dance scene.

Maguire will perform her solo Pond Life II to live piano accompaniment by internationally acclaimed pianist, 91亚色 music Professor Christina Petrowska Quilico. Pond Life II is a reworking of a commission by the late composer Ann Southam that Maguire and Petrowska Quillico premiered at the 2008 Sound Symposium in St. John's, Nfld. Southam wrote the music for Maguire and dedicated it to Petrowska Quilico, who recorded it in 2009 (see YFile, May 5, 2009).

Above: A performance of Pond Life, featuring faculty member Terrill Maguire (left) and Professor Christina Petrowska Quilico at the piano. Photo by Greg Locke

91亚色 dance alumnus Michael Sean Marye (MA 鈥�03) is featured in Earle鈥檚 Miserere (1971) along with incoming dance graduate student Danielle Baskerville, who also performs in Beatty鈥檚 premiere The High Heart. Having danced with Earle鈥檚 company, Dancetheatre David Earle, for over a decade, Baskerville has interpreted works by many of Canada鈥檚 finest creators and has performed across Canada and Europe. Marye likewise has an impressive performance record, having danced with and for the vast majority of Toronto鈥檚 influential dance artists.

Baskerville was among the dancers whom Earle brought to 91亚色 in 2008 as part of Warner鈥檚 research (see YFile, May 23, 2008). During their residency in the Department of Dance, the company reconstructed two of Earle鈥檚 iconic works and taught them to the young dancers in the program. Working under Warner鈥檚 direction, the students documented the reconstruction and teaching process in video, interviews and written observations, helping to ensure that these masterworks will never be forgotten.听听

鈥淢y SSHRC research directly feeds into a treasury of works collected under the Toronto Heritage Dance umbrella,鈥� said Warner. 鈥淥ne of our goals is to have these works performed in repertory. Toronto鈥檚 rich history of original choreography needs to be more than history: the works need to be seen by today鈥檚 audiences and by the next generation of choreographers and dancers.

鈥淏allet is still enjoying success in our society because it respects its own history; this is our effort to do the same for modern dance,鈥� Warner said. 鈥淲e believe that engagement with senior artists听is of critical importance for our future in so many ways. No community is whole if any generation has been left out.鈥�

Tickets to the Toronto Heritage Dance show may be reserved by calling 416-204-1082. Admission is $25, students and seniors $20, cash only at the door.听Winchester Street Theatre is located at 80 Winchester Street,听Toronto.

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The 91亚色 fine arts professors co-founded to present drama, dance and opera in novel, multidisciplinary projects performed in one-of-a-kind venues, such as nightclubs and other 鈥榝ound鈥� spaces. This more intimate experience, that Mackwood and Dobie refer to as 鈥渓ounge opera鈥�, encourages audiences to sit on carpets, pillows, chairs, or couches. Their productions use music and movement to provide an emotional and spiritual experience expressive of the human condition. Their unique aesthetics attract new and diverse audiences.听

Although Out of The Box Productions is always interdisciplinary, the freedom of performance fusion can be problematic. Mackwood, a professor of production and design in 91亚色's Dance Department,听 admits that funding is a constant issue. Multidisciplinary work often does not fit into any one category of performing art.

鈥淐ommittees have a hard time classifying us, hence our name,鈥� quips Mackwood. 鈥淏ut having said that, both the Ontario Arts Council and Canada Council have granted much appreciated development funding for Bugzzz.鈥�

On the other hand, artistic tension is the kind of conflict Mackwood welcomes. He explains how everyday artistic visions vary to create a healthy tension in which everyone has a voice 鈥� evidence of a creative team hard at work.听

aims to challenge the notion of progress, particularly our uncritical obsession with technology. The project proceeds as if human civilization has self-destructed because of our over consumption of resources. Only insects remain and it is they who take an archeological look at the value of civilization through art, specifically through Giacomo Puccini鈥檚 opera, Tosca.听听

Mackwood enthusiastically admits: 鈥淚鈥檝e always wanted to do a play inhabited by insects.鈥澨�

Bugzzz will be an exciting musical, movement, and design challenge.听

As co-creator, Dobie, a movement professor in 91亚色's Theatre Department,听will be the dramaturge and co-produce, direct and choreograph the production. She will interpret how different insects move, implementing core proprioceptive training (CPT). CPT develops one鈥檚 awareness of direction, orientation in space, and the extent and rate of limb movement based on information relayed from sensory receptors in the joints, tendons and muscles.

The staging for Bugzzz is also contemporary in its rejection of Brecht鈥檚 principle of defamiliarization (or verfremdungseffekt) in favour of recent mirror neuron theories that emphasize the human capacity for emotionally empathetic response.听

Thomas Sandberg is on board to work as Bugzzz鈥檚 composer. One of his creative challenges is to imagine an insect interpretation of the original Tosca score. He must compose the piece using found objects, imagining what bugs might use for musical instruments.听

Mackwood will write, co-produce and create the lighting design. By working with the approach of sustainable 鈥渄esign on demand鈥�, which involves all members of the production for the creative process, Mackwood is able to explore choices in colour, texture and imagery instantly, on the spot. This approach to lighting design allows for more flexibility and efficient collaboration between directors, choreographers and designers, while also being ecologically friendly.听

Mackwood鈥檚 interest in 鈥済reen鈥� or sustainable theatre practice was sparked by James McKernan, with whom he worked on Sound in Silence (2008). Noting the lack of money allocated to sets in dance, Mackwood recognized a desire in the industry for materials that could be recycled such as lights, projections and soft goods. Green initiatives, however, need to produce superior quality results if they are to offer an alternative to current production practices.

Mackwood experimented with LED lights with great success during the remounting of Opera Erotique (2010). LEDs use one third the power and produce less heat than conventional lights, providing savings on electricity and air conditioning,听while making it more comfortable for the performers. The LED lights are also almost always built with red, green and blue optics for full colour mixing.听

Professor Don Sinclair joins the Bugzzz team as the sound and interactive projections designer. Sinclair will map performers鈥� bodies on stage using 3-D motion capture technology to create a mesh outline. From the 3-D model, Sinclair can manipulate exact projections of colour, image and light onto performers鈥� bodies, permitting them to be illuminated without background spill.听听

The software developed by Sinclair will advance the field of interactive technology in theatre performance. Undergraduate and graduate students in 91亚色鈥檚 dance and theatre programs will have access to the technology in a new course, The Interactive Stage: Developing Digital Design Tools for Live Performances.听

A.C. Lighting Inc. and managing director J.F. Canuel are uniting once again with Mackwood as industry partners for Bugzzz. A.C. Lighting previously worked on the LED remounting of Opera Erotique, providing outstanding support with equipment, technicians and Canuel鈥檚 participation in the round table discussion on opening night. The partnership with A.C. Lighting will provide Mackwood with a team of engineers and researchers to assist in the development of LED costumes and sets. In turn, by observing first hand artists鈥� design needs, A.C. Lighting gains useful information for the continued evolution of LED technology.

Knowing the value of a good story, Mackwood will soon shift his attention away from the design components and towards script development. 91亚色鈥檚 Faculty of Fine Arts has offered the use of studio space and a multimedia lab for rehearsals and creative development, for which Mackwood expresses his gratitude: 鈥淚 have not had any issues 鈥� the staff and facilities are all world class."

Bugzzz will premiere June 2012 in Toronto, with the possibility of another performance in Vancouver and an international production in Copenhagen the following year.听

Written by Crystal Basaez, Faculty of Fine Arts research assistant, and reprinted from the summer issue of the Faculty of Fine Arts Research Newsletter

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