Canada’s national organization devoted to dance transition, Dancer Transition Resource Centre (DTRC), welcomed members of the International Organization for the Transition of Professional Dancers (IOTPD) for the foundation’s Annual Meeting on November 13th and 14th. Members of the IOTPD and observers from countries with newly formed transition programs met at DTRC’s National Office in Toronto immediately following Leap Together: Career and Life Transitions in Dance and Sport, an international conference devoted to exploring the intersection of transition issues for professional dancers and athletes.
DTRC Executive Director and IOTPD Board Member Amanda Hancox remarked “It was an honour to host this important international meeting in Canada. As the importance of addressing the issue of dancer transition continues to gain significance around the world, it has been rewarding to watch the IOTPD grow. The presence and contribution of delegates from ten countries to the IOTPD meetings and the preceding LEAP conference provided a vibrant international perspective.”
On the topic of collaborating with the sports community, and IOTPD’s presence at Leap Together, members agreed that reaching across disciplines is necessary work. The partnership between sports and dance was truly appreciated. Transition programs can certainly benefit and have more impact around transition issues if they can work with other sectors.
Every year the IOTPD Annual Meeting provides an opportunity for representatives from transition organizations around the world to share learning, discuss challenges and examine trends on the topic of career transition for professional dancers. During their two days together, delegates shared updates from their respective transition organizations, and collectively planned the IOTPD’s actions in coming years, all with an aim to increase visibility of transition as a uniquely challenging period in dancers’ careers, and to advocate for the creation of transition programs and resources in countries where none exist.
New to the table in 2016 were observers from the Institute for Music and Dance in Poland, and Dance Career Endowment Fund in the Czech Republic. We were also joined by Jeongyeon Lee, the IOTPD’s first intern recruited through a global internship program supported by Dancers’ Career Development Centre in South Korea.
In 2017, the IOTPD Annual Meeting will take place in Berlin.
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