Calls to Artists: Click on the tabs below to learn about artist opportunities at dance Immersion.
IMMERSION FESTIVAL NEXT GEN PRESENTATION
CALLING BLACK-LED YOUTH DANCE GROUPS IN THE GTA!
dance Immersion will present its first full-scale festival – Immersion Festival – in 2026!
Dates: November 8 – 22, 2026
Venue: Betty Oliphant Theatre, Canada’s National Ballet School, 404 Jarvis Street, Toronto, ON, Canada
Produced & Presented by: dance Immersion
Overview: Canada has never produced an event like Immersion Festival: 3 different performances, 12 workshops, plus a roundtable on dance education, a networking lunch, and an epic closing fête – all in support of the vast impact of African Diasporic cultures in Canada and around the world. Immersion Festival will feature 24 Canadian performing groups, 4 generations, and performances by internationally-renowned artists who have never before gathered together at the same event.
ARTIST CALL
Immersion Festival is an intergenerational event. One of the professional stage presentations is the NEXT GEN PRESENTATION that will feature 10 youth dance groups performing the same show twice:
Saturday, November 14, 2026 at 7:30 PM, and
Sunday, November 15, 2026 at 2:00 PM
+ Each group will be given a brief technical rehearsal on the Betty Oliphant stage in advance of the shows.
We are putting out the call for Black-led dance groups to perform in the Next Gen Presentation. This show will give Black-led, GTA-based dance studios and youth groups an opportunity to:
- Present their strongest pieces to the general public
- Promote their studios, classes, and programs to a new audience
- Connect with some of Canada’s renowned Black dance artists
- Further develop their students’ performance skills with an additional opportunity to perform for an audience beyond family and friends
- Receive an archival video recording and photos of their pieces.
The registration form is accessible via the link below.
FURTHER DETAILS:
- Pieces will be selected from eligible registrations that include a video of the exact piece to be presented in the Next Gen Presentation, if selected. The piece can be extended to up to 10-minutes for the performance, but the video must show the exact choreography you would like us to consider.
- The event is open to Black-led studios/groups/programs for young performers aged 10 – 21.
- 10 groups will each present a work of 5-10 minutes in length.
- Each group can have a maximum of 10 dancers, and solos can be submitted for consideration.
- Pieces can be choreographed by someone of any age who identifies as Black or of the African Diaspora, though not all performers have to identify as such.
- A $1,000 honorarium will be provided to each group included in the Next Gen Presentation.
- Live and recorded music can be supported for the performances. Given the number of acts in the show, we will not be able to accommodate the use of set pieces or digital projection.
- Rehearsal: Each group will receive a brief technical rehearsal on stage for spacing, to set a few lighting cures, and to run their piece in the days leading up to the first show.
Registration:
- Registration will be open from April 20, 2026 – May 24, 2026 at 11:59 PM.
- Groups will be notified of the results on or by Friday, June 5, 2026.
- The registration form will request information on the age and number of dancers. (maximum of 10) in the proposed piece, and the description of the piece, which should include the form of dance.
- The video submission must show the exact piece to be presented in the Festival, if selected. The piece can be extended to up to 10-minutes for the performance, but the video must show the exact choreography you would like us to consider.
REGISTER HERE!
IMMERSION MENTORSHIP PROGRAM
The 2024 Immersion Mentorship Program Application is now closed.
The Immersion Mentorship Program is an initiative geared towards exchanging knowledge between established Black artists and emerging Black artists within the Toronto arts community. Through this program, established artist mentors are paired with youth choreographers/mentees to exchange artistic knowledge, guidance, and support as they develop or expand the mentee’s dance work. The program also includes open-access Connectively Moving seminars providing tools for building a successful dance career.
The Immersion Mentorship Program is made possible with a community investment from RBC.
The principal goal of this program is to provide the mentees with the necessary tools to thrive, create strong work, and build their creative careers by connecting them with experience, space and guidance.
Four (4) mentees will be chosen for the 2024 program.
*An emerging choreographer is defined as someone aged 16 – 29 who is in the early stages of their artistic career, and has yet to present a full-length work of their own. dance Immersion will select the mentees from this open call.
*Selected mentors selected by dance Immersion are choreographers that have honed their craft through training and practice for 10+ years; have presented full-length dance work to the public; have 3+ years of teaching experience; and are actively engaged within their community through their art form.
The 2024 IMP Mentors are: Rodney Diverlus, Nickeshia Garrick, Pulga Muchochoma, and Dainty Smith.
Program Components
A. Mentorship Link
Between the week beginning January 22 and March 16, 2024, each mentee will meet with their mentor for four (4) hours per week for seven (7) weeks, and then participate in an In-Studio Showcase on the eighth week. The mentors and mentees will receive three hours of studio time weekly, and will meet online or in-person for discussions for an additional hour each week. This can be scheduled between the mentee and mentor, with dance Immersion scheduling the studio time.
During the studio time, the mentee/mentor pairs will discuss the mentee’s choreographic ideas and put them into practice as the mentee develops a brief choreography. The program also provides the mentee with fees to cover 20 hours with a musician or an additional dancer to collaborate on the brief choreography (i.e. the mentee’s pieces will either be performed by a solo dancer + musician or be performed by the mentee and an additional dancer). The works-in-progress will be presented for feedback at the In-Studio Showcase, and the mentees will receive a recording and photographs of their presentation. *The mentees are expected to plan and develop their choreographic ideas in between studio sessions with their mentors.
B. Connectively Moving Seminars
It is a requirement of this program that selected mentees attend all five of the Connectively Moving seminars, either in-person or reviewing the recorded sessions.
The five Connectively Moving seminars running daily 10am – 1pm from February 20 – 24, 2024 will cover:
1. The Dance Ecosystem: Teaching, creating, presenting, touring – What key roles and systems will dance artists connect with over the course of their careers and how is the ecosystem navigated?
2. Crafting a Dance Work: What are some elements of strong choreographic works and how can choreographers integrate them into their everyday practice?
3. Collaboration in Creation and Performance: What are the key collaborator roles and how do choreographers effectively engage with them to create strong work?
4. Guiding Research and Rehearsals: How to conduct conscientious research of your concept and communicate and transmit ideas to dancers, musicians, and designers as you build dance works.
5. The Business of Dance: Budgets, biographies, grants, artist statements, marketing, outreach – What are these key administrative and community-building elements and where are the resources to help guide development of these essential pieces to a successful career in dance?
A networking mixer will be held on Saturday, February 24 to conclude the Connectively Moving seminars.
Each seminar will contain components of self-esteem building and self-care for a thriving career.
C. Evaluation
Program evaluation will include:
- Check-in meetings with dance Immersion staff
- A post-presentation group mentee/mentor meeting to discuss outcomes
- A written or video survey to include both mentee and mentor feedback.
Each of the Selected Mentees Will Receive:
– 28 hours of one-on-one time with a mentor for discussion and dance piece development, including free studio space
– A fee of $2,000 ($50/hour for 40 hours of work on their piece)
– An additional $1,000 to cover 20 hours of fees for either a musical or dancer collaborator
– The Connectively Moving for Youth seminars + additional movement sessions
– Networking opportunities during the program
– An In-Studio Showcase to present their work-in-progress and receive feedback.
Key Dates
Applications to be a Mentee are Open: September 11, 2023 until November 13, 2023
Successful applicants will be notified: December 5, 2023
Mentee acceptance is due: December 12, 2023
Program Runs: The week of January 22 to March 16, 2024, with a wrap-up meeting and survey to follow
In-Studio Showcase: March 16, 2024
Connectively Moving seminars running daily 10am – 1pm from February 20 – 24, 2024
Eligibility and application requirements
*This program is geared towards individuals who are in the early stages of their choreographic career and have yet to present a full-length work of their own.
Four (4) mentees will be selected who:
- Identify as Black, African, or of the African Diaspora
- Are aged between 16 and 29
- Present a proposal for the work, or a remount/re-imagined idea of an existing work
Application:
Click below to apply to be a 2024 Mentee. The application requests your artist statement (telling us about your dance practice in either writing or with a video); information on the piece you would like to create or develop (what is it about and what stage of progress is it in?); video documentation of your artistic practice (either a link or upload of video of your dancing/choreography).
CLICK HERE TO APPLY (September 11 – November 13)
DTM CREATION LAB
CALL TO ARTISTS
The 2025 DTM Creation Lab Application is now closed.
dance Immersion & Tarragon Theatre are partnering on an exciting new residency mentorship program:
The Dance/Theatre/Music (DTM) Creation Lab!
From June 16 – June 28, 2025, four Black-identifying artists selected from this open call will receive high-level visioning and guidance from five established performing arts professionals as they develop a work that integrates movement, text, and song. The residency will take place at Tarragon Theatre, Toronto, and culminate in an in-formal showing of the works-in-progress to an invited audience.
This is a paid residency opportunity, with each of the four selected residents receiving $2,170 ($35/hour x 62 hours), inclusive of HST.
What we are looking for
The DTM Creation Lab is seeking projects in any form of dance which:
- Articulate an explored theme, and/or illustrate the initial ideas of the work-in-progress
- Demonstrate a curiosity to deeply investigate the relationship between dance, character, text, and song
- Are led by an artist who identifies as Black or of the African Diaspora
- Are led by artists who are available for the entirety of the 62-hour residency:
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- Monday through Friday, June 16 – 20, 2025, 10:00am – 4:00pm daily; and
- Monday through Saturday, June 23 – 27, 2025, 10:00am – 4:00pm daily; and
- Saturday, June 28, 2025, 1:00pm – 3:00pm for the showing of the works-in-progress, talk back, and closing celebration.
How to Apply
Fill out the form at the link below by 11:59 PM EST on Thursday, April 17, 2025, which asks for:
- Your name and contact information
- A working title and brief description of the work and how the lab will support its development (max 400 words)
- A brief biography that highlights your interdisciplinary practice (max 300 words)
- A video file or link to a video of the work-in-progress (this can be as simple as a cell phone video of a rehearsal or workshop of the seeds of your ideas – max 5 minutes).
Note: If you need accommodation pertaining to accessibility at any stage of the application process, please let us know at info@danceimmersion.ca.
The DTM Creation Lab is generously supported by a donation from Peggy Baker Dance Projects.
