Our Mandate and Mission

The School of Dance is dedicated to education in the art of dance in Canada. Resident in Ottawa, Ontario, The School is mandated to teach, to produce performances and to provide scholarships for students to aid in their study of dance in Canada. It is our goal to offer and ensure accessibility to the highest standard of interactive and participatory arts education programming for children, youth and adults throughout our community.

About THE SCHOOL OF DANCE

Founded in 1978, by Merrilee Hodgins and Joyce Shietze, The School of Dance has an international reputation as a centre for excellence in arts education. The School offers training programmes in ballet and contemporary dance as well as professional development courses for teachers. The School's Community Arts Programmes include classes for adults and children. Graduates of The School of Dance are performing with companies world-wide. Each year, The School’s Arts Education Programmes touch the lives of over 70,000 Ontarians with specialized programmes including DragonFly®, for learners with Down syndrome, Connecting with Dance, for individuals with Parkinson's, Boys Only! classes and DanceONTour®, school visits designed to inspire interest in the arts.

The School of Dance is a registered private career college under the Private Career Colleges Act, 2005. The School of Dance is a Canadian, not for profit, charitable institution. 

Each season, the Board of Directors of The School sets the fundraising goal. The current goal has been set at $150,000. The Board, School administration, volunteers, parents and students will spend 12 months working towards that end. 

A business may choose to become a sponsor.

The School is now able to accept stocks, a gift which can be most beneficial to the donor and The School of Dance.

The School provides scholarships for students.

Project funding is also most welcome and could be in the form of a donation towards the expenses of the guest choreographers or the production costs of performances at the National Arts Centre and Arts Court.

We thank you for taking the time to read our statement and hope you will support The School of Dance and our students.

For more information, contact The School of Dance at 613-238-7838 or visit www.theschoolofdance.ca