GROWING A PASSION FOR CONTEMPORARY DANCE

Society of the Company of Angels Dance Projects (SOCOA) is an umbrella organization created to advocate for, foster, and oversee high calibre dance initiatives in and around the Annapolis Valley, Nova Scotia. SOCOA administers Festival of Dance Annapolis Royal (FODAR) as well as the Company of Angels, Canada’s only touring seniors’ contemporary dance company.

FESTIVAL OF DANCE ANNAPOLIS ROYAL

Festival of Dance Annapolis Royal (FODAR) presents professional contemporary dance in a festival format in the small town of Annapolis Royal, Nova Scotia. FODAR is the only professional contemporary dance festival in Nova Scotia. The Festival’s vision is to bring strong mixed programs that feature a blend of current contemporary and classic modern dance to a rural audience. FODAR has quickly become the largest presenter of professional dance outside of Halifax. FODAR’s mission is to foster an appreciation of, and demand for, contemporary dance throughout the Annapolis Valley/Southwest Nova region and beyond through well-curated dynamic programming.

Our goals are:

1. to present strong mixed programs that feature both current contemporary works and landmark classics of Canadian modern dance;
2. to ensure a professional Atlantic Canadian dance presence on the festival stage each season;
3. to increase the audience base for dance from within the Southwest Nova/Annapolis Valley region, while attracting audiences from throughout Atlantic Canada and beyond;
4. to network with other Atlantic dance presenters and to contribute to the development and presentation of contemporary dance throughout the region;
5. to work with the professional dance community in Atlantic Canada to ensure that we are responding to and supporting the growth of the dance ecology of the region.

COMPANY OF ANGELS

With over 800 years of life experience, Company of Angels defies all descriptions and expectations. Founded in 2013 by Canadian choreographer Randy Glynn, “The Angels” are a core group of community-based dancers ranging in age from early sixties to mid-seventies. Glynn enlisted a skeptical but willing group of seniors in a project to develop a dance piece that would reflect the highs and lows of growing old. He called it Dancing in the Third Act. Then things took off.

The Angels and Dancing in the Third Act were a hit with both audiences and critics. They received major regional and national media coverage and opened Montreal’s Quartiers Danses Festival in September 2014. The Company was also performed at the Atlantic Dance Festival and was invited to perform across the pond at the Sadler’s Wells Elixir Festival in London, but due to prior commitments, had to decline.

While Dancing in the Third Act remains the Company’s most popular production, The Angels sometimes expand their number to work on other projects. In 2014 Glynn and the Angels worked with several area teens to create Teen Angel. Other projects are in the works.

 “When so much of dance is a young person’s game, there are few opportunities to see or deliver the depth of performance that a lifetime of real-world experience can bring to the stage. Dancing in the Third Act achieves this in spades.” Dance International Magazine