Emma Kerson receives the Metcalf Foundation Performing Arts Internship grant

For immediate release

January 29, 2013

TORONTO, ON – The School of Toronto Dance Theatre is pleased to welcome the wonderfully gifted emerging dance artist Emma Kerson as Artistic Assistant after receiving a Metcalf Foundation Performing Arts Internship grant for 2013.

The Metcalf Performing Arts Program seeks to strengthen and enhance the effectiveness of people and organizations working to sustain the vibrancy of the professional performing arts.  The internship program helps organizations create productive entry points into the sector, realize opportunities to foster leadership, and respond to skill shortages in critical areas.  It provides individuals with more knowledge, better skills, broader work experience, and useful contacts – all of which will help them make a stronger professional contribution to the performing arts.

As Artistic Assistant, Emma, a 2011 Professional Training Program graduate, will be able to offer her unique perspective on the transition from student to active member of the dance community, while also drawing on relevant skills she gained in her university education.  Emma is active in the Toronto dance community as a dancer, choreographer, and teacher.  For her full bio, please visit http://www.schooloftdt.org/emma_kerson

 This grant allows the School to work closely with Emma to develop her as an emerging artist and administrator.  With two mentors, Patricia Fraser and Lauren Gould, the internship provides Emma with a balance of artistic vision and administrative expertise, both invaluable assets for a dancer keen to deepen her knowledge of an arts organization.

Emma writes: “I could not seek out a more significant internship than that which the School, Patricia Fraser, and Lauren Gould can provide.  I want to contribute to the School and to the dance community I believe in so thoroughly, and am proud to be a part of.”  Patricia Fraser writes: “Emma has a growing understanding of the dance sector and the Toronto community, and a strong artistic sensibility.  She is an intelligent, organized individual who is deeply committed to both the School and the art of contemporary dance.”  The School looks forward to working with Emma throughout 2013, and thanks the Metcalf Foundation for their generous support.

For further information, please contact:

Jae Yang
Communications and Development Coordinator
416.967.6887 ext. 25
jae@schooloftdt.org