Mayor's Arts Award for Dance
2017 recipients
Artemis Gordon
Honouree
An artistic and pedagogical authority in dance, Artemis Gordon was named Artistic Director of the Arts Umbrella dance program in 1992. The program is now internationally recognized for producing graduates who dance in companies around the world such as Ballet BC, Nederlands Dans Theatre I & II, and Batsheva Dance Company.
Gordon has toured the Arts Umbrella Dance Company to the Netherlands, Italy, Japan, New York, and Montreal and fostered collaborations with Nederlands Dans Theatre, Yokohama Ballet, Spellbound Contemporary Dance, Joffrey Ballet School, and L'Ecole supérieure de ballet du Québec.
In 2015, Gordon secured the affiliation between Ballet BC and Arts Umbrella, extending the impact of international choreographers in Vancouver and increasing opportunities for young dancers in Vancouver. In 2016, she won the YWCA Women of Distinction Award in Arts, Culture, and Design. Her instruction prepares students to navigate their lives with discipline, rigour, and innovation.
Livona Ellis
Emerging artist
Vancouver-born Livona Ellis started dancing at the age of 11 at Arts Umbrella under the direction of Artemis Gordon. After completing the Graduate Program in 2010, Ellis was offered an apprenticeship with Ballet BC and joined as a full time member after one season. Since joining Ballet BC, Ellis has been fortunate to work with world-renowned artists such as Sharon Eyal, Crystal Pite, Medhi Walerski, Emanuel Gat, Cayetano Soto, Johan Inger, Francesca Caroti (William Forsyth), Wen Wei Wang, Lesley Telford, Doug Letheren (Sharon Eyal), and Shahar Binyamini (Ohad Naharin).
Ellis has been a part of Springboard Danse Montreal, Movement Invention Project NYC, The Banff Professional Dance Program and the San Francisco Conservatory of Dance Summer Program. She has created work for Live at the Bolt' Small Stage and at Dance Deck Trois. She is on faculty at Arts Umbrella and has choreographed for their Season Finale performances.
Emily Molnar is an internationally respected and critically acclaimed dance artist and choreographer. As artistic director of Ballet BC since 2009, she has steered the company into an era of innovation and collaboration. Emily is a graduate of the National Ballet School and a former member of the National Ballet of Canada, a soloist with the Frankfurt Ballet under director William Forsythe, and a principal dancer with Ballet BC.
Jai Govinda began his dance training under full scholarship at L’École supérieure de danse du Québec. He then studied the classical Indian dance form of bharata natyam in the US, Canada, and India. For 25 years, he
Shay Kuebler began his artistic development at the age of five in theatre and martial arts, which led to studying various dance forms including hip hop, jazz, tap, contemporary, and ballet. He continues to expand his artistic range and versatility and has studied music, dance, and martial arts in Japan, Brazil, and China.
Karen Jamieson received a Bachelor of Arts in philosophy and anthropology from the University of British Columbia and began dancing at Simon Fraser University.
Josh Martin is a diversely trained dance artist originally from Alberta, whose career to date has led him across North America and Europe. Martin has performed in theatres, clubs, on stages and streets, for film and television, and in music videos and tours. 
Rosario Ancer co-founded the school Centro Flamenco, The Flamenco Rosario Arts Society, Flamenco Rosario, and its professional training program after moving to Vancouver from Spain with her husband in 1989. As an interpreter of flamenco dance, Rosario is more interested in the continuing growth of the art form than in simply reiterating its past, exploring new possibilities by crossing boundaries of both history and culture. 
Kiruthika Rathanaswami is an Indian classical dancer in the Bharata Natyam style. She has been training for the past 14 years under Jai Govinda, artistic director of Mandala Arts and Culture in Vancouver, Canada. She completed her arangetram (dance graduation) at the Jai Govinda Dance Academy in 2004, and has since been part of many Mandala productions. 
Barbara Bourget is the co-producer of the Vancouver International Dance Festival and is the artistic director of Kokoro Dance, the post-butoh dance company that has been named by The Georgia Straight as one of the ten best reasons to live in Vancouver.
Deanna Peters works as a performer in contemporary dance, theatre, and film. Since 2007, Deanna balances this career with work as a choreographer, teacher, and producer.
Alvin Erasga Tolentino is one of the most active Asian/Canadian dance artists, whose work continues to provoke, fascinate, and bring a fresh voice to the national and international dance scene.
Sujit Vaidya has been studying bharata natyam with the Jai Govinda Dance Academy, since the fall of 2006. He finished his dance graduation in the fall of 2009 and performed at BC Place for the 2010 Winter Olympics BC Day Victory ceremonies.
Lola MacLaughlin grew up in the interior of British Columbia. Prior to a career in dance, she studied biology and psychology, and did a stint as a singer with a German rock band. After she graduated from dance studies at Simon Fraser University, Lola continued her training in New York, Toronto, and Vancouver.
