December 28, 2019 – OTTAWA, CANADA – The National Arts Centre (NAC) is delighted that Her Excellency the Right Honourable Julie Payette, Governor General of Canada, has appointed Cathy Levy, Executive Producer of NAC Dance, as a Member of the Order of Canada for her distinguished contribution to dance in Canada. The Order of Canada, one of the highest civilian honours, recognizes people who make extraordinary contributions to the nation and have enriched the lives of others and made a difference to this country.

Cathy Levy has made an extraordinary contribution to dance in Canada and beyond. Since arriving at the NAC two decades ago, she has presented many of the best Canadian choreographers, dancers and dance companies on the NAC’s stages in Ottawa and has been an important promoter of Canadian dancers and dance companies abroad. She has acted as a catalyst for Canadian dance by supporting new work and fostering collaborations.

Ms. Levy has also made Ottawa – our nation’s capital – a “must perform” venue for some of the most exceptional dance artists in the world. She has presented more than 300 performances that include exclusive Canadian appearances by Tanztheater Wuppertal Pina Bausch and the Mariinsky Ballet, and performances by Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui and Akram Khan. In her programming, Cathy Levy has successfully built an extremely loyal audience for dance in the nation’s capital; her Dance seasons blend the familiar with the unfamiliar, and the traditional with the cutting edge.

A STRONG INFLUENCE ON CANADIAN AND INTERNATIONAL DANCE SCENE

“Cathy Levy has had an enormous influence on dance in Canada,” said Christopher Deacon, President and CEO of the National Arts Centre. “She has presented some of the most exceptional dance artists from Canada and around the world on the national stage. She has supported important new work by some of our most gifted Canadian dance creators. And she has made a tremendous impact on the careers of emerging Canadian dance artists from coast to coast.  We are so pleased that she is appointed to the Order of Canada – a recognition for the important role she played, and continues to play, on the dance scene.”

Under the leadership of Cathy Levy, the NAC has closely followed the careers of Emily Molnar, Crystal Pite, Marie Chouinard, Tedd Robinson and Louise Lecavalier, among others. Ms. Levy has also supported countless new artists, including Dana Michel, Wen Wei Wang, Lara Kramer, Virginie Brunelle, Le Patin Libre and Ame Henderson, to name a few. She has also co-produced more than 70 works with leading Canadian choreographers such as last season’s critically acclaimed Revisor by Crystal Pite and Jonathon Young.  Ms. Levy is often invited to participate in national and international advisory committees and juries and acts as a mentor to a number of young producers and artists in the dance field. 

THE EVOLUTION OF DANCE AT THE NAC UNDER CATHY LEVY

Under Cathy Levy’s leadership, the NAC Dance season expanded to include a larger program of international and Canadian artists and companies each year in performances and special events, from classical ballet to contemporary to experimental dance works. She has launched many new initiatives during her tenure, including the Visiting Dance Artist Program, a joint initiative of the Canada Council for the Arts that aims to support the development of new choreographic voices in Canada. She also created new presentation models, such as the innovative Face2Face series.

One of Cathy’s most notable accomplishments is the NAC Dance-NAC Orchestra commission ENCOUNT3RS, an unprecedented landmark commission that marked Canada’s sesquicentennial. The initiative paired three superb Canadian composers with three top-level Canadian choreographers: trail-blazing Emily Molnar of Ballet BC, Alberta Ballet’s eminent and prolific Jean Grand-Maître, and Guillaume Côté, a gifted dancer and choreographic associate with the National Ballet of Canada. They created three remarkable, one-act ballets, each with an original orchestral score, that were performed by dozens of dancers together with the NAC Orchestra, led by Alexander Shelley. The works and the recordings are now a part of each company’s permanent repertoire.

MORE ABOUT CATHY LEVY

Cathy Levy has devoted her professional working life to the performing arts, dedicated to the creation, development and presentation of artistic projects, most notably in the dance field.  She joined Canada’s National Arts Centre in the fall of 2000. Under her leadership NAC Dance annually hosts 18-20 companies, develops a growing number of Canadian and international co-productions, and presents an impressive program of outreach and enhancement activities.

Ms. Levy has overseen and produced special projects and events for NAC Dance, including the Homage to Jean-Pierre Perreault (May 2004), the Dutch Dance Focus (May 2005), Peggy Jarrell Kaplan photo exhibit (2006), Homage to Marie Chouinard (2008), Edouard Lock photo and audio exhibit (2011), and Aleksandar Antonijevic photo exhibit (2012). She also launched the NAC-CGI Youth Commission for Dance, a partnership with the Canada Council for the Arts (2003-2007), and the ongoing Associate Dance Artists Program (2007), in addition to the Visiting Dance Artist Program.

Prior to being appointed NAC Dance Producer, Ms. Levy served as Producer of the Canada Dance Festival of new Canadian choreography, and as Associate Producer from its inauguration. She was Dance Programmer for Toronto’s Harbourfront Centre where she ran an annual international contemporary dance series, and she served as Performing Arts Coordinator for the Cultural Component of Canada’s Year of Asia Pacific. In addition, in 1988 Ms. Levy founded the Dance Umbrella of Ontario, the first service organization of its kind in Canada and served as its Executive Director for four years.

She lives in Montreal with her husband, documentary film and live event producer Martin Bolduc and their two sons, Jonah and Luka. Click here for her full biography.

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FORE MORE INFORMATION:

Annabelle Cloutier
Executive Director, Communications and Public Affairs
National Arts Centre
613-310-2764
annabelle.cloutier@nac-cna.ca

Mary Gordon
Senior Communications Advisor
National Arts Centre
613-601-3877
Mary.gordon@nac-cna.ca