What
Events
MASC Arts Awards
MASC Arts Awards celebrate students in Grades 6 to 8 who are passionate about
the arts and would benefit from support to explore their artistic development
beyond the school setting. Teachers nominate students and winners in each
discipline are awarded scholarships thanks to many of our community partners:
The Ottawa Children’s Theatre, Ottawa School of Art, The School of Dance and
Bluesfest School of Music and Art.
All nominated students were celebrated at a Gala Event, held for the first time at
the National Arts Centre, on May 21st. This was an incredible opportunity for the
students to be recognized for their artistic passion on ‘Canada’s Stage’ and for
many families it was their first opportunity to visit the NAC. The evening
featured MASC artist Rhonda Doxtator from the Oneida nation of Southern
Ontario as the “Honourary Patron”, who addressed the audience and offered a
mesmerizing hoop dance. The Mayor of Ottawa joined MC Stefan Keyes in offering
the scholarship prizes, including the “Jan Andrews Literary Award”. All students
left the evening with substantive prize packages, thanks to the support of many
publishers and local businesses.
Jennifer Cayley, MASC’s co-founder, continues to be passionate about MASC’s
work and delighted the audience with a passionate speech.
MASC Arts Awards is supported by a dedicated volunteer committee and we are very
grateful for the support of the National Arts Centre and our event sponsor, Dustbane.
Festival de danse en milieu scolaire
In 2018-19 we offered the 5th edition of the Festival de danse en milieu scolaire,
which was organized in partnership with the Centre d’excellence artistique de
l'Ontario, Centre de danse contemporaine ODD and The School of Dance. Almost
100 Grade 9-12 students from across Ontario participated in the 3-day event. The
Festival has become a cultural event of note in the franco-ontarian community and
year after year participants and professional artists return to be part of the event:
« Je voulais revenir au festival parce que c’est une belle ambiance, d’habitude dans
la vie de tous les jours quand tu danses les gens te regardent bizarre, ici quand tu
danses les gens se joignent à toi. » (Participant au FDMS 2019)
The Festival offers workshops in different styles of dance with well-known
professional artists, performances, choreography creation and a final student
showcase that each year has blown everyone away with the quality, creativity
and depth of the performances. This program is supported by the Ontario
Ministry of Education. MASC and the FDMS partners are preparing to move the
Festival to Toronto for the winter of 2020 with the plan that it will be held in
Ottawa every 2nd year.
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