Fall for Dance North (FFDN) will move into the future under a new co-leadership model with the appointment of Robert Binet as Artistic Director and Co-CEO and Lily Sutherland as Festival Director and Co-CEO. The new appointments will take effect on 4 November 2024.

FFDN celebrates its 10th anniversary this year and runs from September 26 to October 6. This is the last time outgoing Artistic Director Ilter Ibrahimof will lead the organization. He will stay in place until the end of December 2024 to help the new leadership team settle in.

The appointments were announced following a nationwide search led by Marty Bragg & Associates and advised by a transition committee, with Ilter Ibrahimof serving as advisor.

“I am delighted to announce the appointment of Robert and Lily as co-leaders of the FFDN,” says IbrahimofFounding Director of FFDN. “Over the past eight years, I have seen Lily’s excellence in everything she has produced. She knows FFDN inside and out, has a strong curatorial eye, and is a valued community activist. Robert has worked with FFDN on many levels, including a major commission for FFDN 2017 based on a global cast of Canadian dancers working abroad. Under his leadership, the National Ballet’s Creative Action program has collaborated with FFDN on several successful presentations at Union Station. Creating opportunities for the next generation has always been important to me, and I will be following this new and exciting team with great enthusiasm.”

Artistic Director and Co-CEO Robert Binet

Robert Binet has created and curated dance works for some of the world’s leading ballet companies, including the Royal Ballet and New York City Ballet, as well as the National Ballet of Canada, where he served as Director of Artist Development Programs from 2018 to 2024. In this role, he oversaw the development of more than 200 new works by Canadian choreographers.

Binet developed new programs for NBC, including Sharing the Stage, and directed its Apprentice program. Robert was a guest curator for FFDN in 2023 and a choreographic mentor at the Venice Biennale’s College Danza that same year. He is also the recipient of Dance Collection Danse’s Sandra Faire Next Generation Award, which recognizes individuals under the age of 40 who are playing a key role in the world of dance in Canada.

Festival Director and Co-CEO Lily Sutherland

Dance producer and programmer Lily Sutherland has over a decade of experience leading creative teams at organizations such as Luminato, the Toronto Fringe Festival and the Hamilton Festival Theatre Company. She has worked with FFDN since 2018 and has served as executive producer for the past two years.

Lily earned her BA in Theatre Arts from the University of Ottawa and then studied clowning and le jeu at Ecole Philippe Gaulier in Paris, France. She co-founded the indie company Passing Through Theatre and went on to produce seven original works and tour nationally for that organization. Her works have been commissioned and performed by several indie theatre festivals including Frost Bites and In The Soil and was appointed a board member of the O.Dela Arts/Matriarchs Uprising Festival in 2023, which supports the work of Indigenous women choreographers.

outlook

“We are extremely excited to work together in this new co-leadership model to shape the next chapter of Fall for Dance North and build on Ilter Ibrahimof’s extraordinary decade of leadership,” Binet and Sutherland said in a joint statement.

“The Festival is an important part of Toronto’s cultural sector and we are committed to continuing to engage more dance audiences through bold and accessible programming. We look forward to placing Toronto and Canada’s most exciting dance artists in their appropriate international context by creating programs that illuminate the connections between dance here and around the world. FFDN has an exceptional staff and board of directors that we are excited to work with to pursue the organization’s mission and values. Together, we will ensure the organization’s long-term success.”

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Anya Wassenberg is Toronto city editor at Ludwig Van. She is an experienced freelance writer, blogger, and writing teacher.

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