Team
Randy Glynn
Festival Director and Co-Curator
Choreographer, dancer, teacher and Founding Artistic Director of the Company of Angels and Festival of Dance Annapolis Royal, Randy Glynn has been a recognized figure in the world of Canadian Contemporary Dance for over 4 decades. A critically acclaimed principal dancer with the legendary Danny Grossman Company for a decade, Randy began choreographing in the early 1980s. In 1987 he formed his own company, The Randy Glynn Dance Project, which toured across Canada and presented four seasons at Toronto’s prestigious Premiere Dance Theatre. Works among his critically acclaimed repetoire include: ‘Mr. Pinhead’, ‘After Godot’ and ‘Dancing in the Third Act’. In 2008 he was invited to Berlin to direct the Circus Cabaret Show ‘MyLife’ at the Chamaeleon Theatre in the heart of the city. The show ran for a year and was seen by over 100,000 people.
Randy’s choreography has been produced and presented by companies in Canada, Ireland and the US. A Dora Mavor Moore Award nominee, he is also a recipient of the prestigious Clifford E. Lee Choreography Award. In recognition of his work, ‘Dancing in the Third Act’, Mr. Glynn was selected as one of five finalists for the 2015 Lieutenant Governor of Nova Scotia Masterworks Arts Award. This was the first time since the inception of the award that dance was named to the Masterworks shortlist.
In addition to his position as Artistic Director of Company of Angels and FODAR, Randy has, for seven years, been at the helm of Halifax-based Live Art Dance Productions, as Artistic Director. Live Art Dance is the only dance presenter in Atlantic Canada programming a full-season contemporary dance series featuring international calibre artists. He leaves that position in August of this year. “It’s time for me, to step back a bit and take some more relaxed family time.” Randy and his partner, Pamela Grundy, have a home in Granville Ferry, NS where they grow grapes and make passable wine.
Michael Caldwell
Co-Curator
Michael Caldwell (he/him) is a choreographer, performer, curator, artistic director, producer, and arts advocate, based in Tkaronto, Canada. He has performed/collaborated with over 55 of Canada’s esteemed performance creators/companies, working internationally and performing across North America, Europe, Asia, and Australia. Michael’s performances have earned him two (2) Dora Mavor Moore Awards for outstanding performance in dance.
Garnering critical acclaim, his choreography has been commissioned/presented throughout Canada at major festivals, in traditional venues and in site-responsive and community-engaged contexts. Michael’s most recent choreographic work responds to the ‘site’ in as many ways as can be conceived, and subverts traditional modes of viewing. He recently premiered ‘Two x 30’ – a large-scale performance/sound work as part of ArtworxTO: Toronto’s Year of Public Art, and is currently working on two collaborative multidisciplinary performance projects. Caldwell is a two-time K.M. Hunter Charitable Foundation Artist Award finalist.
Currently, Michael serves as Artistic Director at SummerWorks in Tkaronto, and as Associate Curator for Festival of Dance Annapolis Royal, in Nova Scotia. Recently, as Creative Director: Programming at Generator, he led the re-imagination of the overall governance structure of the organization, moving towards a co-leadership framework. Previously, Michael played a pivotal role in the growth and development of Fall for Dance North, serving as Executive Producer for eight years. He has also previously guided projects with CanAsian Dance, Dusk Dances, Older & Reckless, and Kaeja d’Dance’s Porch View Dances. In addition, he acts as a consultant with various arts organizations and as a mentor to many emerging artists/curators in the Tkaronto arts community.
With a bachelor’s degree in film/art history from Syracuse University in upstate New York, and professional dance training at The School of Toronto Dance Theatre, Michael now serves as President of the Board of Directors at The CanDance Network.
Barbara Kaneratonni Diabo
Co-Curator
Barbara Kaneratonni Diabo is Kanien’keha:ka (Mohawk), originally from Kahnawake. She spent much of her life growing up in the Annapolis Valley and now lives in Montreal, where she is the artistic director and choreographer for A’nó:wara Dance Theatre. Award-winning choreographer and performer for over 30 years, she creates dance pieces to bring Indigenous themes, stories, and perspectives to light. She takes pride in sharing her culture and performs across Canada and internationally. Her show, Sky Dancers, won Outstanding Touring Production in the Dora Mavor Awards 2022 and her piece My Urban Nature won Choreography of an Outdoor Show in Festival Quartiers Danses in 2019. She was also the winner of the Prix de la danse de Montréal for most notable dancer of 2021. She has been featured on several TV shows, including Revolution (TVA) and Pulse (APTN). Barbara also collaborates with several organizations with whom she helps educate populations, create “safe spaces” and support Indigenous artists around the world. As her Indigenous culture taught her, Barbara performs and creates for generations to come, to honour others, for her ancestors, for a sense of community, for those who cannot dance, to inspire, to communicate, to encourage cultural pride, and to uplift spirits.
Sheila Duggan
Communications Director
Sheila brings more than 30 years experience in marketing, communications and media relations to her work with FODAR. Sheila has consulted with public and private organizations in both urban and rural settings in Ontario and Atlantic Canada. Concentrating mainly in the culture and performing arts sectors she has worked with the Canadian Commission for UNESCO, National Arts Centre, Royal Winnipeg Ballet, SOS Children’s Villages Canada, the Capitol Theatre (Moncton NB), Atlantic Ballet Theatre of Canada, Acadia University, DMV Theatre Co-operative, Mocean Dance, Ship’s Company Theatre, and Live Art Dance. Born in Halifax, Sheila traces her family roots back to several small towns and villages in Nova Scotia’s Annapolis Valley and the South Shore.
A.J. Morra
Stage Manager
Based in Toronto, A.J. is a graduate of the Technical Theatre Program at “X” University, and has enjoyed an active career as a Technical Director, Production Manager, and Stage Manager for contemporary dance, circus, and theatre. Selected credits include three seasons with Toronto Dance Theatre, and assorted projects with Groundling Theatre Company, Zero Gravity Circus, Dreamwalker Dance Company, Kaeja d’Dance, Soundstreams, and Signal Theatre. 2024 will mark A.J.’s eighth year with the festival.
Curtis Whittaker
Technical Director
Curtis Whittaker is a technical director, scenic carpenter, sound designer, musician and visual artist who splits their time between Toronto and Nova Scotia. 2024 Marks Curtis’ 3rd year with the festival.
Selected credits include:
As a Technical Director: Sarah Porter Productions, RiserX, Theatre Gargantua, Kings Theatre, Rochester Opera House, FODAR 2021 – Present.
As Head Scenic Carpenter: Factory Theatre (2022 to present), Theatre Passe Muraille, Tapestry Opera, Lower Ossington Theatre.
As A sound Designer: Wychwood Theatre, Lower Ossington Theatre.
Head Carpenter: Frog in Hand Art Shelter Dome.
Maggie-Rene Grundy-Glynn
Festival Producer
I grew up in and live in Toronto Ontario, but had the pleasure of spending every summer in Annapolis Royal for my first 18 years. Now I scramble to make it down once a summer or at the very worst every other summer. I spent lots of time in the dance studios with the Danny Grossman Dance company mimicking everyone’s movements while playing the best hooky a young girl could ask for. As I grew up, thankfully I was never pushed into dance by my parents. I tested the waters on my own time, but quickly learned it would probably stay as kitchen activity for me. I threw myself into sports, playing hockey, soccer, volleyball, track and field, cross country, frisbee, tennis, swimming, you name it! Right out of high school, I started working in restaurants, after almost 10 years in the industry from dishwasher to managing a Michelin recommended (bib gourmand) restaurant what can’t I accomplish! I’m so happy to be working for and alongside my dad, Randy Glynn, especially for this 10 year anniversary!
MacKenzie Cornfield
Market Dances Technical Director
MacKenzie Cornfield (she/her) is a theatre artist based in K’jipuktuk/Halifax, with a focus in projection design for live performance, and additional experience as a technician, scenic painter, and lighting designer. Since graduating from the Fountain School of Performing Arts, MacKenzie has been exploring how tech and design can help us express thoughtful stories and intimate experiences, especially when supported by mindfulness and compassion. Outside of her work in live performance, MacKenzie has creative hobbies in digital art, crafting, and music-making that keep her a happy, busy bee. She has always been a big fan of movement as a form of self expression and looks forward to spending time with the creative dance community each season at FODAR. Credits and samples of her work can be found at mackenziecornfield.com.
Ryan Winstead
Assistant Stage Manager
Born in Texas but having grown up in the Annapolis Valley, Rhynn is currently a student in the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design Textiles program, with an interest in natural fibres and the agriculture and processes required to make textiles both regenerative and sustainable. Rhynn has been involved with the community theatre in Annapolis Royal for seven years, both in a technical and performance capacity, most recently portraying Caliban in A Midsummer Night’s Stroll. She has worked at the King’s Theatre as both technical and box office support, which is how she became involved with FODAR in 2022. As well as the arts, Rhynn is interested in permaculture and regenerative agriculture, and is currently working for her parents on their homestead as they attempt to revivify their local homestead with rotational grazing and perennial gardens.