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member of the month: May 2015

Tracey Norman, Independent Dance Artist

What style of dance do you practice? 
Contemporary Dance 

Where are you from? 
I was born and raised on a farm in Southwestern Ontario where we lived until I was 9 years old. Then we moved to London, Ontario where I lived until I moved to Toronto to attend university. 

Who inspired you to become a dance artist? If you weren't a dance artist, what would you be? 
Many impactful people along the way inspired me to become a dance artist. I started dancing later than many of my peers partly because we lived in a rural area and because I was quite busy playing sports as a child. 

My first dance teacher Laurie-Ann Graham was a big inspiration, as well as my high school dance teacher Karen Hypes. I still keep in touch with both of them. Hypes encouraged me to audition for the dance program at York University where I met many teachers who inspired me including Holly Small, Donna Krasnow and Claire Wootten, as well as peers I still collaborate with like Jesse Dell and Beth Despres. 

If I wasn't a dance artist, I might be a writer or researcher of some kind. 

Why is it important to join CADA-ON? 
I think it's important to join CADA-ON for many reasons including connecting with your community, actively attempting to be a member of an organization which advocates for artists and encourages best practices, and taking advantage of the many benefits that CADA-ON offers including the Training Subsidy Program, access to the Professional Standards for Dance, and assistance with contracts, etc. 

What is your pre-performance ritual? 
Pre-performance, I like to visualize a run-through of the piece, brush my teeth, slow my breathing by taking extended inhales and exhales but at the same time keep moving, and then right before I go onstage, I rub my hand over my heart and remind myself that the audience is there to be supportive. 

What are you listening to right now? 
I am always listening to some Hawksley Workman, but lately my adult listening has been quite limited as I have a three-month old baby, so we're listening to lots of baby tunes and they're constantly playing in my head. 

Words to live by? 
My words to live by are always changing and I just recently choreographed a piece for which I was researching tipping points and came across this quote by Malcolm Gladwell which I find inspiring: 
"Look at the world around you. It may seem like an immovable, implacable place. It is not. With the slightest push - in just the right place - it can be tipped."

Connect with Tracey! 


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