"...gender identity and dance have been woven into every chapter of my life from adolescence until now."

Sans Title
by Jamee Valin

Jamee was featured in the Etobicoke School of the Arts Summer Newsletter, where she spoke freely about her experience with gender and dance and what she sees for the future of dance education. Click here to read the full article.

‘In closing, here are some teaching tips to remove gender binaries in the classical world of ballet. Show dance works where partnering and costume is non-binary. A great example of this is Robert Binet’s ‘Orpheus Alive’ for the National Ballet of Canada in 2019. For older students, the all-male ballet / drag group Les Ballets de Trockadero de Monte Carlo, formed in 1974, is a great look at men on pointe and the politics of dance and sexuality. Ballez is a company I am currently learning about via social media and you can find articles on casting changes in traditional works in all sorts of public forums and media outlets, from Instagram to the New York Times! You can also lead dancers through explorations where they play with quality and characterizations without formal titles or genders: Giselle is a ghost or nymph, the Nutcracker is a toy soldier, Coppélia is a mechanical doll, Odette is a Swan. Let improvisations to a variety of musical scores inspire dynamics. I promise that families will be more impressed and complementary when you mindfully remove the gender/names and you allow qualitative shifts to shine through, I speak from experience!’

The performing arts instills impeccable tools in adaptability, decision making, agility, awareness, empathy and time management. I am deeply honoured to be on this journey with you, where education meets community and professional arts practices.

Meet the TRAC team:
Jamee Valin

Hi everyone, welcome to TRAC’s website! In case we haven’t met; I have been working as a dance educator, performing artist and choreographer for 10 years. In addition to the 5 years I spent at Broadway Arts Centre, I have also taught for Defy Gravity Dance Co. in Richmond, BC, City Dance Corps, Canada’s Ballet Jörgen, Durham School of Ballet and Contemporary Dance, and many more via subbing or summer workshops. I have contributed to Alberta Dance Educators Association as a Master Teacher and Dance Educators International as a Jazz Technique Syllabus consultant.

Outside of education, I work as an artistic director, adjudicator, producer, performer, and absolute dog enthusiast for my companies “Valence Movement (dance theatre)” and “Dancing Dogs- Walking Services”. I have choreographed over 40 professional dance works in the past 10 years and I have created, produced, and/or co-produced 7 professional dance productions and 2 ongoing choreographic community projects. These events have celebrated full length works, combined live music, dance and theatre with curated art exhibits, and brought together many dance artists and companies through split bills happening inside theatres, warehouses, parks, living rooms and dance studios with dancers across British Columbia and Ontario.

I attended York University and George Brown College for Dance Performance Studies, Fine Arts Cultural Studies and Business Administration. Credits as a performer include: La Scala Opera Company, Jay9 Dance Projects, Sweett Moves, The Lovers Cabaret, Give Me Brilliance, LastName FirstName Productions, I/O Movement, Cadence Ballet, Abraca-dazzle Tours, Diamond Tooth Gerties, Dreamwalker Dance Company, and Toronto Biennial. I hold Level 1 Acrobatic Arts Certification, Level 1 + 2 Conditioning with Imagery Certification and have completed teacher training in Limon Modern Technique. I have also worked as an administrator for Canada’s Ballet Jörgen in their education department and as an assistant to Bengt Jörgen. I began my career in arts administration as a work studies student with George Brown College where the college created a unique position just for me. My mentors in leadership and studio culture include: Andrea Nann, Dove Creswell, Bengt Jörgen, Clea Iveson, Rishell O’Brien, Madeleine and Rosemary Twyman and Tamara Thompson Levi.