Uplifting Contemporary Dance For Everyone

New Dance Horizons (NDH) is a Regina-based not-for-profit organization that since 1986, has presented local and internationally acclaimed dance shows, produced original works, and organized activities that engage both the dance community and the general public.

NDH plays a distinctive and integral role in developing and strengthening the dance community in Saskatchewan. In addition to performance presentation, NDH offers courses, workshops and lectures with guest artists and community events. Thanks to the bold artistic vision and community engagement of acclaimed Canadian artist and co-founder Robin Poitras, NDH has become nationally recognized as a champion of creative dance. NDH offers adventurous and ever-changing dance encounters for everyone.

“Contemporary dance develops new vocabularies to relate realities and fantasies. This season’s presentations feature remarkable works by highly original artists, offering a feast of dance encounters and joyously festive events. I invite you to join us in an adventurous season of moving art!”

               – Robin Poitras C.M., Artistic and Managing Director and Co-founder of New Dance Horizons

BIOGRAPHY of Robin Poitras C.M.
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Robin Poitras C.M. is one of Saskatchewan’s most prolific dance and performance creators. Creating dance, performance and installation works, she has been actively engaged in contemporary dance practice since the early 80s. For many years Robin has traversed the formal worlds of dance and performance art. She co-founded New Dance Horizons in 1986, with Dianne Fraser where she continues to act as Artistic Director. With an interest in research into diverse fields of artistic and somatic practice she has developed a unique interdisciplinary approach. Robin’s works have been presented across Canada, in Spain, France, Germany, Mongolia and Mexico. She is a recipient of the 2022 Queen Elizabeth II Platinum Jubilee Medal, 2021 recipient of the Order of Canada, 2016 Lieutenant Governor’s Lifetime Achievement Award, the 2006 Mayor’s Awards for Business & The Arts’ Lifetime Achievement Award, and the 2004 Women of Distinction Award for the Arts.

About Robin’s creative process:
My practice is rooted in a physical world comprised of choreography, dancing and actions/acts. My performance works often involve the use of found or formed objects, texts, images, sound and/or other media. I am curious about relationships and resonance among the worlds of art, science and nature and in exploring how these worlds feed back and forth in mythical, mysterious, elusive and sometimes obvious ways.

BIOGRAPHY of Edward Poitras

Edward Poitras was born in 1953 in Regina, Saskatchewan and is a member of the Gordon First Nation. He studied with Sarain Stump at the Saskatchewan Indian Cultural College in Saskatoon (1974) and then with Mexican Aboriginal artist Domingo Cisneros at Manitou College in La Macaza, Quebec (1975-1976). Poitras then became an instructor himself, teaching at the Saskatchewan Indian Federated College in Saskatoon (1976-1978), the University of Manitoba (1978) and the Saskatchewan Indian Federated College at the University of Regina (1981-1984, 1989-1990, now First Nations University of Canada). Poitras has also worked as a graphic artist for New Breed magazine (1984-1985).

Poitras's mixed-media sculptures and installations combine a variety of natural and human-made elements. His work explores themes including history, treaties, the effects of colonialism, and life in urban spaces and on the reserve.

Poitras's work has been exhibited in solo and group shows across the country and in the United States and Finland, and has been included in nearly every major contemporary Aboriginal exhibition since 1980. In 1995, Poitras became the first Aboriginal artist to represent Canada at the Venice Biennale. A 2002 exhibition organized by Saskatoon's Mendel Art Gallery, “Qu'Appelle: Tales of Two Valleys,” included many of his recent works.
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Poitras's work is part of the collections of the Canadian Museum of Civilization (Hull, Quebec), Mendel Art Gallery (Saskatoon), Saskatchewan Arts Board, MacKenzie Art Gallery (Regina), Thunder Bay Art Gallery, and the Department of Indian and Northern Affairs, among others. In 2002, Poitras was awarded the Governor General’s Award in Visual and Media Arts. In November 2020, Edward joined Robin Poitras C.M. as the Co-Artistic Director of New Dance Horizons.

Administration

Caitlin Coflin
Marketing & Production Coordinator

BIOGRAPHY for Caitlin Coflin

Caitlin Coflin is a dancer, dance teacher, and Somatic Movement Educator (SME) in Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada. Caitlin completed her post-secondary training in Winnipeg, Manitoba and received her BA Honours in Dance from the University of Winnipeg in affiliation with the Professional Program of the School of Contemporary Dancers in 2010. She has studied with Bill
Evans numerous times at the Bill Evans’ Teacher Institutes where she developed an interest in Bartenieff Fundamentals and Laban Movement Analysis. In 2020, Caitlin completed her training to become a Laban/Bartenieff Movement Analyst and Somatic Practitioner (CMA-SP).
 
Since 2010 Caitlin has been a member of the teaching staff at Youth Ballet of Saskatchewan and teaches through New Dance Horizons’ Dance Core classes, where she integrates Somatics and Laban/Bartenieff Movement Analysis into Modern Dance classes. Caitlin has danced professionally with Robin Poitras' company Rouge-Gorge and with Connie Moker Wernikowski, and has been given many opportunities to present her own work through New Dance Horizons.
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Board Of Directors

Robert Byers
Board Chair

​Robert Byers is President & Chief Executive Officer of Namerind Housing Corporation, a not-for-profit Indigenous housing provider in Regina, Saskatchewan. Namerind’s mission is to provide safe, affordable, quality housing and economic development opportunities for Indigenous people in Regina, Saskatchewan. Under Robert’s leadership, Namerind has grown from a traditional Indigenous housing provider to a national model, diversifying revenue streams for innovative affordable housing. The organization is fully self-sustained by social enterprises and no longer has the need to depend on government funding. Namerind is also one of three organizations in Canada collaborating as the Reaching Home Community Entity for both Indigenous Homelessness and Designated Communities funding streams. Robert has also been an Executive Board member for the Canadian Housing and Renewal Association (CHRA), the former Chair of the Indigenous Caucus for CHRA, member on the Board of Trustees for the Mackenzie Art Gallery, Board Member for New Dance Horizons, the Chair of the committee responsible for Regina’s Plan to End Homelessness and a founder of Reconciliation Regina.

Lori Ireland
Treasurer

​I am a Certified Professional Accountant and am currently employed as the Chief Financial Officer for AGT Food and Ingredients Inc. AGT owns processing plants in Canada, the U.S., Australia and Turkey, as well as distribution facilities in China and South Africa. In addition, AGT has merchandising offices in the UK, Netherlands, Spain, India and China. AGT grew quite quickly, from a private company in 2001, shipping out our first container of lentils in 2003, to an Income Trust in 2007 and finally to a publicly traded company listed on the TSX in 2009. In 2019 management successfully bid to take the company private again. As the Chief Financial Officer for AGT, I am responsible for financial oversight and risk management. Through the rapid growth of AGT I led my team in the development of controls as well as the development of financial and management reporting packages. In addition, my team and I are responsible for the successful integration of acquisitions and ensuring that financial systems and accounting policies are in line with AGT’s policies and practices. As the second employee in a start-up company I had the opportunity to develop systems from the ground up. I recognize that in the grain industry, it is imperative to have the ability to track transactions in real time and that these transactions must be linked to the general ledger. I worked hand in hand with a software company to develop a fully integrated system and received a Laureate from Computerworld Magazine in 2005. As the company continues to grow, I oversee ongoing enhancements and changes to our software to ensure the integrity of our information. AGT has approximately 2700 employees globally, with our head office located in Regina. Many corporate functions are centrally controlled and fall within my area of oversight and responsibility.

Dr. Kathleen O'Reilly
Member

I have been on the Board of New Dance Horizons for the past 3 years. Previously I have served on several boards including the Regina Humane Society, Planned Parenthood, and the Regina Board of Education. I received my PhD from McGill University, and I am a teacher educator and the Indigenous Education Graduate Studies coordinator at First Nations University of Canada, University of Regina. I teach a variety of classes, including research with Indigenous Peoples, literacy, justice studies and anti-racist education. I recently co-authored the award-wining children’s book, Grandfather’s Reminder, done in conjunction with Touchwood Hills Tribal Agency Elders, Knowledge Keepers community members and academics. The book is written in Cree, Saulteaux and English. I believe that dance is part of who we all are. Since our first murmurings in our mothers’ wombs, we have always danced. No matter how we move, and who or what moves us, dance can help us see ourselves as we are, and as we want to be. Dance tells our stories of love, longing, sorrow, anger, hope, and joy. Dance is an outward expression of our hearts, our spirits and our souls.

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Brigitte Hagues
​Member

I landed in Canada 50 years ago this year. I was on my way to a city I knew nothing about, apart from the fact that there was a Mounted Police Academy, according to some tourism magazines I had read. As part of the requirements for my degree at home, I was going to spend 2 semesters as an 'assistante' in the French Department of the University of Regina, a position similar to the one I already had in Edinburgh a few years before and which I had found interesting. You get enough free time (and money) to discover a province without feeling like a tourist. In the 70's, Regina had a strong art community. I am not an artist but I need art. I ended up spending 37 years at the U of R, teaching French grammar, culture, cinema and translation, as needed. I am now working as a freelance English to French translator. I am a certified member of CTTIC. This will be my second time as a board member for New Dance Horizons.​

Nimone Campbell
​Member

​Nimone Campbell attended University of Regina briefly, before gaining her Bachelor of Applied Science in Occupational & Environmental Health at Ryerson University in Toronto, Ontario. She has been employed with the Saskatchewan Health Authority as a certified Public Health Inspector for the past 16 years, and is also the Board of Certification Exam Coordinator for her professional organization, the Canadian Institute of Public Health Inspectors of Canada (CIPHI). She is tasked with coordinating provincial examinations for graduating candidates wishing to be certified (and employed) as a Public Health Inspector in Canada. Nimone’s volunteer experience began at a young age as a youth dancer with the Caribe Folk Arts Dance Troupe (CFADT). CFADT is a youth based dance group under the Saskatchewan Caribbean-Canadian Association (SCCA). After graduating from Ryerson University, she returned home and soon became involved with the CFADT again. She has been the dance coordinator for the CFADT since 2007. Nimone sat on the Board of Directors for the Moose Jaw College Daycare Board of Directors from 2005-2014. Nimone’s positions included Member-at-Large, Secretary and Treasurer. She was also the treasurer from 2017-2019 on the Voyage Quebec ’19 Board; a parent board in charge of raising funds and coordinating the bi-annual grade 7 and 8 trip for French students. Since 2015, She has had various positions on the SCCA Board of Executives including memberat-large, membership coordinator and VP of Finance. Nimone is currently in her second term as President of the SCCA. 

Ladd Fogarty
Member

Ladd taught high school visual art at Scott and Campbell Collegiate, retiring in 2013 after 32 years. He has been a practicing visual artist for many years spending most of the past 12 years focusing his energy on the art of woodturning.  As a teacher Ladd attributed his success with students to his ability as a listener and a helper. He assisted students in discovering their potential by helping them  realize there are no mistakes in art only adaptations while engaged in the process, as it is in life. 

As an artist Ladd has applied this characteristic of “helper” by donating several works of art over the years to fundraising events for programs such as Shelters for women and children, victims of domestic violence, realizing a total dollar amount acquired through these donations to be well over $100,000. 

Ladd served on the Board of Directors for Namerind Housing Corporation for 7 years where he contributed as a member of the team offering resources and a point of view he had developed over the course of his career as a teacher/helper. 

​As an advocate for artistic development in all genres, of all ages and abilities, Ladd looks forward to continuing his role as “helper” with New Dance Horizons.

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Cristina Torres de la Hoz
Member
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I came to Canada from Chile in 1978 along with my husband and our baby. We were lucky to be welcomed by members of the international solidarity groups and to the arts community in Saskatoon, many of whom became lifetime friends. After about four years of menial jobs and learning English, I felt confident enough to go back to university to complete my education degree. I was admitted to the University of Saskatchewan where I discovered my love for the French language.  
I became a French Immersion school teacher, and also taught Spanish conversation classes to English and French speakers.  As a certified translator, I have volunteered my help to the elderly in my community and I was the president of ATIS, (Association of Translators of Saskatchewan) in Regina for two terms. I started my university Spanish teaching career at the U of S. I moved to Regina in 2002 to teach at the U of R where I also obtained my MEd.  
Through my life, have been drawn to many art forms. I have practiced several crafts, including pottery, collage, and origami, among others. I have also kept a continued yoga practice and I have learned new body practices through NDH. Now that I am retired, I am glad to have more leisure time to read, go to events, and to enjoy and contribute to the Art scene in Regina.