Citadel Dance Exchange

In collaboration with The National Ballet of Canada’s Creative Action Programme

Artists in rehearsal

A joint initiative from Citadel + Compagnie and The National Ballet of Canada’s Creative Action programme, Citadel Dance Exchange is seeking proposals from local professional dance artists for new works to be developed and brought to the stage.

Applications are now open. The submission deadline is August 28th, 2025. 

What is Citadel Dance Exchange?

Citadel Dance Exchange a two-week celebration of dance that brings together artists from Toronto and Montréal to facilitate interprovincial dialogue in dance. Launched in 2023, Citadel Dance Exchange will feature new works by Toronto-based artists, alongside works by Montréal-based artists invited by Citadel + Compagnie, and will be presented at The Citadel: Ross Centre for Dance, April 8 – 18, 2026.

This call is open to Toronto-based artists at all stages of their careers and aims to support artists, companies or collectives who are presenting new works. We are eager to support early-career artists, people trying something new in their artistic practice or artists in new collaborations. We are looking for projects or ideas that have already been through an initial period of research and are ready to be developed further for public presentation. If you think the resources made available through this programme would support you in taking the next step in your artistic development, please apply. Four projects will be selected.

Selections will be made by The National Ballet’s Open Space Selection Committee and evaluated based on artistic merit, originality and viability within a multi-artist event. The committee will look at applications in relation to one another with a curatorial approach.

The Committee

Alyssa Martin, Artistic Producer, Creative Action, The National Ballet of Canada

Andrea Nann, dance artist and founder of Dreamwalker Dance Company

Baffour Kwasi Obeng-Adjei, multidisciplinary artist, choreographer and educator

Sierra Chin Sawdy, independent dance artist and programs coordinator, Citadel + Compagnie

Emerging Lighting Designers Initiative

The National Ballet of Canada’s Creative Action programme is seeking one emerging professional lighting designer to work on Citadel Dance Exchange as well as YOU dance programming. 

Citadel Dance Exchange is a two-week celebration of dance that brings together artists from Toronto and Montréal to facilitate interprovincial dialogue in dance. Launched in 2023, Citadel Dance Exchange will feature new works by Toronto-based artists, alongside works by Montréal-based artists invited by Citadel + Compagnie, and will be presented at The Citadel: Ross Centre for Dance, April 8 – 18, 2026.

The emerging lighting designer will be responsible for designing the four selected Toronto works on the programme.

YOU dance (Youth, Outreach and Understanding Dance) was created in 2007. The FREE programme is designed to inspire elementary students, foster a deeper connection to the arts, captivate and enrich imaginations and encourage them to explore the world through dance. YOU dance is The National Ballet of Canada's signature community engagement initiative and reaches a growing range of students from various communities across Canada. 

The emerging lighting designer will assist Lighting Director Jeff Logue in realizing the designs for the repertoire and new work on the programme.