Penny Couchie has received the K.M. Hunter Artist Award for Dance, one of six artistic awards that recognize Ontario residents in different disciplines for their original artistic voice within an artistic tradition. She is co-artistic director of Aanmitaagzi Collective, an artistic group born out of the Nipissing First Nation in 2008. Couchie, along with the other recipients, was awarded the $8000 prize by K.M. Hunter Charitable Foundation at the end of May.
Montréal dance artist Marie Chouinard was awarded the Governor General’s Performing Arts Award for Lifetime Artistic Achievement, Canada’s highest tribute to a performing artist, on June 10th. The award recognizes five Canadian artists annually and includes a $25,000 cash prize and commemorative medallion. Chouinard received the award at Rideau Hall by the Governor General of Canada, the Right Honourable David Johnston.
Vancouver choreographer Karen Jamieson received the 2016 Scotiabank Dance Centre’s Isadora Award for Excellence in Dance for her achievements as a community-engaged dance artist and choreographer. Recipients are chosen by an independent jury and receive rehearsal space at The Dance Centre to the value of $1000, and $500 cash. Previous recipients of the award, named after dance pioneer Isadora Duncan, have included Jennifer Mascall, Peter Bingham, Chick Snipper, Crystal Pite, Susan Elliott, Joe Laughlin, Wen Wei Wang, Judith Garay, Lee Su-Feh and Paras Terezakis.
Allen Kaeja was awarded the 2016/17 Kathryn Ash Choreographic Commission from The School of Toronto Dance Theatre. Kaeja is co-artistic director of Toronto dance company Kaeja d’Dance and will choreograph a new work for next year’s graduating students. Kathryn Ash was on the school’s board of directors for eighteen years, and the award reflects her commitment to the areas of scholarship, leadership and creation. The award is reserved for alumni. 
School of Toronto Dance Theatre graduates Hilary Knee and Jake Ramos are this year’s recipients of the Sharon Moore Solo Project. The award gives students the opportunity to work with Sharon Moore and have her create a new work for them through a two-to-four-week process to help launch their career.
Ashima Suri won the Established Dance Arts award from the Mississuaga Arts Councl MARTYS awards for 2016 on May 19. The MARTYS have been recognizing excellence in the arts community of Mississuaga since 1994, hosting an annual event with live performance and presenting awards recipients $1,000 cash each.
Jenn Goodwin is the recipient of the 2016 Reesa Greenberg Curatorial Studies Award. The award, valued at $5,000, acknowledges exceptional work by a student in the first semester of Graduate Studies at the University of Toronto. Goodwin is currently working on Graduate Studies with a focus on Curatorial Studies.
Dance artist Benjamin Kamino won the 2016 Emerging Artist Award from Toronto Arts Foundation. He received $1,000 and a commemorative plate designed by internationally renowned Toronto artist Stephen Andrews. 
George Randolph won the Toronto Alliance for the Performing Arts’ (TAPA) Barbara Hamilton Memorial Award for his over thirty year contribution to the arts in Canada. The award recognizes artists who demonstrate excellence in the performing arts, awarding a cheque of $1,500 and a scroll from the City of Toronto.
David Norsworthy has won the 2016 Ron Lenyk Inspiring Youth Arts Award from the Mississuaga Living Arts Centre. Norsworthy is a Mississuaga-born dance artist who attended Cawthra Park Secondary School’s Drama Program who went on to study in New York at The Julliard School and is now artistic executive director of Toes for Dance.
Royal Winnipeg Ballet (RWB) corps de ballet dancer Yoshiko Kamikusa placed third at the 2016 Helsinki International Ballet Competition on June 2. For her achievement she was awarded 3,500 Euros and international recognition. The Tokyo-born dancer joined RWB in 2014 and has performed in numerous leading roles such as Odette (Swan Lake), Clara (Nutcracker), Puck (The Faerie Queen), and Niska (Going Home Star – Truth and Reconciliation).
