The Canada Council for the Arts has made two appointments that will be important to the dance community. Anne Valois, former head of the Dance Section, has been named director of Arts Disciplines Division, and Caroline Lussier, departing administrative director of the Festival TransAmériques (FTA), has been appointed head of the Dance Section. Both women bring extensive knowledge of the Canadian dance community to their new roles. Valois’ early career included administrative work with Montréal companies Le Groupe de la Place Royale and La La La Human Steps; she was also executive director of the Festival international de nouvelle danse. She acted as a consultant with the arts councils of both Québec and Ontario. Her first role at the Canada Council was as dance and theatre officer for the Touring Office in 1986. She was made head of the Touring Office in 1990 and of the Strategic Initiatives Unit in 1991. She became head of the Dance Section in 1997 and in her capacity there has worked with the section’s officers to evolve granting programs to reflect changes in the dance scene itself. Like Valois, Lussier has also worked for La La La Human Steps; she then became assistant director of Diagramme gestion culturelle, which provides administrative services to dance artists and companies in Montréal. She has also worked as a program officer for the Conseil des arts et des lettres du Québec, as administrative director of Compagnie Marie Chouinard, and has been with FTA since 2007.
