Fall for Dance North (FFDN), Toronto’s premier international dance festival, announces its 10th anniversary celebration, featuring an exhilarating line-up of established and emerging dancemakers across many of Toronto’s most iconic venues, from Sep. 26 to Oct. 6, 2024. FFDN’s 2024 program spotlights an expanded number of full-length presentations, including a rare Toronto appearance by Company Wayne McGregor with the Canadian premiere of venerated British choreographer Wayne McGregor’s Autobiography, a world premiere by Ballet Edmonton of a large ensemble work by Montreal’s Anne Plamondon, and world premieres from Canada’s Alyssa Martin, Travis Knights and Lisa LaTouche, and an Ontario premiere by Guillaume Côté.

The milestone season also features the mainstage return of The National Ballet of Canada and the first in-person festival appearance by Cuba’s Malpaso Dance Company; an expanded Tkaronto Open II presented at Union Station; the FFDN debut of Ontario’s Propeller Dance, in partnership with The Disability Collective; and the debut of an international industry platform, in partnership with dance organizations from across Canada.

“As we imagined our 10th anniversary season – and as I personally prepared to pass the torch to new leadership – we wanted this milestone festival to not only look back and celebrate the incredible accomplishments of FFDN’s first decade, but act as a launchpad for its exciting next chapters,” says FFDN Artistic Director Ilter Ibrahimof. “Since 2015, we have brought more than 30 genres and cultural forms of dance to the FFDN stage. We have been the first to host some of the brightest stars of the global dance scene, while also giving a platform and opportunity to diverse homegrown talent who are ready to take the next strides in their creative and professional development. As I look back on this time, perhaps the greatest accomplishment has been building a community of tens of thousands of audience members, fulfilling our promise and purpose that dance is accessible, universal, and has a place in all our lives.”

FFDN 2024 will kick off with Homecoming: 2024 Signature Programme on Sep. 26 & 27, at The Creative School Chrysalis. The exhilarating evening of dance will feature The National Ballet of Canada in islands by Emma Portner; Cuba’s Malpaso Dance Company, featuring guests from TMU School of Performance, in The Last Song by Malpaso co-founder and choreographer Daileidys Carrazana; and the world premiere of a new creation on Ballet Edmonton by Anne Plamondon.

Distinguishing the 10th anniversary from previous outings, the festival will spotlight a greater number of full-length works, including the Canadian premiere of Autobiography by Wayne McGregor with Company Wayne McGregor (Oct. 1 & 2); the world premiere of Big Time Miss by Alyssa Martin with Rock Bottom Movement (Oct. 2-5); the world premiere of The Mars Project by Travis Knights & Lisa LaTouche with Tap Love Tour (Oct. 4-6); and the Ontario premiere of Burn Baby, Burn by Guillaume Côté with Côté Danse. Making their FFDN debut, Ottawa’s Propeller Dance will also be on the festival program with the Toronto premiere of ‘Waiting in the wings no more’ (Oct. 4-6). Once again, FFDN will partner with Citadel + Compagnie on the late night series Night/Shift (Oct. 3-5), now in its 6th edition.

In addition to live performance, FFDN continues to host an array of eclectic programming that relates to and informs its on-stage offerings. FFDN’s third edition of its curated short dance film series 8-Count will return on Sep. 29 at the Paradise Theatre, as well as the festival’s second edition of its Indigenous dance competition, Tkaronto Open II, on Sept. 28, co-presented with Union Station, and expanded to feature two categories: Men’s Fancy War vs. Women’s Fancy Shawl and Women’s Jingle Dress.

As a recognized champion of emerging artists, FFDN will partner with dance organizations from Toronto and across Canada to host a large-scale industry series – the International Presenters Program (IPP) – from Oct. 2-6, that highlights the vibrancy of tour-ready Canadian work. The five-day showcase platform will connect Canadian dancemakers from across numerous dance disciplines and genres with theatre booking agents, festival organizers, and Canadian and international programmers for discovery and bookings. Canada’s network of dance presenters, CanDance, will host its annual national conference alongside the IPP and FFDN, further leveraging global attention for the Canadian dance industry.

A variety of free in-person and digital ancillary events will be offered throughout the festival and announced at a later date.

Single tickets and festival packages are now available at www.ffdnorth.com. Single tickets are priced at $25 + service fees. Two 2024 Festival Packages are offered: the SUPERFAN package, which includes six mainstage presentations, and the opportunity to add Propeller Dance’s premiere, begins at $90 + service fees (40% off regular price); the FLEX package offers 20% off the single ticket price when you purchase tickets to two or more shows.

For FFDN ticketing and package information, please visit: www.ffdnorth.com.