Staff and Representatives

Joysanne Sidimus

Born in New York, Joysanne Sidimus trained with George Balanchine and was a dancer with the New York City Ballet. She was also a Principal Dancer with the National Ballet of Canada and Pennsylvania Ballet. After retiring from performing, she taught and staged Balanchine works for fifteen years and then founded the Dancer Transition Resource Centre, an organization created to assist dancers in making career transitions, and was its Executive Director until December 2005.She was also the founding Vice-Chair of the Artists’ Health Centre, a comprehensive medical and alternative health care centre for all creative and performing artists housed in the Toronto Western Hospital. She continues to work as a Balanchine repetiteur both in Canada and internationally.

In 2005 Ms. Sidimus was appointed to the Ontario Status of the Artist Sub-Committee. She has co-written (with Carol Anderson) Reflections in a Dancing Eye, a book on the role and value of the artist in contemporary Canadian society which was released by the Banff Centre Press in the Fall of 2006. Ms. Sidimus is the recipient of many awards and honours, including the Governor General’s Meritorious Service Medal (M.S.M.) for making a significant contribution to the cultural life of Canada in founding the Dancer Transition Resource Centre. As well, Ms. Sidimus was a recipient of the 2006 Governor General’s Performing Arts Award for Life-time Achievement. Ms. Sidimus currently acts as the Project Coordinator for the Senior Artists’ Research Project, a multi arts disciplined project undertaking the first-ever assessment of the needs and situation of senior artists in Canada.