▲ Dawn Dames, Associate Artistic Director
▲ Francesca Perez, Director of Arts Education and Heritage
was a role in its 2014 Cinderella Christmas pantos. From there, she moved into dance education and then into her current “dream job” which encompasses both directing and choreography with the “best theatre team anyone could ask for.” As a young black woman and new Canadian, Dames says people have sometimes doubted her, but she has always felt protected and valued by the Centre. “That is what is rewarding about this job,” she says. “When you experience that type of discrimination, but you are surrounded by allies … it doesn’t feel like work; it feels like a home away from home.” Francesca Perez also began her career as a performer. Having trained as a classical musician, she sang professionally but soon realized that her passion was in “making the arts accessible for everyone.” With a
music degree from McGill University and a Master of Performing Arts Administration from New York University, she moved from the stage to the office, working with the Canadian Opera Company and Tafelmusik before joining the Centre as Director of Arts Education and Heritage. She feels very lucky to be part of the Centre and is particularly proud of its Inclusive Dance Program, which provides a safe and welcoming space for dancers of all abilities. She concedes that it can be difficult to balance the Centre’s dual identities of national monument and “beloved local institution,” but Perez says that tension is also the most rewarding part of her job: “Either way, the outcome is having as many Canadians as possible see themselves in the work that I do … There is no better reward than that.”
CONFEDERATION CENTRE OF THE ARTS
145 Richmond Street, Charlottetown 902.628.1864
info@confederationcentre.com www.confederationcentre.com
SPRING 2023 www.pei-living.ca
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