Faculty

HELEN JONES

BSc (Toronto)
Course Director: Modern Dance
Department of Dance, York University

Helen Jones first studied ballet in her native Wales and was accepted to London's Royal Ballet School at the age of ten. As a young professional dancer in London, she performed with emerging British choreographers including Richard Alston, and also worked in experimental theatre. She trained with American dancer/choreographer Robert Cohan at the newly formed London Contemporary Dance Theatre and in 1970 was invited to join Canada's foremost modern company, Toronto Dance Theatre, directed by choreographers Patricia Beatty, David Earle, and Peter Randazzo. She became a featured artist with TDT, performing across Canada, the USA and Europe.

Helen Jones went on to dance as a soloist in the company of Canadian choreographer Robert Desrosiers, performed in works for television, film and stage, and collaborated with performance artists including Elizabeth Chitty and Margaret Dragu. Internationally, she danced as a guest artist with companies and choreographers in Brussels, Rome and New York. As a member of the Martha Graham Dance Company, she appeared on Broadway and at the Metropolitan Opera House, and toured extensively. Her recent performances in Ontario include choreography by Peggy Baker, David Earle and Terrill Maguire.

Helen Jones holds a Diploma in Adult Training and Development from the Ontario Institute of Studies in Education. Recent professional development studies include pedagogy at the National Ballet School of Canada, workshops with Stephanie Skura (Skinner Releasing) and Irene Dowd (functional anatomy for dance).

Helen Jones has taught at the Martha Graham Center for Contemporary Dance and at schools and universities in the USA, Europe and Canada. As well as York University, she currently teaches at the School of Toronto Dance Theatre, Dancetheatre David Earle and Ballet Creole, and is a visiting artist at the Claude Watson High School for the Arts in Toronto. She also runs a dance program for children and adults in rural Grey County.