Professor Laura Levin is creating powerful learning opportunities that go far beyond the classroom. From residencies in Costa Rica to collaborative projects with artists and activists from across the Americas, her work helps students explore how art can build community and respond meaningfully to global challenges.
Many productions that begin in the classrooms and theatres of AMPD don’t end there—they go on to captivate audiences across Canada and beyond. The Department of Theatre, Dance & Performance has a history of nurturing student-led productions that go on to thrive at national and international stages.
Developed by Computational Arts Professor Shital Desai, 'Life-centred Futures: Sustainability, Interaction Design and AI' brings together students from digital media, theatre, economics and design to tackle complex global challenges. By integrating diverse perspectives, the course fosters innovative and regenerative solutions.
AMPD professor Ian Garrett in the Department of Theatre, Dance, and Performance Studies is the lighting designer for The Pocket Park Kids, a new environmentally conscious play running February 23 to March 16 at Theatre Row. He also recently co-directed Celebrating Climate Theatre in NYC, an event dedicated to sustainable performance practices, which took place on March 1.
With fresh creative direction, the resident dance company of York University’s School of the Arts, Media, Performance and Design (AMPD) is pushing boundaries, asking urgent questions about presence, identity and the evolving landscape of movement.
As we look back on 2024, we want to take a moment to celebrate some of the incredible achievements of AMPD alumni this year.
This November, Keira Loughran, assistant professor in the Theatre program at York University’s School of the Arts, Media, Performance and Design (AMPD), will make her cinematic directorial debut in a documentary film with the premiere of Exclusion: Beyond the Silence, at the Reel Asian Film Festival.
York University’s School of the Arts, Media, Performance & Design (AMPD) had a notable presence at the Prague Quadrennia’s 2024 Technology Symposium, an international event that bought together performance designers, scenographers, artists and researchers from across the globe.
When Amanda Cordner (BA ’11) wasn’t in class at York earning a degree in theatre, the actor-playwright-director-singer-dancer had a rousing side hustle. Cordner energized stadiums as a varsity event host, building skills that would later fuel a bold and dynamic career.
Collette Murray, a dance artist-scholar and York University PhD student in dance studies, is innovating what dance is, where it can be performed, and how it can promote decolonization, anti-racism and inclusivity.