Facilities & University Resources

The conditioning room is only open during regular office hours (8:30am to 4:30pm Monday to Friday). You can sign out a key from the Music Department’s front desk (371 ACE). (Please note that only those with proper training are permitted to use the Pilates and Gyrotonics equipment.)

The Graduate Program in Dance is located in offices on the third floor of the Accolade East Building. There is a TA office and grad student lounge, accessible by keypad codes. These offices are equipped with desks, filing cabinets, mailboxes, telephones, and computer stations.

Each graduate student has a mailbox in the Dance graduate student office/lounge (331 ACE). Be sure to check your mailbox occasionally for forms, flyers, and magazines.

Please be mindful that graduate students who are working as TA’s might occasionally need privacy in the TA Office to meet one-on-one with students.

In 2006, the Department of Dance moved into new, state-of-the-art facilities in the Accolade East Building at the heart of York's Keele campus. Dance students have access to a wide range of specialized facilities and resources including:

• The Sandra Faire and Ivan Fecan Theatre (See Performance Spaces)
• McLean Performance Studio (See Performance Spaces)
• The Grant Strate Studio
• The Walter and Robert Carsen Studio
• Five additional studios
• Conditioning room
• Physiotherapy, massage and sports medicine clinic
• Costume collection
• Dance-specific computer software and peripherals

The dance studios provide an ideal working situation in which to develop areas such as documentation, reconstruction, dance and technology, embodiment practices, and alternative dance training techniques.

Graduate students in Dance may book dance studios (rehearsal space only) at no charge. Bookings and usage are subject to the following terms: graduate students may book space, in slots of up to two hours (maximum 4 hours/week) for a two-week in advance period. Weekend studio space must be booked by Thursday of the week involved. Please make all bookings at the Music Department front desk (371 ACE). Though we will strive to avoid doing so, situations may arise that require the cancellation of studio bookings. In all such cases every attempt will be made to find alternate studio space.

Studio floors and equipment are valuable resources and expensive to repair. Please help take care of them. Only dance shoes are to be worn in the studios; street shoes and boots are not allowed. Black chairs are for performance and teaching use only. Pianos are to be used by Dance Department musicians only. The occupant who has booked studio space will be responsible for any loss or damage to the studio and equipment housed therein.

Hall lockers are available throughout AMPD (in the CFA, ACE, and CFT). They are available to all enrolled AMPD students, regardless of program or department. Lockers are rented through the AMPD Information Centre, located in the lobby of the CFA (164D). You must bring a valid YU-card to pay for the locker rental, as well as a printed timetable that shows current enrolment in an AMPD program. The fee for the locker rental must be paid via YU-card. A locker rental costs $40 and lasts for a year-long term, or $25 per term. You must provide your own lock to secure your rented locker. Please email ampdlock@yorku.ca with any questions.

The McLean Performance Studio
244 Accolade East Building - Second Floor

The McLean Performance Studio is a 90-seat, informal theatre space dedicated to dance performance. It features a dance lighting plot, sound system, and moveable black draperies.

The Sandra Faire and Ivan Fecan Theatre
Accolade East Building - Main Floor

The Sandra Faire and Ivan Fecan Theatre is a 360-seat proscenium theatre which can accommodate a variety of events such as dance, theatre, musicals, conferences, and lectures. The theatre offers generous stage, sidestage, wings and backstage space, an orchestra pit, fly system and traps, loading dock, dressing rooms, and a comprehensive array of technical equipment, with seating capacity of 325. This beautiful space is used regularly for dance, music, and theatre events.

CUPE 3903, the Canadian Union of Public Employees, Local 3903, represents contract faculty, teaching assistants (TA's), graduate assistants (GA's), and part-time librarians, and archivists at York University. Unit 1 members have a teaching contract (working as TA's) and are full-time graduate students. We recommend connecting with CUPE through their Listserv or contacting them in person or via email.

CUPE 3903 provides a Health and Benefits plan for all of its members.

PhD students working in our department as TA's are encouraged to fill out and submit a Blanket Application (TA CUPE 3903 Unit 1) to our Administrative Assistant.

YUGSA is the York University Graduate Student Association, which is dedicated to providing advocacy and support to all members across various graduate departments on York's campuses.

The YUGSA Health and Dental plan is mandatory for all full time graduate students who are not members of CUPE 3903, who are without alternate coverage (eg. through a parent or workplace), and is optional for part time students.

We are pleased to announce that we now have an active Graduate Student Association in place for the Department of Dance. This group was formed keeping all of you in mind; to build a community together and support each other. Please click here for more information about contact methods and the Board of Directors.

Your suggestions, questions, and concerns are all welcome -- we're here for you! If you have something you would like the GDA to address, drop a line to yugda.vpoperations@gmail.com or gda@yugsa.ca.

Fill out the online form to join the GDA Listserv: GDA Email List Intake

Please review the different information for Academic Accommodations and Workplace Accommodations. Those in need of academic accommodations are encouraged to contact Student Accessibility Services (SAS), and for inquiries regarding workplace accommodations, please reach out to Employee Well-Being.

Located in 202 McLaughlin College, the Career Centre has resources specifically for graduate students, such as assistance with putting together a C.V. and preparing for an academic job search.

Graduate students and faculty have access to York University computing resources. The Accolade East and West buildings feature “smart” classrooms, fully networked and set up with DVD, video, internet, and 16 mm projection. These teaching facilities provide excellent opportunities for faculty and TA's to explore new teaching technologies and pedagogies. Please visit Computing for Students for more information.

Students can print documents in a number of labs and libraries on campus. York University uses the YU-card for payment for printing and photocopying services in computer labs and libraries. Please visit York University Libraries page on Printing.

Co-operative, sustainable food. The mission of the York University Faculty-Graduate Student Co-operative et al. is to provide food and beverage services to its members, as well as a location for social interaction and intellectual engagement. In offering these services, the Co-operative will prioritize healthy and sustainable food and beverage options and the provision of experiential education opportunities for students.

Located at South Ross 166, for inquires please contact etal.coop@gmail.com.

Graduate students can book the Conference Room (Student Centre 430) or OverGrad (Ross S167) for socials, meetings, presentations, yoga, game nights, and more. The rooms' availability can be checked via the calendar at www.yugsa.ca. To make a booking, or for more information, contact (416)736-5865 or gsa@yorku.ca.

YUGSA Space Usage Policy

Book the Conference Room

Book the OverGrad Café

The Graduate Programs in Dance and Dance Studies are well supported by York University Libraries through its collections, services, and librarian expertise. Housed in five buildings, York’s collections have more than 6.5 million items, 150,000 E-books and 20,000 online journals. Our world-class libraries provide rich collections, value-added services, excellent librarians, and knowledgeable helpful staff who have developed a series of library research workshops, specifically designed for graduate students to help them meet the challenges of today’s complex world of information.

York's Keele campus has four main libraries. The Scott Library is located in Central Square, which also houses the Clara Thomas Archives & Special Collections, the Sound & Moving Image Library (SMIL), and the Graduate Reading Room (rm#409) for which you need a code to enter. The Steacie Science & Engineering Library is located at 140 Campus Walk, the Peter F. Bronfman Business Library is on the second floor of the Schulich School of Business, and the Osgoode Hall Law School Library is located in the Kaneff Building. The bilingual Glendon campus at Bayview and Lawrence houses the Leslie Frost Library.

Our graduate programs benefit from the wealth of material in the Sound and Moving Image Library. The video collection, one of the largest in Canada, includes items such as the archival video documentation from the George Balanchine Foundation, the American Dance Festival, and the American Dance Legacy Institute. The Clara Thomas Archives and Special Collections provide unique opportunities for original research as doctoral students explore papers of significant Canadian individuals and organizations such as the Danny Grossman Dance Company, the Toronto Dance Theatre, the Dance Umbrella of Ontario, the Canadian Association for Professional Dance Organizations, and Rhombus Media.

York's libraries offer research skills workshops, online tutorials, guest lectures and workshops, "Ask A Librarian" chat reference, interlibrary loans, and RefWorks, a Web-based bibliographic citation software.

Visit York’s Libraries to learn more

Passport York is York’s primary method of online authentication – You must sign up for your Passport York username and password to log in to York’s online services for students. While at York, students can have the same Passport York username throughout their academic period.

Enhance your interdisciplinary education with opportunities to participate in collaborative research. York University is the leading interdisciplinary research and teaching university in Canada. Working across disciplines and with global partners, we develop ideas and connect with policymakers and practitioners to create meaningful change and a more globally competitive Canada. As a graduate student, you will benefit from York's 24 research centres and institutes, which provide outstanding research opportunities to supplement your academic program

Visit the York Research website to learn more.

To address the discipline specific needs of dance graduate students, AMPD has funded the creation of Sensorium: Centre for Digital Arts and Technology, where students can gain access to the hardware and software critical to their unique fields of study, reflecting current professional practice. Located in the Goldfarb Centre for Fine Arts, the lab is intended to be a flexible, multi-use, multi-format environment to support current needs and to remain compatible and relevant as technologies and artistic practices develop.

GradConnect Wellness Services provide mental health and wellness resources specifically to York’s graduate student population. They offer one-on-one confidential consultation sessions, workshops, and emergency contacts. Particularly beneficial for graduate students are Wellness Consultations, which are short meetings that provide a starting point for students seeking to enhance their personal mental health or well-being. They are education and support-based and offered by a mental health professional. Meetings are confidential and typically last between 45-60 minutes.

The YU-card is York University's official photo identification and campus debit card -- it's the one card you need to access key services such as the Library, recreation facilities, exams, food, meal plans, shopping, events, discounts and more.