Fall for Dance North anniversary feature: With Ilter Ibrahimof, Lily Sutherland, and Robert Binet

About Ilter Ibrahimof:

Ilter Ibrahimof is the co-founder and Artistic Director of Fall for Dance North, Toronto’s Premier International Dance Festival. Born and raised in Istanbul, Turkey, Ilter moved to North America in 1998, first to attend Emerson College in Boston and then living and working in New York City and Montréal before settling in Toronto. As a creative mind in the dance field, Ilter is regularly invited to participate in various festivals and conferences in Canada and around the globe as a curator and speaker. In 2020, Dance Collection Danse Hall of Fame awarded Ilter the Sandra Faire Next Generation Award.

 

About Lily Sutherland:

Lily Sutherland is a dynamic and visionary dance producer and programmer with over a decade of experience leading creative teams, developing innovative artistic concepts, and delivering exceptional programs. Lily has held a range of dynamic positions for dance and theatre festivals in Canada, including Luminato, The Toronto Fringe Festival and The Hamilton Festival Theatre Company. Lily has been with FFDN since 2018, having held various leadership roles, most recently serving as Executive Producer where she was responsible for developing and overseeing delivery of all festival programming.

Lily holds a B.A. in Theatre from the University of Ottawa (2014) and has studied Clown and Le Jeu at Ecole Philippe Gaulier in Paris, France (2017). She is a practicing artist, having created and produced seven original works and toured nationally with indie theatre company Passing Through Theatre (co-founded in 2015). Her artistic work has been commissioned and presented by festivals such as In The Soil, Frost Bites and Forward March/Theatre Direct, among others.

In 2022 Lily was selected to participate in the Atelier for Young Festival Managers in Montreal (The Festival Academy/FTA), and as of 2023, is a proud Board Member of O.Dela Arts/Matriarchs Uprising Festival, which supports the creation and production of contemporary Indigenous choreography by women.

 

About Robert Binet:

Robert Binet is a choreographer, curator and leader and has created works for The National Ballet of Canada, The Royal Ballet, The New York City Ballet and more. Robert was Choreographic Associate with The National Ballet of Canada from 2013-2024 and created 16 works for the company, including The Dreamers Ever Leave You, an immersive ballet first performed at the Art Gallery of Ontario and later toured within Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom and Germany, and the original choreography for Karen Kain’s Swan Lake. Robert’s most recent creation was Dark with Excessive Bright for The Royal Ballet which was hailed as ‘intoxicating’ by The Times.

Robert also served as Director of Artist Development Programmes for the National Ballet and created the Creative Action program which supported the development of over 200 new works by Canadian choreographers from 2018-2024. Robert created Sharing the Stage which built new audiences for dance in Toronto and led the company’s Apprentice Programme. In 2023, Robert was the Choreographic Mentor at the Venice Biennale College Danza and guest curator for the Dance: Made in Canada festival. In the same year, Robert received the Sandra Faire Next Generation Award from Dance Collection Danse, awarded to an individual under 40 who is making a significant impact on dance in Canada.