Dasein Dance Theatre was founded in 2011 by Lacey Smith, who started the company as a creative platform to create and perform in London, Ontario. Since then, Dasein has expanded its vision and currently operates out of both Toronto and London. This year we removed ‘Theatre’ from our name to include all of our activities under one identity. Now, at Dasein Dance, we are proud to unite the creative work we do with our professional and young companies with our training programs and workshops. Together these branches create a sustainable artistic environment that is developed on the foundation of a collective creative structure.

Our vision is to bring love and a sense of community to everything we do
• To create, teach, learn and share with compassion
• To create a space for artists both aspiring and professional and their communities
to share and hold space for one another to process, heal, grow and love
• To work towards a more inclusive way of creating art

Dasein, translated from German means “be there” and is also used to refer to “presence” or “existence”. Philosopher Martin Heidegger furthered the use of the word to describe “being-in-the-world”. At Dasein, dance plays an integral role in the way we live and how we interact with the world. It is a language that allows us to express and share our experiences with others.

PRONOUNCING DASEIN