Concordia Journal Home > Archives > May 21, 2009 issue >

To TJ with Love 

Over 300 theatre and dance alumni and students joined past and present faculty and staff May 2 for a “farewell/reunion” at the TJ Building on the Loyola Campus. It was one of the largest alumni reunions that Concordia has ever seen.

Alumni travelled from Edmonton, Toronto, Halifax, New York and North Carolina to reconnect with old friends and professors. They wandered through the halls where event organizers had posted messages from grads who were unable to attend. On the ground floor, three studio spaces were dedicated to the three decades of TJ with appropriate slide shows. On the second floor current student Philip Kadowaki created a spectacularly lit costume display featuring clothing from past productions. Across the hall, students mounted an eclectic mix of props generously loaned out by the scene shop.

Alumni relations officer for Fine Arts and organizer Linda Rice praised student, faculty and staff volunteers for their energy and creativity in pulling the event together, “I don’t even know how to begin to thank them.”

On the third floor, alumna and co-organizer Amanda Kellock thanked the Concordia University Alumni Association and the Office of Advancement. Calling the project “a labour of love”, Kellock gave a shout-out to all the volunteers before turning the mic over to the Dean Catherine Wild. Wild discussed the impending move to the downtown campus (see story).

And so, the “yearly lease” on the building finally expired after 25 years. The Departments of Contemporary Dance and Theatre have much to be proud of: from their over 1 000 graduates, two-thirds have gone on to become accomplished choreographers, actors, directors, designers, playwrights and social activists.