Governor General's Performing Arts Awards

Created in 1992, under the auspices of the late Right Honourable Ramon John Hnatyshyn (1934 2002), the GGPAA are presented each year to Canadian performers whose extraordinary lifetime achievements have contributed significantly to the enrichment of Canada’s cultural life. Nominations for the GGPAA are made by members of the general public. Laureates for the Lifetime Artistic Achievement Award are chosen from six categories, including theatre, dance, classical music, popular music, film and broadcasting. Nominations for the Ramon John Hnatyshyn Award for Voluntarism in the Performing Arts are also open to the public.

In addition to honouring the 2011 laureates, the Awards feature a unique Mentorship Program, a partnership inaugurated in 2008 between the Governor General’s Performing Arts Awards Foundation (GGPAAF) and Canada’s National Arts Centre. Designed to unite past Lifetime Artistic Achievement Award recipients and talented mid-career artists, the program serves as a creative catalyst and as an investment in future Canadian artistic achievement. World-renowned ballerina Evelyn Hart, who received a Governor General’s Performing Arts Award in 2001, has chosen to mentor Heather Ogden (standing), an extraordinarily talented young artist and principal dancer with the National Ballet of Canada. The program is a unique opportunity for the potential laureates of tomorrow to benefit from the creativity and experience of icons who have blazed the trail before them.

Quebec film director and writer Denis Villeneuve is one of the hottest filmmakers on the international scene today. His latest feature, Incendies (2010), based on the play by acclaimed Canadian writer and director Wajdi Mouawad, has blazed a dazzling trail: it premiered at La Mostra in Venice, screened to rave reviews at the Toronto, Telluride and Sundance film festivals, won the Toronto and Vancouver Film Critics Awards for Best Canadian Film, and was named one of the Top Five Foreign Films of 2010 by New York’s National Board of Review. Incendies won eight Genies and nine Jutras (including, in both cases, Best Film and Best Director) and was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film. Denis Villeneuve received the 2011 National Arts Centre Award.

A passionate supporter of the Orchestre symphonique de Montréal (OSM) for nearly 50 years, Jean André Élie (centre) is numbered among the master builders of this internationally acclaimed ensemble. As a board and committee member, he has spearheaded numerous transformative projects, notably the OSM Standard Life Competition for young Canadian musicians, and major fundraising initiatives (he has chaired and co-chaired over 20 fundraising campaigns.) His unwavering commitment, his leadership, his warm and enthusiastic personality, and his “can-do” approach have been an inspiration to others: he has helped forge strong links between the OSM and its community, rallied Quebec’s business sector in support of the organization, and made a significant contribution to Montreal’s cultural profile. Jean André Élie received the 2011 Ramon John Hnatyshyn Award for Voluntarism in the Performing Arts. He was also presented with a commissioned glass sculpture by Mrs. Gerda Hnatyshyn (left), a piece created by Canadian artist Naoko Takenouchi.

Paul Thompson is one of the undisputed founders of English-language theatre in Canada. Writer, director, producer and maverick, co-founder and former artistic director of Toronto’s Theatre Passe Muraille and former director general of the National Theatre School of Canada, he is a pioneer of “collective creation,” in which plays are developed by the actors themselves from their own experiences and improvisations. He has directed across the country and around the world, brought over 200 original productions to the stage, mentored several generations of Canadian theatre artists, and helped establish such influential theatre companies as Newfoundland and Labrador’s CODCO, Saskatoon’s 25th Street Theatre, and Toronto’s Nightwood Theatre. Former CODCO member Mary Walsh has described him as “the godfather of real, homemade, thrilling, hand-hewed Canadian knock-your-socks-off theatre.” Paul Thompson received the 2011 Lifetime Artistic Achievement Award.

Leslee Silverman is recognized internationally as a leader in theatre for young audiences. As artistic director of Manitoba Theatre for Young People (MTYP) since 1982, she has significantly raised the profile and standard of young people’s theatre in Canada and established MTYP as one of this country’s most respected professional theatre companies. An outstanding theatre artist, advocate for young people and mentor for emerging artists, she has directed over 85 productions for MTYP and was instrumental in establishing Winnipeg’s CanWest Global Performing Arts Centre, the only purpose-built young people’s theatre facility in English Canada. Leslee Silverman received the 2011 Lifetime Artistic Achievement Award.

“These awards are a wonderful symbol of our appreciation for the performing arts in this country. And as your accomplishments demonstrate, Canadians are centre stage when it comes to excellence in the performing arts” said the Governor General. “Your work transcends borders, backgrounds and languages, reflecting our heritage and the times in which we live. You entertain us, provoke us and make us laugh, and your ideas are a vital source of renewal for our society.”

Howard Shore is among today’s most respected, honoured and active composers and music conductors. His work with director Peter Jackson on The Lord of the Rings film trilogy stands as his most towering achievement to date, earning him three Academy Awards. He has also received four Grammys and three Golden Globe awards. Mr. Shore was one of the original creators of “Saturday Night Live” and served as the music director on the show from 1975 to 1980. At the same time, he began collaborating with David Cronenberg and has scored 13 of the director’s films, including The Fly, Crash and Naked Lunch. His original scores to Dead Ringers and Eastern Promises were each honoured with a Genie Award. Mr. Shore continued to distinguish himself with a wide range of projects, from Martin Scorsese’s The Departed, The Aviator and Gangs of New York to Ed Wood, The Silence of the Lambs, Philadelphia and Mrs. Doubtfire. Howard Shore received the 2011 Lifetime Artistic Achievement Award.

William Shatner is one of Canada’s most celebrated cultural icons. In a wide-ranging career spanning six decades, he has recreated himself many times over, each time revealing a new alter ego who seems to completely define him for the moment. Famous for his roles as Captain James Kirk in the original “Star Trek” TV series, and as attorney Denny Crane on “The Practice” and “Boston Legal”, he has starred in five TV series (“Star Trek”, “T.J. Hooker”, “The Practice”, “Boston Legal”, and “Third Rock from the Sun”) and more than 30 films, including Judgment at Nuremberg, seven Star Trek movies, Airplane II: The Sequel and Miss Congeniality. He is an award-winning actor, accomplished director, bestselling author, and dedicated philanthropist and environmentalist whose compassion, creativity and irrepressible sense of humour are integral to his life and work. William Shatner received the 2011 Lifetime Artistic Achievement Award.

Margie Gillis is one of Canada’s most prolific and acclaimed dance artists, choreographers and teachers. A courageous and free-spirited pioneer of modern dance, she has earned rave reviews and a loyal following throughout the world, and her unique naturalistic style has influenced an entire generation of dancers. In a brilliant career spanning nearly 40 years, she has choreographed and performed over 100 original dance works and collaborated with some of the greatest dancers and choreographers of her time. She has also been a guest artist with many companies, including the National Ballet of Canada, Les Grands Ballets Canadiens and the Paul Taylor Dance Company, and has created works for organizations such as Alberta Ballet and Cirque du Soleil. Margie Gillis continues to inspire, delight and amaze, and to bring Canada’s name in dance to audiences around the globe. She has been spokesperson and champion of many humanitarian causes. Margie Gillis received the 2011 Lifetime Artistic Achievement Award.

Yvon Deschamps is one of Quebec’s greatest and most influential humorists. Best known for his satirical monologues, he held up a mirror to Quebec society during the Quiet Revolution and beyond. His subversive yet thoughtful monologues have tackled such diverse topics as money, happiness, racism, the media, Catholicism, feminism, mental illness and solitude. His writing is fresh, hilarious, political and provocative, and his sharply original humour launched a new tradition of Francophone comedy that continues to this day. Yvon Deschamps received the 2011 Lifetime Artistic Achievement Award.

Their Excellencies the Right Honourable David Johnston, Governor General of Canada, and Mrs. Sharon Johnston presented the Governor General’s Performing Arts Awards (GGPAA) during a ceremony at Rideau Hall, on Friday, May 13, 2011.

“I want to congratulate you on your extraordinary contributions to our culture and to the performing arts worldwide” said the Governor General to the 2011 laureates of the Governor General's Performing Arts Awards. “On behalf of all Canadians, thank you.”