Patrick Alcedo, York University professor and Chair of the Department of Dance in the School of the Arts, Media, Performance & Design (AMPD) has been named one of the Top 25 Canadian Immigrants of 2022.
Alcedo was selected from a list of 75 finalists, nominated by the Canadian public, for the award that recognizes inspirational immigrants who have made a positive impact on their communities since arriving in Canada. It is the 14th year for the awards.
“This award all the more inspires me to continue my work in bringing the importance of dance as a critical tool in understanding who we are as Canadians; in putting a spotlight on the rich complexities of Filipino culture back in my home country and here in the diaspora; and in foregrounding the power of documentary films in strengthening works around social justice and about immigrant experiences that are deeply moving and inspiring,” said Alcedo.
Currently, Alcedo is working on a new documentary film about a life of a martial artist and is preparing to conduct a dance ethnographic research on diasporic identities of Filipinos across Canada.
Alcedo was a Rockefeller Humanities Fellow at the Smithsonian Institution and a performer with the internationally touring Filipiniana Dance Group, and received his doctorate in dance history and theory from UC Riverside under the auspices of the Asian Cultural Council’s Ford Foundation grant.
Alcedo’s film publications have appeared in The New York Times and are distributed by Alexander Street Press. Gawad Urian (Manila Film Critics Circle) nominated his film, Ati-atihan Lives, for Best Documentary. His research on the folklorization of religion and performance of gender and indigeneity has been published, among others, in the Journal of Southeast Asian Studies (2007) and the anthology Dance Ethnography and Global Perspectives (Palgrave MacMillan, 2014).
Other recent publications include “Emotional and Religious Landscapes: The Making of the Documentary Film A Piece of Paradise” in Theatres of Affect: New Essays on Canadian Theatre (Playwrights Canada Press, 2014) and “States of Presence and Absence: An Introduction to Nanay (Mother): A Testimonial Play” in Once More, With Feeling: Five Affecting Plays (Playwrights Canada Press, 2014).
The Filipino Centre Toronto awarded Alcedo the Young Professional Award in 12012, and the Governor’s Office of his home province of Aklan, Philippines, honoured him as Most Outstanding Aklanon in recognition of his achievements and community contributions.
With support from Canada’s Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council, Alcedo recently completed a three-year documentary film project, A Piece of Heaven, about the everyday and extraordinary lives of four Filipina caregivers in Toronto. In 2014 he won the Early Researcher Award, given by the Government of Ontario’s Ministry of Research and Innovation, for his body of work in the field of arts and humanities and research on Philippine dance. Also in 2014, the Fulbright Association honoured him with the prestigious Selma Jeanne Cohen Award for the field of Dance and Dance Studies.