Interview with Ross Paton

Photo credit: Judy Harquail

Ross Paton is the Treasurer of Nova Dance

We spoke with Board member Ross Paton about his long history with Nova Dance and how his connection to family has kept him uplifted through these challenging times.

What originally inspired you to join the board of Nova Dance?

Nova and [her husband] Mark were friends, and my wife Judy Harquail, who works in the sector, recommended me to Nova as a potential board member.

Why did she recommended you, do you think?

[As a data scientist], I have an outsider’s view of the industry, so I wasn’t just another person who’s locked into that. I certainly have an interest in the arts and an interest in modern dance; it’s one of the things Judy has made great efforts through the 20 odd years we’ve been together to educate me on, so it was a great opportunity for me to get more involved in the sector. And with a friend.

In the time that you’ve been with Nova Dance what would you say the biggest shift has been?

There have been several. I think the biggest change is the scope of what the organization is trying to, or is able to, achieve. You know, I’ve been around long enough that I’ve really seen the company move from being largely Nova and maybe one other dancer per show to this creation that is ongoing for Svāhā where we’re talking about a large permanent cast plus an ensemble – the scope and scale is beyond anything Nova was attempting when I joined.

In terms of the future of Nova Dance, what do you hope for, or what do you see?

In the immediate future it’s going to be very interesting to see Svāhā come to fruition. She’s bringing on more people on a day-to-day management level, and that will allow her to focus more on creation, so more excellent art. Nova Dance already does a lot of advocacy for the sector and particularly for non-white people in the industry, and I think that’s where the company's strength will expand going forward, pushing those voices forward even more – both by directly supporting the artists, but also through advocacy. The education work in the community with Discover Dance and other programs, the work with the funding agencies…its important and as the company grows the impact will grow.

What has been keeping you uplifted and inspired for the last many months?

Really having family around. We were fortunate that our daughter came home from university at the start of the pandemic, or shortly thereafter, when she graduated from Law school, so having her around and living with us has been great. Judy’s mother lived with us for about 7 months last fall and winter, so having her bustling about the house was really nice. And then having Judy around. Judy’s work has, over the years, had her traveling essentially 40% of the time, so I’m on month 16 or 17 of having Judy around all the time which has been an adjustment, but a good adjustment, I think, for both of us. I’ve obviously missed seeing friends and colleagues in person, but having family around really helped.

Have you come up with, either as an individual or as a family, any strategies to help cope with these times?

We’ve made even more of an effort to do stuff together, whether it’s planning meals or having game nights or going for walks – simple things, nothing overly complex, but trying to make sure we always do something together. Cause it’s been, particularly for me – I’m quite a private person and it would be very easy for me to just retreat into a corner and do my own thing and ignore everyone.

Is there anything that you would like to hold onto from this pandemic period or bring back into “normal times”?

Certainly the connection to family, and I think even to a large extent connection to some friends. Early in the pandemic (probably less so now that we’re able to start seeing people again), I found that lots of people were making an effort to reach out and check in on each other and you know, have that Friday night cocktail call. That’s something I think we need to work at. It doesn’t have to be every week or even every month, but more than the ‘once a year’ you maybe used to reconnect with people pre-pandemic. It’s far too easy to assume you’re just going to see somebody in the future. Maybe you’re not.

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