SHOWTIME
CAPED CRUSADER 2020 – THE CONTINENTAL DANCE CLUB 4K from Brian Torner on Vimeo.
In 2019, Brian Torner began to develop further and to integrate #TheArtOfCaping into the ritual creative workouts for the interns from Germany who have been inspired to come apprentice at 3141 Wharton Way Mississauga … and by the end of the year a deliberate “re-branding” would begin to take place particularly after participation in KULKAT’s Kristina Kulikova ambitious DAT ProjectA and reaching LIVE Auditions stage.
DAT ProjectA is OPEN PUBLIC ARTS & PERFORMANCE ARTS Showdown #CapedCrusader2020 #BrianRTorner
In 2018, Colombian photographer resident in Tor0nto Angel Torres created a stunning portfolio. Urban Matador is the title of the solo exhibition which debuted as SOLO EXHIBITION CONTACT Photography HOST VENUE The Continental Dance Club! www.scotiabankcontactphoto.com/archive/2018/urban-matador-finnissage/ and travelled to Toronto and Galerie Bernd A Lausberg in Duesseldorf GERMANY with on of the first LIVE PERFORMANCES of Brian Torner and #TheArtOfCaping were officially born…
The Continental Dance Club director Brian Torner’s recent & past career highlights including collaborations as dancer, teacher, choreographer, mentor, artist and still going strong performing with some of the world’s finest dancers & inspiring personalities !
In 2017, along with his own return to competitive DanceSport, Brian Torner former The Continental Dance Club pro-am ALL STARS. His return to the dance floor took months of preparation, lessons on a regular basis, coaching lessons with Wendy Johnson, Denis Tremblay, group lessons with GaGa Dancers, Ecstatic Dance and most notably tutelege from their childhood teacher/mentor Ann Harding-Trafford and was with none other than his first competitive dance partner from some 35 years ago: Keren Brown nee Dawkins http://www.GoGreenInside.com
BRIAN TORNER MCreator of dance dreams wedding/specialty/showdance from 2000-2003 was HOST & COLOUR COMMENTATOR for 6 consecutive seasons of “Dancing at the Palais” the hit about DanceSport on Women’s Television Network (Canada).
During the run of this exceptionally popular TV show, Brian was devoted to the elevation of production values in KEY to QUALITY and ENJOYED COLLABORATING with the TEAM — this was a serious GAME CHANGER for life!
1. Acquisition of MUSIC SPONSOR: CASA MUSICA, Dusseldorf (World’s largest supplier of music for dancing)
2. Acquisition of CLOTHING SPONSOR: HOAX COUTURE, Toronto
3. Through the acquisition of support from USABDA to allow US teams to participate in the final 2 seasons.
Brian was smitten with the dance since age 12 when following a group lesson at the now defunct German-Canadian Club Harmonie in downtown Toronto, where former Canadian champion Jeff Hennsen taught with his wife Diane Hennsen taught for Dance Club Blue Silver, Brian was approached by a ‘talent scout’ in the form of a popular senior dancer Ron Dawkins to begin competition dancing with Ron’s daughter, Keren Brown (nee Dawkins). Brian moved from strength to strength in a six year partnership culminating in the win of the Ontario Closed Amateur Latin Championships defeating the then reigning Ontario & Canadian Amateur 10-dance champions! The next partnership with Elizabeth Sadowska was equally successful. Brian was able to defend his title as undefeated Ontario Closed Amateur Latin & 10-Dance Champion.
In the late 80’s at 23 years of age, Brian embarked on a professional career path with partner Shirley Johnson, who later went on to become undefeated United States Professional Latin Champion with Billy Sparks. With Shirley, Brian would become the first North American professional before or since to win the USISTD East Coast Rising Star Championships in 3 styles: International Latin, American Style Smooth & American Style Rhythm whilst ALSO becoming grand finalist in the open professional divisions of the same styles !
The greatest competitive successes; however, with nothing short of a meteoric rise to success within less than 3 years dancing in international & World Championship events representing Canada came with the partnership of Brian Torner with Dusseldorf, Germany native Brigitt Mayer (author Ballroom Icons www.ballroomicons.com & “Fifty & Fabulous” )
ENJOY “SINATRA GOES LATIN” choreographed by Oliver Wessel-Therhorn, a brilliant second year effort, after placing 4th in 1992 with “PINK PANTHER” TORNER/MAYER placed RUNNERS UP in the 1993 WDC World South American ShowDance in Bonn, Germany’s BEETHOVENHALLE!
HISTORY & METAMORPHOSIS OF DANCE
“Since the age of 12, for now 40 years, I feel with confidence: I am experienced and qualified with an impressive CV. So blessed to say: True to my own Metamorphosis… I continue to dance myself and assist others in the pursuit of their dreams moment to moment, step by step…”
— Brian Torner, The Continental Dance Club Director
Since retirement from the competitive arena in 1997 with Brigitt Mayer, Brian has devoted his life to sharing his love & joy of dance through philanthropy such as 2014 & 2015 for DANCING CLASSROOMS, the worldwide project created by Pierre Dulaine, the subject of Hollywood films: TAKE THE LEAD in which Brian’s student Katya Virshilas played the leading dance role in the steamy Tango scene opposite lead Antonio Banderas. DONATE/VISIT www.JoinTheDance.ca . With Miss World Canada 2013, Camille Munro, Brian devoted a TRIBUTE DANCE, the production of a TESTIMONIAL VIDEO www.youtube.com/watch?v=BgAqxF3nd3M and raised several thousand dollars, whilst increasing public awareness for this incredible charity – an amazing immersive inter-curricular experience at Grade 3, 5 & 8 levels designed to empower aspiring youth all over the world!
5 MINUTES IMPROVISED AT THE CONTINENTAL DANCE CLUB 2013
NB: the creation of the new demo/docu reel for the Continental Dance Club by Richard Fox was the perfect moment to connect with iconic Olga Foraponova-Wright to dance a number from the soundtrack of GATSBY by NERO.
ARTISTIC COLLABORATION 2013 — Brian Torner with Olga Foraponova-Wright
ARTISTIC COLLABORATION 2013 — Brian Torner with Olga Foraponova-Wright
“JUST BE IN THE MOMENT, FEEL, BREATHE, SMELL, THINK, TOUCH, SENSE RELEASE… FLEETING TIME… IN RHYTHM, ONE WITH THE MUSIC & PARTNER, DARE TO BE DIFFERENT… BUT DO IT WELL… & BE TRUE TO YOURSELF!”
CONNECTING WITH EASE … TO A GREATER COMMUNITY
“Have Fun, Laugh and Dance a cameo with friend, childhood crush, and fellow artist songwriter with her husband producer…”
METAMORPHOSIS revisited 15 years after Brian Torner performs with the iconic Brigitt Mayer, but also fellow LEGENDS 2 in dance: Alain Doucet & Anik Jolicoeur, Pierre Allaire & Mireille Veilleux and Danny Quilliam & Ieva Pauksena.
“Inspire, Invest Time, Create & Motivate our Youngest Hopefuls, The Stars of the Future, Our Children: Anna Nina Kus & Winson Tam Repeat WDSF World Junior & Youth 10 Dance & Latin Finalists — Dancing “COCONUTS”.
Special Junior ShowDance created for PBS-TV’s “Championship Ballroom Dancing”. From musical arrangement to designing costumes, choreography, lessons from start to finish & follow up, this is a great example of the complete artistic package by Brian Torner!”
BEST OF TORNER/MAYER 1993-1998
“ORIGINAL METAMORPHOSIS – Swan Song Retirement Number with Brian Torner & Brigitt Mayer. Runners-up British Open Invitation Exhibition event representing Canada. Choreography: Dr. Ruud Vermeij. This number represents the METAPHOR for the change of a dancer’s ever-evolving life, committed to dance & inspiring others’ METAMORPHOSIS today !”
“Brian Torner has devoted his life to helping other dancers live the dream to become World Finalists! Danny Quilliam & Christine Kunz placed 4th in the 2003 WDC World Professional Classic Showdance with “TIME” by main choreographer/costume design/follow up/mentor: Brian Torner. For his assistance in making this dream for these dancers come true: Thanks for gracious technical assistance to Pierre Allaire.”
“Honoured to be honoured Brian Torner & Brigitt Mayer 2011 invitation to perform 14 years after retirement in Blackpool 1997 Invitation Exhibition runners-up with METAMORPHOSIS at the 25th Anniversary GALA of the German Open Championships, alongside Hans Galke & Bianca Schreiber, Dmitry Timokhin & Anna Bezikova, Horst & Andrea Beer, Martin Dihlmann & Lydia Weisser, Ralf Mueller & Olga Mueller-Olmetchenko and Bryan Watson & Carmen.”
“What great memories of a friendly rivalry with US Champions (and my former partner Shirley Johnson) which inspired Brian Torner & Brigitt Mayer to great heights like here at Ohio Star Ball known on television as PBS-TV’s “Championship Ballroom Dancing” organized by former beloved coach Sam Sodano and hosted by Ron Montez & the late Juliette Prowse. RESULTS: 1st: Sparks/Johnson USA, 2nd: Torner/Mayer Canada, 3rd: Meredith/Lapatin USA, 4th: Allaire/Veilleux Canada, 5th: MacDonald/MacDonald USA & 6th: Sidall/Benitez USA”
“Remember the hunger for excellence… and HELP FOSTER and NURTURE it in others.” First Breakthrough on the WORLD STAGE 1992: Brian Torner with Brigitt Mayer. The choreography of late Oliver Wessel-Therhorn “PINK PANTHER” 4th place WDC World South American ShowDance 4th place representing Canada!
EXPERIENCED WORLD CLASS TEAM BUILDER
“PARTICIPATE IN GROUP EXPERIENCES – NURTURE CHARACTER-BUILDING through THE TEAM SPIRIT — TSZ AACHEN 2003 WDSF European & World Runners-Up in Latin Formation representing Germany … dancing “LATIN AMERICA!” (NB: Together with Petra Heiduk, Formation Dancing icon in Europe & multiple World Champion Choreographer & Trainer plus Richard Erning and a talented group of dancers from across Germany Brian Torner formed the important third arm of the trainer team: entrance, technical trainer & innovative choreographer!”
Vintage Brian Torner & Brigitt Mayer Promo Video with 3rd place WDC World Professional Latin ShowDance 1995 entry for Canada “Barefoot Latin Jungle”, choreography by Dr. Ruud Vermeij. This is a compilation of footage: complete ORIFLAME DANISH OPEN INVITATION showtime “Barefoot Latin Jungle”, then highlights from AROUND THE WORLD 5 DANCE LATIN Torner/Mayer show, even a brief clip from 1st Blackpool Winter Gardens performance at 1996 WDC European Professional Standard dancing METAMORPHOSIS alongside Michael Chapman & Ana Llorente and the English Exhibition champions.
BE INNOVATIVE & MEMORABLE !
Amazing dance studio and great team !
Brian and team/friends (Keren and Brigitt and Diana and …?) all impressed me so much with their technical skill and their wise (deep, effective) teaching and their generosity of spirit. Their passion for and delight in dancing makes Continental Dance Club a top place to go to learn, to create, and to just dance.
P.S. I’ve heard great praise for the food they sometimes serve… 5 Star
A wonderful place to pursue your dancing experience!
Top professional instruction and a warm, friendly and supportive atmosphere allows you to learn in a relaxed setting. A great place to tap any artistic potential that lies inside you. As a teacher of many decades, I know a good thing, when I see it. 👌A pleasure to be associated with people who truly help you to discover your potential. 5 Star
Highly recommended !
5 StarHighly recommend the Continental !
I’d highly recommend the Continental! …the Torner family who own and operate the hall went well out of their way to make sure we had everything we needed. Brian was attentive enough to have pointed out some details we hadn’t thought of. That saved us some headaches.
To the Torners: Thanks again for the lovely venue and we’ll look forward to our next event there. 5 Star
Everyone is super friendly and very hospitable !
The Continental Dance Club is a pleasure to work with. Everyone is super friendly and very hospitable… can’t wait to see what their future holds! 5 Star
5 Stars
I like the Club. People I attend with are always pleasant and owners of the club seem eclectic mesh with my personality.
Knowledgeable, expressive and fun to be around!
Brian and Daniella are passionate about Dance and Pilates/Barre and it shows in the way they teach. They are knowledgeable, expressive and fun to be around! I recommend them, I LOVE MONDAYS for stretching yourself into learning ballroom dancing! 5 Star
It’s a privilege to teach in the club !!
I’m so happy I found The Continental Dance Club – it’s a privilege to teach in the club !!
Very nice and big space !! Very clean !!
LOVE THE dance floor
Most life loving and enthusiastic owner ever !!!
summer internship 2018
My name is Lukas, I am 22 years old, from Germany and visiting Canada this year. I have been in Vancouver since February and I arrived in Toronto the end of June.
One of the best friends of my parents, Ute Spaeth, connected me with Brian Torner , who offered me lodging and work at the Continental dance Club for 6 weeks this summer. I arrived just in time for the opening of the photography exhibition by photographer Angel Torres #URBANMATADOR2 at Mitzi’s Café. This was really exciting for me. Despite the incredible heat during Canada Day weekend, Brian and Angel put on a show and gave a great impression of their caping skills, which I captured on GoPro.
I managed to find time in our busy schedule to visit some other interesting and impressive places in Toronto, for example the Hockey Hall of Fame, Echo Beach (for a one-day rock festival called “Vans Warped Tour”), the BMO Field (games of the Argonauts and the TFC), the Distillery District and many more – Toronto is a huge city which has a lot going on! A real highlight for me was being included in the closing show of #URBANMATADOR2 at Mitzi’s Café playing the bongos and congas as one of TRIO DA CAPO. Angel, Brian & I invited patrons to join an interactive percussion-dance-jam during breakfast/lunch at Mitzi’s Cafe, as a part of the finissage activities.
I want to use this little write-up to sincerely thank Brian, his parents Ernst and Ursula and Angel Torres for letting me be a part of their lives and for being so cordially received. It has been a real pleasure and I will never forget my time here and everything we were able to do together – so again: THANK YOU!
Now my time in Toronto has come to an end and I leave with mixed feelings as I am sad to leave but also excited for the upcoming weeks. My plans include travel along the west coast of the U.S. with two friends from Germany. We will be briefly back in the Toronto area in September before exploring east Canada.
Thanks to everyone who made my time here so memorable!
CHAKRADANCE soul spa & URBAN RETREAT
THANK YOU Pollyanna Blanco, valued TEAM PARTNER of the Continental Dance Club since 2016, author, REIKI Healer, CHAKRADANCE Facilitator for connecting with me, director of The Continental Dance Club as MEDITATIVE CAPING ARTIST collaborating with Christopher Johnstone for January 27, February 3, March 3 dates of CHAKRADANCE soul spa & URBAN RETREAT. 5 STARS!
Betty Ann Jordan (ArtInSite) REVIEWS A TORRES Darkness Breathes Light 10×10 Photography Project 2019 gun violence LATINX
August 1, 2019
It is a karmic law that, in the cycle of existence, no action occurs without an equal and opposing reaction. Having lost a nephew to gun violence in 2003, Angel Torres illumines this insight with emotional power in his photographic portrait series In Darkness Breathes Light.
A cinematic treatment of the aftermath of violence, this series could be mistaken for stills from Scorsese film. We see the aftermath of violence reflected in the anguished or shell-shocked faces of bystanders, family members, and concerned community avatars.
The “light” of the title is often lurid and feeble, the colour of blood or the flashing emergency lights atop an ambulance or police car. The darkness, by contrast, is widespread, found in the ominous gloom of back alleys, the graveyard, and most of all, the sorrowing mind of a devastated survivor.
Overall, we see the aftermath of violence as reflected in the faces and bodies of a cross-section of individuals who have been touched by it. Reactions run the gamut from fear and pain to steely, determined resistance.
Impelled by an awareness of the duality of light and dark, a skeletal deaths-head figure represents one aspect of the narrative, the brutally irrevocable outcome of gun violence. Weighing the balance, the portrait of an artist in the studio proposes a more redemptive vision of the renewal that is also engendered by violence.
In the journey of healing and renewal, no change will come about without the unwavering emotionally-charged efforts of the larger community. As we as a society collectively seek solidarity and a way forward in this weaponized time of crisis, artists such as Angel Torres are leaders in the charge.
Betty Ann Jordan, Toronto-based arts writer
ABOUT BETTY ANN JORDAN> https://bettyannjordan.wixsite.com/artinsite/about
A TORRES Photography Darkness Breathes Light FACEBOOK OFFICIAL https://www.facebook.com/TorresTornerARTProjects/?modal=admin_todo_tour
A TORRES 10×10 PORTFOLIO & INTERVIEWS & PRESS https://angeltorres.client-gallery.com/gallery/portrait?fbclid=IwAR1BM4bBUgtX0YmEeaSt-OztQTaPPrW6M5Kt3MikXuOr9A2-PJ6oK0SgMpE
WOW what a performance
It was a delightful surprise to have Continental Dance Club and Brian Torner perform a stunning number at our 30th anniversary business event. The guest were completely wowed by the elegance of the performance. We had the challenge of working with a very small space, but they pulled it off spectacularly. I would recommend them for any occasion.
PHOTOGRAPHY/VIDEOGRAPHY: Angel Torres https://angeltorres.client-gallery.com/
The Continental Dance Club SPONSOR & PRESENTER SHOWDANCE @ La Classique du Quebec
THANK YOU www.laclassiqueduquebec.com organizers of Montreal’s mega-event
MERYEM PEARSON & DANIEL HEROUX for allowing director Brian Torner of www.thecontinentaldanceclub.com the fine honour of sponsoring the PROFESSONAL SHOWDANCE divison Saturday evening.
CONGRATULATIONS winners the TUFTS and all competitors for an exciting ecclectic competition!
TESTIMONIAL of LOVE & THANKS: The Continental Dance Club’s gift to YOU> UNESCO7 YOUTUBE SPECIAL.
THANK YOU our loving patrons, renters, friends, family, fans & supporters of The Continental Dance Club since 1992!
UNESCO7 WDD Inspiration Montage is OUR GIFT TO YOU!
A Dance Legacy – the heart of Toronto … beats in MISSISSAUGA!
The Continental Dance Club has preserved the art and love of dance in the Greater Toronto Area for years and continues to exemplify what it means to love what you do. As Miss World Canada 2013, I had the opportunity to showcase a mutual love for dance with Brian Torner, Director of the Continental Dance Club for several years and those experiences will last a lifetime. Brian remains a close friend and has given his time, his passion for dance and his drive to the arts and that does not go unnoticed. His philanthropic spirit mixed with his dedication to sharing the art of ballroom dance with others is what makes the Continental Dance Club a true Ontario Treasure. If you have the opportunity to attend an event or take a class, do it; you will not be disappointed!
-Camille (Munro) Parmer
Miss World Canada 2013
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Congrats for an exciting UNESCO 7 WDD Video Montage Celebration ! 😁
Thanks a million Brian Torner for the opportunity to create this exciting video montage for The Continental Dance Club, and your bevy of dancers and artists at your vibrant studio! I have to admit it was a great deal of work, but it was so well worth it, as it’s simply the greatest pleasure for me to make people shine bright to instil confidence and joy in themselves and their craft !
Dance is indeed one of the highest artistic expressions of our spirits set free! Thank you also for allowing me to contribute my venture into the realm of Matadors and Caped Crusaders! Wishing you great continued success in your dance and caping journey Maestro of the Cape 🙏
Amazing dance studio – highly recommended!
Thank you for including us in your magnificent UNESCO7 INSPIRATION Montage this year https://youtu.be/2jawzEXY_tU to celebrate the love and passion for dance that connects us all! Thank you for giving us the privilege to be part of something so special.
“Continental Dance Club is like a second home; it brings us joy and brings us together!” – This is the response you would receive from Academy of Serbian Folk Dancing Assoc. dancers when asked how they feel about the Continental Dance Studio. The studio is not only a warm and safe space for learning and dancing but also a place where our dancers work and learn together to build a community of love and passion for dance.
We are proud to share the dance floor with these amazing world dancers, especially with Brian R Torner, the owner and director of the Continental Dance Club and a world champion trainer & choreographer, 15-time world championship adjudicator and champion ballroom dancer with an impressive history.
If anyone is looking for a dance studio in the GTA area, we would highly recommend the Continental Dance Club – It is the place to go! 5 star
Rodika Marcetic,
Marketing Manager
Academy of Serbian Folk Dancing Association
Brian Torner and The Continental Dance Club
Seemingly though not, out of no-where, I kind and thoughtful gesture turned out to be a landing pad, a new home and a family. That was the gesture and the follow-through of Mr. Brian Torner, renowned Canadian Ballroom legend, and the legacy that his family run space, the Continental Dance Club, provided for me, my family and our health based professional dance practise.
For the open, elegant and open learning experiences that The Continental Dance Club has facilitated for my wife Cynthia and our clients, through transitional, established AND unprecedented times, to the performance opportunities that Brian has generously opened for us, I can only say THANK YOU!!!
It has been an honour and a pleasure to share the stage, the studio and the family legacy with you Mr. Torner!
(Editor: Nathaniel & Cynthia are just two of our many instructors, specialists and special guest artists ….plus FRIENDS of The Continental Dance Club including community national, international, regional and local organizations, Festivals, events found here: www.thecontinentaldanceclub.com/about )
Nathaniel Kozlow
Cynthia Kozlow
ABOUT Nathaniel> https://tinyurl.com/wjzdp83
ABOUT Cynthia> https://tinyurl.com/yx4m46uj