TAPA announces Adina Herling Davids as the 2025 Leonard McHardy and John Harvey Award Recipient
The Victor C. Polley Protégé Award goes to Marketa Tokova
Toronto, ON (May 28, 2025) – The Toronto Alliance for the Performing Arts (TAPA) today announced that Adina Herling Davids is this year’s recipient of the Leonard McHardy and John Harvey Award, a bi-annual award recognizing the important work of theatre, dance and opera administrators. Its related protégé prize, the Victor C. Polley Protégé Award, went to Marketa Tokova as chosen by Herling Davids. Past recipients of the LMJH Award include Mitchell Marcus, Sherrie Johnson, and Naomi Campbell.
Herling Davids’s co-nominators, Andrea Nann and Karen Kaeja, wrote: “Having worked closely with Adina for many years, we agree that she is a cornerstone of the Toronto arts community. Her dedication to supporting the dance community, her tireless efforts in helping countless artists and organizations, and her significant impact on the cultural landscape of Toronto are truly remarkable.”
Herling Davids’s management career is built on a strong foundation of dance knowledge, including a diploma from Ryerson University’s Dance Program and a BA in Dance from the University of Calgary. With over two decades of experience, her career includes 20 years as the General Manager for CanAsian Dance and 17 years with Fujiwara Dance Inventions, as well as roles with pounds per square inch performance, Dusk Dances, BoucharDanse, princess productions, adelheid dance projects, M-DO, Toronto Tabla Ensemble, and Company Erasga Dance (Vancouver).
Says Herling Davids: “I am deeply honoured to receive the Leonard McHardy and John Harvey Award, and to be recognized for my contributions as an arts manager. Supporting dance artists and helping bring their artistic visions to life has been one of the greatest privileges of my career. I’m truly touched by this recognition and what it represents.”
Herling Davids’s protégé, Marketa Tokova, moved to Toronto from the Czech Republic in 2017. She has worked for the Toronto Polish Film Festival, Dusk Dances and Arzoo Dance Theatre. Currently, she works as the General Manager for BoucharDanse, IPP Coordinator for Fall for Dance North, and Interim General Manager for Kaeja d’Dance.
The Dora Awards, Canada’s largest and oldest awards program, celebrates the incredible talent within Toronto’s professional theatre, dance, and opera communities. The 45th anniversary celebration will include 43 gender-inclusive award categories across seven divisions to honour the remarkable artistry of the 2024-2025 season.
The 45th Anniversary Dora Mavor Moore Awards presented by the Romano D’Andrea Foundation will take place at Meridian Hall on Monday, June 30 at 7:30 p.m.
The celebration will be hosted by Dora Award-winning actor Peter Fernandes. For additional information, please visit tapa.ca/doras.
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About Adina Herling Davids:
Adina Herling Davids launched her career in Arts Management after completing a BA in Dance from the University of Calgary and a diploma in Dance from Ryerson University. She gained early experience with organizations such as Alberta Ballet School, Hubbard Street Dance Chicago, and Dance Umbrella of Ontario before forming a “cluster management” model to support Toronto’s dance artists. Adina currently serves as General Manager for Tribal Crackling Wind, ProArteDanza, Esmeralda Enrique Spanish Dance Company, and Kaeja d’Dance, and provides financial management to Dreamwalker Dance Company and Jaberi Dance Theatre. With over 25 years in the field, she has contributed to the success of many companies, including CanAsian Dance, Fujiwara Dance, Dusk Dances, BoucharDanse, Moonhorse Dance Theatre, adelheid, princess productions, M-DO, Toronto Tabla Ensemble, and Company Erasga Dance (Vancouver). Her dedication has made her a vital part of Toronto’s dance community, offering both strategic and financial expertise to a wide range of contemporary and culturally rooted dance organizations.
About the Leonard McHardy and John Harvey Award & the Victor C. Polley Protégé Award
Supported by the Elizabeth and Tony Comper Foundation, the Leonard McHardy and John Harvey Award (LMJH Award), in association with the Victor C. Polley Protégé Award, is a bi-annual award that recognizes the important work of theatre, dance and opera administrators. Recipients of the LMJH Award have at least 10 years of demonstrated commitment to the performing arts, in addition to having made an impact on the industry in Toronto. The award winner receives a plaque and a cheque for $1,000 through the generous sponsorship of the Elizabeth and Tony Comper Foundation. Through a partnership with the Victor C. Polley Protégé Award, the LMJH Award laureate chooses an emerging arts administrator with a minimum of two years of arts work experience to receive a $500 protégé prize. As of 2020, the LMJH Award is presented in association with the Victor C. Polley Protégé Award, which was inaugurated in 1981 to honour the leadership of the much-respected arts administrator who worked at the Stratford Festival and The St. Lawrence Centre. The LMJH Award was inaugurated in 2008 and is named after Leonard McHardy and John Harvey, the celebrated owners of Toronto’s TheatreBooks which they co-founded in 1975 and ran for 39 years. The LMJH Award winner is chosen by the Selection Committee from nominations received from the TAPA membership.
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