The prize, valued at $18,000, also lets the winner name an emerging Nova Scotia artist or cultural organization for the Protégé Prize worth $7,000.
Winner of the award will be announced tomorrow, Oct. 26, at the seventh annual Creative Nova Scotia Awards in Halifax.
Other finalists are Thom Fitzgerald of Halifax, an award-winning filmmaker who has made major contributions to media and performing arts, and Laurie Swim of Lunenburg, an internationally recognized master in the field of textile art.
The Lieutenant Governor of Nova Scotia Masterworks Arts Award of $25,000 will also be awarded tomorrow.
An independent assessment panel of artists selected the Portia White Prize finalists from nominations.
Comeau has achieved artistic excellence in both dance and theatre. La Baie en Joie, the dance troupe she has directed since 1979, has won international acclaim. As an actor, she has for many years portrayed the character ‘Rosealba,’ a much-loved figure in Acadian communities throughout the Maritimes.
As a choreographer and dance teacher, Anne-Marie is widely respected and an important influence not only on her students but on the entire Acadian community. She was 30 years of age before she decided to take courses in step dancing, tap, jazz ballet and jig. In 1976, Anne-Marie received a diploma from both the British Association of Teachers of Dance and the Canadian Dance Teachers' Association; she opened Anne-Marie Comeau's School of Dance that same year. In 1979, she earned a diploma from the Canadian Association of Dance and founded La Baie en Joie.
