Dancing in the Morning: an inclusive dance session

Wed. Jan. 4th, 2017
10:30am-11:30am
at Cedar Hill Recreation Centre’s auditorium (3220 Cedar Hill Road), in Lekwungen (Songhees) and Xwsepsum (Esquimalt) Homelands.

All abilities welcome.
Wheelchair accessible.
Please refrain from wearing perfume/scented products on the day of the event; thank-you.

Free!
(Donations welcomed: all funds raised will go to the Dance Alchemy project, for dance sessions with people who are refugees and newcomers.)

Dancing in the Morning brings together participants from various community dance groups and interested community members. The event is hosted by Dance Alchemy & the Community Arts Council of Greater Victoria, in partnership with Saanich Parks & Recreation, and facilitated by Joanne Cuffe.

Session details: There will be a warm-up in a big circle, dance activities for meeting new people and interacting in smaller groups, a dance party, and a cool-down in a big circle. There are chairs available if you would like to be seated some or all of the time.

If you would like to donate but cannot attend the event: please donate by cheque to the Community Arts Council of Greater Victoria with “Dance Alchemy” in the memo line (or donate online through CACGV’s website) and please send a note to Joanne with your name so that we can make sure your donation is allocated to the dance sessions with people who are refugees and newcomers. Thank-you very much! For a description of the project, please see the Dance Alchemy page.

If you require support to participate, please come with a caregiver, friend, staff or translator. Thank-you! We very much apologize that there are not accessibility funds available for this event (e.g. no bus tickets, etc.).

Dancing in the Morning on Jan. 4th is focused on adults. Participants from day programs, group homes, seniors’ residences, dance groups and local communities are welcome. If you are part of a group that will be attending the event together, please RSVP estimating how many will be in your group.

To be in touch: for questions and accessibility requests, please contact Joanne.

Optional photo area: Please note that there will be two designated areas in the room throughout the event: 1) an area near the main entrance for people who do not want to be in any photos, and 2) an area at the far end of the room for people who fully consent to being in photos at the event. Joanne Cuffe will be the caretaker of the photos, which will be used in spreading the word about community dance initiatives with Dance Alchemy (see below), the Community Arts Council of Greater Victoria, Saanich Parks & Recreation and Creative Momentum (this website).

Backgrounder:

The Dance Alchemy project began in 2015 through the Community Arts Council of Greater Victoria and facilitated by Joanne. In 2016 four artists collaborated with four community dance groups, with people with diverse abilities, older adults, and newcomers, and five dance groups came together for a Celebration in June 2016, with funding from the BC Arts Council.

Participants with the Wellspring dance group came up with the idea of having an event inspired by the Friday Namaste Music program but focused on dancing.

Dancing in the Morning is focused on everyone present being participants. The next time the event happens, it could also include a bit of time for performing, if a few dance groups would like to each share a dance they have created as a group.

If you have a suggestion for an accessible venue for future Dancing in the Morning sessions, please be in touch (the Cedar Hill Rec Auditorium is booked most weekday mornings except Jan. 4th). Thank-you.

For other upcoming opportunities to dance (e.g. Adaptive Dance classes Mondays at 1pm; 50+ Dance Troupe Mondays at 2pm, etc.), please see the dancing page.