Introduction to Inclusive Choreography – February 14, 2020

On this page:
Invitation (who, what, when, where, cost)
Workshop details
To register
Buddy system
Access info
Contact
Thank-you to supporters and partners
Link to Poster (PDF document)
Link to Facebook event page

Invitation

The InterdepenDance Collective invites you to spend Valentine’s Day with us!

Two facilitators from All Bodies Dance Project, Harmanie Taylor and Naomi Brand, will be coming to the island to teach a workshop on inclusive choreography.

Who: The workshop is open to people of all abilities and all levels of experience with dance.

What: A full-day workshop with tools and ideas for creating mixed ability dances.

When: Friday February 14th, 2020, 10:30am-4:30pm. (A few participants will be leaving before the end.)

Where: Garth Homer Auditorium, 813 Darwin Avenue, in the homelands of the Xwsepsum and Lekwungen Peoples and Esquimalt and Songhees Nations.

Cost: Sliding scale from $0-$100 (pay what you can afford).

Workshop details:

About All Bodies Dance Project: “Our work brings together artists with and without disabilities to explore the endless creative possibilities in difference. We seek to make opportunities for every body to discover dance and for artists with disabilities (and without) to access dance training. We want to widen the spectrum of who dances and what dance can be.”

Workshop topics include: ideas for choreographing difference and relationship, tools for collaborative composition, and tips on how to direct in integrated dance (even if you are rotating the role in a collective).

Optional performance: Workshop participants are invited to be part of a group sharing (informal performance) during the Integrated Dance Forum on Sunday February 16th at Gordon Head Recreation Centre at 11:30am.

Please note there will be photo and video documentation of the workshop. Video documentation will allow artists to build on ideas that emerge during the workshop, as well as use short excerpts when applying for grants, promoting dance, and fundraising online. Group photos will be used online and in print when inviting people to future dance opportunities.

Scent-reduced space: Please do not use any scented products on the day of the workshop. This request is for the safety and well-being of dancers who are harmed by chemicals and fragranced products.

Other upcoming events: Integrated Dance Films, and Integrated Dance Forum.

To register:

The workshop is almost full. The remaining spots prioritize equity-seeking groups: people who self-identify as experiencing barriers in dance, are invited to register. (For example, Indigenous peoples, people of colour, Deaf and hard of hearing people, people who are Blind or partially sighted, Self-Advocates, people who use mobility tools, people with lived experience of disability, chronic illness, mental health considerations and/or neurodivergence, and two spirit, non-binary and trans people).

Here is the registration form, for when you’re not in a rush.

Alternative methods to register are by email, phone or text: send a message with “Subject: Feb. 14 registration”, your name, contact info and any access requests.

Please bring the fee (sliding scale $0-$100) with you on February 14th: payment can be by cash or by cheque made out to Made in BC – Dance on Tour (Memo: Feb. 14 Victoria). If you prefer to pay online by credit card, please note this on your registration form.

Buddy system:

All participants can opt in to having a buddy for the day. The buddy system is about collective access, mutual support and shared belonging.

Being a buddy involves checking in with another dancer and doing your best to support each other’s access needs in the ways each person requests support. A few examples of buddies: a dancer who is a nonvisual learner and a dancer who is a sighted learner might decide to stay near each other; a sitting dancer and a standing dancer might collaborate; and two dancers with chronic health conditions who know the same language might check in with each other during breaks about how they’re doing.

Please sign up to be a buddy on the registration form and feel free to note your communication and learning styles. Buddies will be matched based on compatible ways of learning and interacting; local dancers have numerous ways of communicating. Buddies will have the option of joining an accessibility orientation session Sunday February 9th (3:00pm-4:30pm at Gordon Head Recreation Centre’s Feltham Room).

The idea for a buddy system of interdependent dancers is inspired by: local dance groups, Sins Invalid’s Disability Justice principles, Carmen Papalia’s work on Open Access, the L’Arche Spirit Movers’ pairing of dancers, and Mia Mingus’ writing on Access Intimacy. This is the first time the InterdepenDance Collective is organizing a buddy system. We invite feedback on it before, during and after the workshop – feel free to be in touch.

Access info:

Access requests: On the registration form there is space to note access needs. If you have questions, feedback or suggestions, feel free to contact Joanne.

Relaxed environment: The workshop is a relaxed, “chill” environment, where everyone can choose how to engage. Feel free to attend to your needs as they come up. If requested in advance, an introvert area and a multi-sensory area can be set up, as curtained off areas to a side of the room. If you will have an attendant or support person with you, they are encouraged to participate in the workshop.

Describing: Describing is available if requested by February 9th. The describing team invites input on what styles of describing are preferred (such as spoken narration of physical movements, option of tactile describing, metaphor). Describing will be by dancers who are learning to describe.

Interpreting: Sign Language Interpreters are available (Katt and Emily) if requested by February 9th.

Captioning/ transcribing: Captioning is available if requested by February 9th. It will be remote transcribing because local transcribers are not available. There will be a few phone-arm-bands available and WIFI, allowing for mobile captioning as you move if you bring a smartphone.

Entrance: The venue is wheelchair accessible. The auditorium can be accessed through the main entrance off of Darwin Avenue (which has automatic doors), or by elevator from the lower level entrance (door has a push button) off Nigel Avenue. There are handydart drop-off areas off Darwin Avenue and on Nigel Avenue.

Parking: The larger parking area is off of Nigel Avenue. If you require a parking spot very close to the entrance, please note this on the registration form and we will ask the facility to reserve a spot for you in the upper parking lot off Darwin Avenue.

Washrooms: There are accessible washrooms for all genders. On the same level as the auditorium, there are accessible stalls in gendered (women’s and men’s) washrooms. On the lower level, near the elevator, there is a gender-neutral accessible washroom equipped with a lift.

Pronouns: There is an option to mention what gender pronouns you use (if any) on the registration form, on your name-tag at the workshop, and in introductions at the start of the day. People have diverse gender identities. Participants are asked not to assume which pronouns anyone goes by.

Chairs: There are chairs available. If you require a chair with arm-rests or another type of seating, please note this on the registration form and we will do our best to have it available.

Lighting: The auditorium has a very high ceiling with fluorescent lighting, and natural light from the side. If brighter lighting is not needed for people who speech-read, then some of the fluorescent lighting can be turned off if this would increase access.

Service animal relief area: Outside the main entrance, there is a grass area beside the parking lot.

Scent-reduced space: The registration form asks participants to commit to avoid using scented products February 14th before and during the event. Please be in touch to request a process for problem-solving if an issue with fragrances comes up at the workshop. The venue has a “go scent free” sticker on the main entrance. Sometimes there are baking or cooking smells from the kitchen.

Childcare/ familycare: Childcare and familycare is available if there is a need (February 14th is a Pro-D day).  Please request childcare/ familycare by February 9th. As well, your children and family members are welcome to join you at the workshop or hang out at the side of the dance space.

Bus routes:
-The bus routes that go nearest are the #26 (Saanich at Darwin bus stop is 0.5km away), and the northbound #16, 70, 72, 75 (Vernon at Ravine – Saanich Municipal Hall bus stop is 0.3km away).
-Feel free to be in touch if you would like an access buddy to meet you at the bus stop.
-The driveway from the Darwin Avenue sidewalk slopes down.
-If you are coming from Vernon Avenue, please note there is a steep driveway down from Vernon Avenue onto Nigel Avenue with no sidewalk. An option for avoiding steeper driveways: Around 700 Vernon Avenue, there is a parking lot driveway next to Saanich Community Recreation Services, which connects to the right with the Lochside Trail: turn right on the Lochside Trail and then left on a path that goes to Nigel Avenue, stay left, go past an apartment building and then the Garth Homer building’s lower entrance is on your left.
-Further away over on the far side of Uptown are buses #30, 31 and 50 (Carey at Ravine – Uptown bus stop is 0.6km away). From Carey there is a ramp down to the Galloping Goose Trail, which curves right underneath Carey Road and becomes the Lochside Trail; after going through a big tunnel and under another overpass there is a path to the right to Nigel Avenue.

Bicycle routes: The venue is very close to the Lochside Trail, and a little ways from the Galloping Goose Trail Switch Bridge. There are covered bike racks: off Nigel Avenue next to the driveway, and to the right of the main entrance off Darwin Avenue.

Options for the lunch break: There are tables and chairs in the auditorium if you bring your own lunch. There is a grocery store a few blocks away, and Uptown Mall is about five long blocks away. If you would like fresh air, the paved Lochside Trail, a couple of benches and Swan Lake are nearby.

Contact:

For more information about the workshop, contact Joanne. The registration link is above.

Many thanks to workshop supporters and partners:

We acknowledge the support of the Canada Council for the Arts.

This workshop is supported by Made in BC-Dance on Tour’s Community Engagement program, Garth Homer Society, MediaNet, Victoria Disability Resource Centre, and the Canadian Alliance of Dance Artists/West Chapter.

The event is organized by the InterdepenDance Collective in collaboration with All Bodies Dance Project, Creative Momentum, and Embrace Arts.

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