Free online sessions:
All Abilities Dance with Joanne
Mondays 1:45pm-2:30pm (PST)
Through the LifeStreams online hub, open to local communities.
Move in new ways, release tension, and connect in community.
There will be guided dance improvisation activities, encouraging each person to choose how they feel like moving and interacting, in the ways that work for them. There is no wrong move, and no prior dance experience is needed.
To join:
Go to the Lifestreams website, and click on a Monday date for All Abilities Dance with Joanne. Below the details about the event, there is blue box that says “Click here and enter” the password.
If you have access needs you would like the facilitator to know about, please fill in the text box mid-way on the dance event page at least a few days in advance. If you have questions for the facilitator, be in touch.
This event is to introduce the public to mixed-ability dance and dance from disability perspectives.
As well, the event is a chance for dancers who experience disability to come together and experience the work of colleagues in other cities.
Films and video will include work by artists such as Alice Sheppard, Danielle Peers, Geoff McMurchy, All Bodies Dance Project, and Embrace Arts. There will be video excerpts of dance artists based on six continents, with a focus on the West Coast of Turtle Island.
Please do not use any scented or fragranced products before coming to the event.
Photo from All Bodies Dance Project. Photo credit: Erik Zennstrom.
Optional snacks
Feel free to bring a snack to share, with a list of ingredients (large print or size 18 font). Please avoid bringing common allergens (i.e. No nuts, peanuts, shellfish, wheat, gluten, milk/cow dairy). Thank-you!
Accessible washrooms for all genders are available next door at the Victoria Disability Resource Centre.
The Flux Media Gallery entrance is level off of Fort Street. The door is not automatic, so there will be a volunteer near the door available to open it.
Please request interpreting, captioning and describing by January 20th:
-A sign language interpreter is available.
-Captioning and transcribing are confirmed.
-Audio description: Some of the videos have audio description available. There will be live describing for the remaining videos, by artists who are learning to describe dance. Audience members can choose which styles of live describing they would like (for example, narrating physical movements, metaphor, optional tactile describing, layering styles).
For other questions and access requests, contact Joanne or include it when you RSVP.
To watch the videos after the event:
In case joining in person does not work, a webpage will be available after the event with links to many of the videos shown at the event. The webpage with links will be shared on the integrated dance south island listserv. To join the listserv, connect by email.
There are volunteer roles available: greeter (and available to assist with the door), describing team, childminding, set up and clean-up. Please sign up on the RSVP form.
This event is organized by the InterdepenDance Collective, in partnership with MediaNet, Victoria Disability Resource Centre, Creative Momentum and Embrace Arts.
We acknowledge the support of the Canada Council for the Arts. This project is made possible, in part, with the collaboration and support of Made in BC-Dance on Tour.
Here are dance groups inviting new participants this month:
Mixed-Abilities Dance Group: A new inclusive dance group is starting on September 20th. Mixed-abilities dance group sessions are free and are on Thursdays 1:00pm-2:00pm. The group includes people who experience disability as well as people who don’t experience disability.
55+ Dance Group: An inclusive, collaborative dance group, mostly 55years+ (but younger folks welcome), starts with a free introductory session September 21st. 55+ Dance Group sessions are Fridays 10:30am-11:30am at Cedar Hill Rec Dance Studio.
All Abilities Dance Group: A Monday morning all abilities dance group in collaboration with a local non-profit organization.
Invitation for ideas and suggestions: This season we will be checking in with folks through a survey about what types of sessions or groups people would like to be part of in 2019. The survey will be sent through the Dancing for Wellbeing newsletter; if you would like to sign up your email please use the contact page.
Dancing in the Morning: an inclusive dance session
Art by Naomi Kennedy.
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.
This is an invitation to join a new dance group, which will be shaped by participants’ interests:
50+ Dance Troupe *the group will come up with its actual name once it meets.
Mondays 2:00pm-3:30pm At Cedar Hill Recreation (3220 Cedar Hill Rd) in the Dance Studio. Free. Facilitated by Joanne Cuffe in partnership with Saanich Parks & Recreation.
Oct. 17 – Nov. 14 (5 weeks): Dancing + Brainstorming sessions. Sessions include an hour of movement (a warm-up and guided improvisation activities for moving as a group) and a half-hour of brainstorming ideas and discussing what everyone is interested in.
All abilities welcome. No prior dance experience needed.
50+ is just a suggestion; adults under 50 are welcome too if there is room.
No need to register – just come by the dance studio on the dates that you can make!
If you are interested in the dance troupe but not available this autumn, there will be an opportunity to join the group in the New Year (there will be an intro session on Monday Jan. 23rd at 2:15pm-3:30pm at the Cedar Hill Recreation Dance Studio).
Dance Without Limits is a free adapted dance program by the Cerebral Palsy Association of BC. Children and youth of all abilities are welcome, ages 5 to 15+.
I had fun facilitating the first Victoria class today, with a great group of participants, families, support workers and volunteers!
And there is room for more to join: if you know anyone who might be interested, please share this link: http://bccerebralpalsy.com/programs/dance-without-limits/. The classes are Tuesdays 5pm-6pm, from Feb. 9th-March 8th at Cook Street Village Activity Centre (parking lot entrance). To register, call 604-408-9484, or email admin@bccerebralpalsy.com.
p.s. Here is a short video from the program in Vancouver:
Want to dance like no one’s watching? There are free drop-in dance sessions on Fridays at 1pm at Our Place (919 Pandora Ave.), on the second floor in the interfaith chapel.
Creative Momentum art by Naomi Kennedy.
No prior dance experience needed. (-:
On Fridays we’ll do a simple warm-up and then a variety of dance activities. The focus is on moving in new ways, releasing stress, being creative & having fun.
The overall style is freestyle / dance improvisation, with guided activities, where we each choose how we feel like moving & interacting. Music requests so far have been rock, reggae, swing, disco, hip hop, salsa, Arabic, soca, dub, + more ideas are very welcome.
You are welcome to dance seated, or to stand. Activities are adapted for the group. Facilitated by Joanne. Questions? Ask Joanne on Friday just before 1pm or be in touch. The sessions began in September and will continue over the winter until February.
Accessibility: To use the elevator to access the second floor, please ask at the front desk. To confirm in advance that the elevator is working, or to check about the width of the doorway into the chapel, call Our Place 250-388-7112.
I had fantastic times at the Dancing for Brain Health demos last week! Thank-you to everyone for your great reflections and feedback.
Last Wednesday at the Monterey demo we fit 19 of us in a smaller room and filled the place with laughter. We warmed up with the BrainDance, and mid-way through the demo, each person suggested a fun dance move for the group to follow. We began the cool-down with mini dances (dancing with just one part of the body at a time, inspired by a Margie Gillis activity) to Dancing Queen by ABBA.
Image of the brain, from OpenStax College*
On Friday in Cook Street Village, we were in a much bigger room, although with around 24 of us in a big circle we filled up the space. We did a simple social dance step in twos, sparking new connections and boisterous conversations. We played a human-sized tic-tac-toe game, and then waltzed with scarves while singing along to Que Sera Sera by Doris Day. Most participants were in their 50s-70s, although the age range varied from 30s-90s. A side note… on Friday a participant left behind a brassiere – if you forgot to take your bra with you, please find it at the Cook Street Village Activity Centre lost & found!
Is there anything that you are wondering in terms of what the upcoming sessions will be like, or whether it will be a good fit for what you are looking for? If so, please be in touch (see the Contact page for contact info – there is also a sign-up form for the monthly Dancing for Brain Health updates there). And please feel free to share this memo with any friends you think might be interested.
Thank-you everyone, and I hope to dance with you soon,
Joanne
*Creative Commons brain image by OpenStax College: The Central Nervous System. OpenStax CNX. May 10, 2013 http://cnx.org/contents/24e8609c-16a7-4dd5-b3da-e38aaeef7ed5@4@4.
