On Tuesday April 29th at 6pm let’s dance in our own ways along accessible paths & sidewalks!

It’s inspired by: “Dance Walking,” people grooving in music videos to Pharrell Williams’ song “Happy,” and International Dance Day (see quote at the end of this post).

We’re gathering at 6:00pm at Camosun College Lansdowne campus, at the fountain (it’s at the entrance just off of Foul Bay near the short term parking; on the Lansdowne map look for the dot  between building #2 and parking P3), in Lkwungen and W̱SÁNEĆ homelands.

If you have a portable music device then bring your favourite tunes and headphones, or there will be a little portable speaker (anyone want to compile a playlist of anti-oppressive dance tunes?). Dress for the weather and bring water. We’ll warm-up with a couple dance improvisation games then wander around the area as a mobile mini dance party, wrapping up by 6:30pm.

Want to help out?

It’d be great if you’d like to:
spread the word: share this post or the event page on Facebook,
bring a snack to share after dancing (optional),
or be a safer space volunteer for the 29th (it would be great if you’ve been in this role before or previously had a safer spaces orientation through a group like Homospun or the Anti-Violence Project).

Dance Day message

Below is Santee Smith’s (choreographer, dancer, and Artistic Director of Kaha:wi Dance Theatre) call to action, on behalf of the Canadian Dance Assembly in celebration of International Dance Day 2014:

“Let dance into your life. Call dance into your life. Breathe dance into your life. Let dance be the connection between your spirit and the living universe. Let dance be the voice of your soulful resistance, your statement of I am here, in this space, now. Let dance resonate from your ancestral memories, from your DNA extending like tendrils to future generations. Call your body forth to move, to speak a language without words. Dance your dreams and poetry. Find that place deep inside your inner landscape that longs for expression. Close your eyes and remember the heartbeat rhythm, the first music you heard in your consciousness. Be the witness to a singular body animated in time and space or to the awesomeness of a multitude moving in unity. Let dance represent your metaphor, art, ritual, ceremony and ecstatic transformation. Energize, revitalize and renew yourself through dance. Renew your bond to the rhythms of the earth. Heal yourself, be yourself and together we can dance our humanity. Transform your life … let dance into your life. Join the celebration and ceremony of life; join the dance”.
~ Santee Smith, Artistic Director – Kaha:wi Dance Theatre

Santee Smith is a mother, performer, an award-winning producer and choreographer. She is from the Kahnyen’kehàka Nation, Turtle Clan from Six Nations, Ontario. (Full bio at the CDA website.)