Programs are currently being offered online and outdoors, because people can transmit the omicron variant indoors regardless of vaccination status.
In solidarity with dancers and community members who are immune-compromised, at high risk for severe COVID-19 or Long Covid, and/or have health conditions that mean they cannot safely be vaccinated, we are continuing to focus on online offerings.
Previous update:
Currently, all programs are in collaboration with partner organizations that have detailed safety plans and protocols, and have staff who maintain lists of in-person participants for contact tracing.
The following protocols have been developed based on orders and guidance issued by the provincial health officer and WorkSafeBC, as well as paying attention to peer-reviewed studies about how COVID-19 transmits.
General protocols to reduce the risk of transmission
Work-from-home:
When possible, working from home and teaching online through video platforms.
Ventilation:
During the warm season, sessions take place outdoors when possible. Please bring layers and dress for the weather.
For indoor sessions, windows and/or doors are opened for ventilation when possible. Please bring warm layers.
Physical distancing:
Participants and facilitators are spaced at least 2.5 metres apart when dancing, with the facilitator in a designated “instructor area” further apart when possible. The size of groups has been reduced.
Most in-person groups are remaining seated in one spot during classes, which maintains the physical distance throughout the session.
For studio sessions, each participant has a designated area taped on the floor (at least 3 meters squared) in which they can move about, to maintain physical distancing with other participants. When a dancer is participating with an attendant or support person, they have a larger designated area.
Masks:
For indoor sessions, masks that cover the mouth and nose are worn, except when located at least 2 metres apart and eating or drinking. BC’s exemptions for wearing a mask: people who are unable to wear a mask due to a health condition or a physical, cognitive or mental impairment, and people who are unable to put on or remove a mask without the assistance of another person. People who are not wearing a mask are asked to stay at least 2 metres apart from others.
If a participant needs to see the facilitator’s face for speechreading, then physical distancing and ventilation is increased and a face shield is worn if a clear mask is not available.
Airborne etiquette and hand hygiene:
Participants are reminded to cover coughs and sneezes.
Music volume has been lowered so that talking does not need to be loud.
During the pandemic, singing is avoided at in-person sessions (only virtual sessions online welcome singing along to songs).
Hand hygiene is encouraged, including hand washing or sanitizing before and after sessions.
Everyone is encouraged to bring a full water bottle and arrive wearing their dance clothes. Please keep any bag or personal items in a designated spot.
Props:
During the pandemic, most dance prop use is on pause.
When props are used, each participant has their own prop that is not shared. Props are sanitized and generally quarantined for at least 14 days between use.
Cleaning:
Partner organizations and host venues have detailed cleaning and sanitizing protocols for their venues.
Policy regarding symptoms of COVID-19
Facilitators, collaborators and participants who are showing symptoms of COVID-19 are not allowed in-person at sessions. For example:
If anyone at a session starts to feel ill: the person with symptoms should report to first aid (even with mild symptoms), be provided with a mask, wash or sanitize their hands, and isolate until they are able to go straight home (or seek medical attention if severely ill). Ventilate the room and clean and disinfect any surfaces that the person with symptoms has come into contact with.
The All Abilities Dance Group invites peers to join us:
Winter Celebration
Monday December 9th
from 11:00am-11:45am
at the Garth Homer Auditorium.
The group is creating a winter-themed dance to share Dec. 9th. The Nigel dance group will share a very brief dance as well.
After this there will be a dance party open to anyone who would like to join in!
Please send song requests and RSVP numbers to Joanne@creativemoment.im by December 6th.
If you arrive before 11:00am, feel free to find a spot in the audience. Please do not interrupt the group dancing (they have a rehearsal from 10:45-11:00am).
Please note that there might be photo and video documentation of the All Abilities Dance Group’s dance. If anyone in the audience does not want to accidentally be in video or photos, please sit towards the back or sides of the audience. Thank-you.
There is a new article about local adaptive dance opportunities that I (Joanne Cuffe) wrote in collaboration with the Victoria Disability Resource Centre for their blog: An Invitation to Dance. (Update: I am including the article below along with all of the photos with alt text descriptions, as most of the photos did not get transferred when the VDRC switched to a new website.)
An Invitation to Dance
Four months ago dance was not at all on Kristian OakenShield’s radar screen. But that definitely changed one day in September at MOVE gym, when, by chance, he encountered a Dance Without Limits session. It looked like great fun and he joined in.
Now the program, which is run by the Cerebral Palsy Association of BC, is part of his life, and he works as a volunteer at their dance sessions.
Kristian says he likes “moving the body in ways I would not normally, being creative with my imagination, and being more in tuned and aware with my body.” After dancing he feels “inner excitement and inner happiness–I know I am getting out of my comfort zone.”
Dancing has an extensive array of health benefits and it is fantastic for physical, emotional, cognitive, spiritual and social well-being. Studies have found that dancing can decrease symptoms of depression and anxiety, lessen pain, minimize isolation, help heal trauma, promote healthy aging, and reduce the risk of Alzheimer’s and dementia. Dancing can also improve range of motion, balance, coordination and agility; increase muscular strength and endurance; and benefit the heart and lungs.
Kristian is an active member of MOVE gym and has been attending other dance workshops there too. He says his own specific goal is “to use dance to help me progress further in my quest to regain full function of my physical body.” He says he also gets real satisfaction from volunteering in dancing “to help enrich other people’s lives.”
Kristian’s advice to a peer, who wants to try an inclusive dance class but feels hesitant, is: “Just make a decision to take action and try it out and watch what happens.”
Dancing can be an amazing way of bringing people together, as communities have done around the world for a very long time. Dancing in a supportive setting can help meet a variety of basic human needs: for connection, acceptance, belonging, closeness, mutuality and respect; for autonomy, choice, freedom and spontaneity; for joy, humour, movement and safe physical contact; and for celebration, contribution, creativity, harmony, inspiration, meaning and self-expression. (This list draws from the Needs Inventory by the Center for Nonviolent Communication.)
The adaptive dance scene is varied and growing in Victoria in Lekwungen and W̱SÁNEĆ Territories.
In June 2016 five community dance groups came together for a Celebration. Each group shared the dance they had created in collaboration with artist facilitators, and everyone mingled during a dance party. Participants included dancers with diversabilities, dancers who are older adults, and dancers who are refugees and newcomers. The event was hosted by the Dance Alchemy project and the Community Arts Council of Greater Victoria, with funding from the BC Arts Council.
On January 4th there was a follow-up event called Dancing in the Morning that welcomed all abilities; 45 people gathered to dance at 10:30am at Cedar Hill Recreation. Participants were enthusiastic and are interested in the inclusive event happening once a month, if we can find a large accessible space that is available on a Monday, Tuesday or Wednesday from 10:30-11:30am.
Locally there is a group focused on creating opportunities for inclusive social dance, with sessions starting in March. Dancing Together brings together people with diverse ways of moving, as well as queer, trans and gender-variant communities, to try different types of social dance (such as tango) and learn to improvise together respectfully. This is a welcome development, as many dance classes and clubs around town are inaccessible to many community members, whether it is due to the venue not being physically accessible, the cost being a barrier, or the teaching style of the instructors not being inclusive or welcoming.
As well as public classes, there are also a variety of ongoing dance groups that happen through organizations around Victoria in Lekwungen and W̱SÁNEĆ Homelands. I am honoured to facilitate dance groups with people with diverse ways of moving, perceiving and interacting, with six disability-focused organizations and nine organizations focused on Elders and older adults.
In recent years I have led dance sessions with around 1900 unique participants, aged 4 years old to 103 years young. I live with invisible disabilities, and I notice that my sense of joy and well-being is drastically increased when I dance during the day in a community setting, compared to days when I do not dance.
I asked a few participants with one of the dance groups for their reflections on the sessions. Linda, Renee, Johnny and Lawrence all said that they had not taken a dance class before attending sessions at Kardel’s Futures program. Renee said she likes that she gets to help pick the music and that there are “no bad moves.” Linda likes “everything,” and Lawrence noted that “it’s fun AND Joanne plays Cantonese songs.” Johnny said, “I feel great after dance,” and Renee and Linda said they feel energized.
There have been integrated dance initiatives locally in the past, including by Geoff McMurchy, Dance Victoria, Lori Hamar, Brad Magnus and Dance Encounters. There are also examples from around the world of inclusive dance initiatives that believe that ‘if you can breathe you can dance,’ including Sins Invalid, which focuses on disability, sexuality and social justice, andDanceAbility International, which offers teacher trainings.
There are many professional dance companies elsewhere that are physically integrated, where artists with and without disabilities collaborate, such as Candoco Dance, AXIS Dance, and ILL-Abilities International Breakdance Crew. “Mixed ability dance is an approach that is accessible to all bodies and all abilities, including people with physical, developmental, sensory and neurological disabilities,” wrote the All Bodies Dance Projectin an article about attending the first Canadian Inclusive Dance Teacher Intensive in February 2016. The people involved in dance companies in other cities are in dialogue, including All Bodies Dance Project in Vancouver, Propeller Dance in Ottawa, MoMo Mixed Ability Dance Theatre in Calgary, CRIPSiE in Edmonton, and Corpuscule Danse in Montréal.
Although the dance sessions mentioned earlier in this article are focused on being beginner-friendly, if there is interest, we could train together in the coming years and create an inclusive dance company here, too.
Emily J. danced with MoMo Dance in Calgary for three years and now lives on the island. “I’ve met some of my favourite people through dance – people who show me exceptional ways of being in the world. Dancing has generated new possibilities for intimate love and care, and moments of change and joy that I might not have had otherwise.”
Its Happening in Victoria
Lots of opportunities to participate in adaptive dance in the Victoria area:
Inclusive dance for adults:
Adaptive Dance, Mondays 1:00-1:45pm at Cedar Hill Recreation; although the January class is full, if the waitlist fills up we will schedule another class. We are fundraising to have an All Abilities Dance Groupthere this April in collaboration with MOVE Adapted Fitness, facilitated by Joanne Cuffe. Learn more about the Adaptive Dance class.
50+ dance troupe, Mondays 2:00-3:30pm at Cedar Hill Recreation, all abilities welcome. The group is also open to adults younger than 50, and is free thanks to support from Saanich Parks & Recreation and Made in BC. Learn more about the 50+ dance troupe.
Dancing Together, inclusive social dance lessons that bring together people with diverse ways of moving as well as queer, trans and gender-variant communities, beginning in March. Learn more about the “Dancing Together” dance lessons.
Dancing in the Morning, inclusive dancing events that bring together participants from day programs and interested community members, on a Mon., Tues. or Wed. at 10:30am, happening a few times per year (or more often if a venue/ sponsors are found). Learn more about the “Dancing in the Morning” events.
To be in touch about the Dance Alchemy project,or community dance programs (sessions can happen on-site at local organizations, residences and community centres), contact Joanne Cuffe.
Opportunities to dance with other instructors:
Motion Ways, a custom dance/ exercise program tailored for individuals with neurological conditions, such as Parkinson’s, epilepsy, peripheral neuropathy, multiple sclerosis, and acquired brain injury, Mondays 11:15am-12:15pm until April 10, at Gordon Head Rec Centre, a program of HeadWay, instructed by Lindsay Beal. Learn more about the motion ways program.
Juan de Fuca Social Club, weekly dances that are geared towards people with disabilities, Wednesdays 7:00-8:30pm at Juan de Fuca Seniors Centre: Learn more about the programs at Juan de Fuca(description for dance and drama programs is on page 42 in the January guide).
Dance Without Limits, free classes for children and youth with various disabilities, on Tuesdays 5:15-6:00pm until March 28, drop-ins welcome, at MOVE Gym, a program of the Cerebral Palsy Association of BC, instructed by Jordan Dalley. Learn more about Dance Without Limits.
Chair Exercise, a dance class for people living with multiple sclerosis and anyone else interested in a seated dance/exercise class, Tuesdays 12:15-1:15pm until Feb. 28, at Silver Threads Victoria, a program of the MS Society of Canada, instructed by Katrina Pavlovski. Learn more about the chair exercise class.
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:
My apologies for being so quiet online since the spring. Dance programs have been very busy and lovely with new locations across the region; however this has had a side effect: I have not had a chance to send newsletters, tweet, or post updates. And, I have missed being in touch with participants from dancing for wellbeing and dance for brain health sessions while classes paused for the summer.
Although I usually focus on updates that highlight a particular location, today my theme is numbers, which feels a bit odd. Yet numbers seem like a useful way to summarize the beautiful whirl of the past while, and to offer more context (/an alibi) for why I have been offline. As an example, during the past 7 days, I have danced with 132 participants, including 20 new people, at 13 locations. It’s an honour to connect and be creative with so many fun people.
In the past 6 months I have met 395 new participants at programs…. I find it quite tricky to keep track of so many people’s names – although at least there are some repeated names, such as on Saturday there were 4 people with the name Joyce across 3 locations! I started keeping tally of numbers of participants in 2012; in the past 3 years I have danced with around 1152 unique participants, at more than 50 locations.
Over the past 5 workdays, I have bicycle commuted 80 kilometers. This is likely a record, as I do not usually go around to so many neighbourhoods in the same week. This week involved 10 different areas in Lekwungen and WSANEC homelands: Oaklands, Saanichton, Brentwood Bay x2, Burnside-Gorge, Gordon Head, Vic West, James Bay x3, Esquimalt, Swan Lake, Cadboro Bay, and tomorrow involves Sidney (…although I will bus both ways tomorrow). I am grateful that for autumn, it has been possible to set up my schedule so that sessions in the same neighbourhood are on the same day.
Recently, I am often out of the office from 10am-4:30pm with programs, and then I spend time in the office to prepare activities, playlists and props, and to follow up about logistics for programs (with ~20 organizations and workshops at 5 locations).
And, one of my favourite numbers from this summer: I spent 7 nights camping at Long Beach/ Tofino in Tla-o-qui-aht in early August. My family came together for it, from Gatineau/Ottawa, Nicaragua and Burnaby, and it was also where I met my delightful 4-month-old nephew for the first time.
I hope that summer has treated you and family as well as possible, and that we get to catch up and dance soon!
During February and March, I had a wonderful time moving with a group of graceful dancers at the Victoria Immigrant & Refugee Centre. We did many group improvisations together, as well as dancing in two’s; this group is amazing at moving as a collective!
From the poster for the six-week series: “Relaxing classes for the newcomers that will help you: Learn English in a fun and friendly setting, Make new friends, Stay healthy with light exercises, Relax and have fun.”
We took some photos (a few blurry) on March 24th, during the last session; participants wanted to dance with ribbons:
A regular highlight of my week is connecting with residents at the Douglas Care Community, for a Move to Music session on Wednesday mornings. There is much laughter and playfulness; adaptive dancing, with relevant music, is excellent for engaging with people who are experiencing memory loss.
After each session I rate how it felt to me, in terms of connecting and engaging with participants, out of 5 stars (with 5 stars meaning ‘great’). The past couple months’ sessions here have felt like: 6 stars, 7 stars, 9 stars (a new record), 6 stars, 3.5 stars, 7 stars, 6 stars, and 8 stars. Thank-you to Leslie for impromptu photos of us with an Octaband (star/ sunshine/ octopus) dance prop a few weeks ago:
Today was an especially beautiful, full day of programs: it started with lively laughter, ribbons and a dance jam circle with people at Wellspring Support; followed by a fox trot, waltz and duets with people at the Cridge Seniors’ Centre; and then flamenco, merengue and graceful collective movement with people at the Victoria Immigrant & Refugee Centre Society. The day also involved confirming details for a couple of workshops in March: one at Capital Mental Health Association’s Bridge Program, and another at the Victoria Brain Injury Society. In the evening I prepared for the rest of the week, including for tomorrow morning’s weekly session at the Douglas Care Community.
It is an honour to get to connect and move with so many wonderful people. Participants continually remind me that there are so many ways to express joy without using words.