We are a collective of artists who are active in cross-disability dance and who experience barriers in the arts. The group was started by dancers mostly based in Lekwungen and W̱SÁNEĆ homelands and the islands region.
We are organizing online opportunities for learning and collaborating, including a cross-disability dance residency for 2022-2023. We are gathering online for safety during the pandemic and so that colleagues across Turtle Island can join events. If you would like to connect with the group, contact Joanne.
We are passionate about disability justice and interconnections among communities. The group is committed to ongoing learning around decolonial practices, Indigenous sovereignty, intersectional Disability Justice in/through dance, and prioritizing the leadership of Indigenous, Black, People of Colour, Deaf, Mad, Spoonie, Sick, Crip, Disabled, Two-Spirit, trans, non-binary, gender-expansive and queer artists and communities.
Current project:
Collective Access Screendance Residency
Thank-you to Canada Council for the Arts, BC Arts Council, Disability Alliance BC, Hamber Foundation, Flux Gallery / MediaNet, and Dance West Network for helping make this project possible!
Videos we have collaborated on:
InterdepenDance Collective dancing in February 2020
ASL vlog about Sins Invalid’s 10 Principles of Disability Justice
Previous events organized by the InterdepenDance Collective:
Online workshops in 2021:
- Disability Justice Workshop with Patty Berne on behalf of Sins Invalid.
- Documenting Dance Workshop with Kemi Craig.
Events in 2020:
- Decolonizing Place, workshop by Cheryl Bryce.
- Sacred Body: the first territory, workshop by Lindsay Delaronde.
- Disability Justice Arts learning collective
- Introduction to Inclusive Choreography, workshop with All Bodies Dance Project.
- Some thoughts on disability justice and co-facilitating dance, workshop with Lindsay Eales and Danielle Peers.
- Integrated Dance Forum, and a conversation on access in dance facilitated by The Table Victoria.
- Integrated Dance Films event.
- We are also grateful for mentoring sessions with Alice Sheppard, Carmen Papalia, and Sarah Lapp-Bourne.
Sessions in 2019:
The collective facilitated free, monthly, dance sessions through Saanich Recreation. The description for the sessions: “Take part in a collaborative dance practice for people of all physical and cognitive abilities. We’ll train together once a month, taking turns facilitating, and expanding our dance practices.” Thank-you to Saanich Community Services, Gordon Head Recreation Centre, Embrace Arts, and Made in BC–Dance on Tour, for supporting previous sessions.
A collaboration:
The collective was co-founded in September 2019 by dancers mostly based in Lekwungen homelands, including Claire (Dance & Theatre Artist), Joanne (Creative Momentum), Lea (Dance Artist & Facilitator), Luka (Writer & Performing Artist), and Tiffany (Embrace Arts). The idea for the group emerged in spring 2019 through a dance project that was in collaboration with the Victoria Disability Resource Centre.
Over the years, artists in the region have suggested creating a dance collective with disability leadership on the island, inspired by groups such as Kinetic Light, All Bodies Dance Project, Sins Invalid, and CRIPSiE. We are grateful that in 2020-2021 we had a chance to visit and learn with artists we admire.