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.
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).
Photo of All Bodies Dance Project. Photo credit: Chris Randle.
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.
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).
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.
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.
Colonial Reality mini-Tour for dancers Tuesday June 25th 7:00pm
at Esquimalt Gorge Park
on Tillicum Road just south of the Gorge Waterway.
We’ll meet at the bottom of the main parking lot (closer to the water) by the bike racks.
Event description:
The Colonial Reality Tour is guided by a Lekwungen community member to identify places of significance to local Indigenous peoples and the colonial institutions and names that mark them.
Cheryl Bryce has offered to guide a short version of the Colonial Reality Tour for dancers on June 25th by Camossung. We will stroll to a few tour stops, for about an hour.
Space is limited. Please RSVP by June 24th at this link and note any access needs. The route will be shaped by the accessibility needs of the group.
Admission is free.
This event is open to anyone involved in dance who would like to attend (such as community dancers, dance artists, dance facilitators/ teachers, and family members). It has been organized by a few members of the islands network for collaborative dance.
Thank-you to Made in BC – Dance on Tour’s community engagement program for supporting this event, which is part of a dance project that is also supported by the CRD Arts & Culture Support Service and the Victoria Disability Resource Centre.
Bringing a water bottle is encouraged.
Buses number 8, 9, 11, 14 and 26 go to the area.
We apologize that there has not been more advance notice for this event, and look forward to seeing those who can attend.
You are invited to brainstorm about integrated dance! What types of all abilities dance initiatives would you like to be part of locally over the coming year/s?
Dance Visioning: Wednesday June 26th. Two time options(choose one): 11:00am-12:30pm, or 1:30pm-2:30pm.
At the Victoria Disability Resource Centre’s boardroom, at 817A Fort Street, in the homelands of the Lekwungen peoples.
ASL Interpretation is available for the 11:00am-12:30pm session.
The morning session will be co-hosted by Amber (Dancer & Artist) and Joanne (Creative Momentum), and the afternoon session will be co-hosted by Tiffany (Embrace Arts) and Joanne.
The visioning will help shape local dance opportunities for this Fall and over the coming years.
This gathering is a follow-up to last year’s Mixed-Abilities Dance Group, in collaboration with the Victoria Disability Resource Centre. This event is made possible with support from CRD Arts & Culture Support Service and Made in BC – Dance on Tour’s community engagement program.
A head’s up about an opportunity to dance this Fall: There will be integrated dance collaborative sessions on one Wednesday per month. For more information see the Integrated Dance Collective page.
Dancers from the Mixed-Abilities Dance Group will be performing as part of the Choreography Walk, on Saturday January 26th at 10am, and Sunday January 27th at 2pm.
Please see the link below for details about the event!
55+ Dance Group: An inclusive, collaborative dance group, mostly 55years+ (but younger folks welcome), starts with a free introductory session January 18. 55+ Dance Group sessions are Fridays 10:30am-11:30am at Cedar Hill Rec Dance Studio.
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.
The first Dancing Together session, which is all genders, all mobilities, all ages, queer, community social dance, will be:
Saturday March 18 7:00pm-9:00pm
at Dance Victoria (2750 Quadra Street) at the back door (use the rear parking entrance on Market Street), in Lkwungen Territory. Sliding scale $0-20.
Note: Please do not use scented products on the day of the event.
The Facebook event page is at [link: March 18 Facebook event page].
For details about accessibility and directions
Please click [link:Dancing Together page] for details about event accessibility and location.
March 18 event description:
Dancing Together brings together people with diverse genders and sexualities, people of diverse backgrounds, and people with diverse ways of moving, as well as friends, family and supportive people. Sessions are open to anyone who can 1) communicate consent (non-verbally or verbally) and 2) respect other people’s boundaries and gender identities. No previous dance experience is required.
On March 18th we will start with talking about how to respect other people’s boundaries and gender identities, such as asking for and receiving consent before engaging in contact such as holding hands, and not assuming what gender pronouns (if any) someone might use. We recognize this is a learning process and we can learn from our mistakes.
There will then be a 30 or 40-minute introductory lesson in gender-inclusive & mixed-abilities partner dance. This will include a chance to try the dance roles of inviting and responding (“leading” and “following”), ways of moving through space together (with options of moving with space between us or with contact such as holding hands), and options for spins / turns / going around each other. There is no need to come with a dance partner. After the learning time there will be a venue washroom discussion, followed by some freestyle social dance time, for practicing what we learned or free-form dancing. After dancing we will brainstorm about what types of dance we would like to try in future sessions.
Want to receive updates about sessions?
To be added to the group’s email listserv, please [link: contact us].
To join the group’s page on Facebook, please go to [link: group on Facebook].
Want to help sessions happen?
The group is looking for people to help with a variety of shared roles, which are described in this [link: invite to get involved on Saturdays]. There will be a Dancing and Planning session on March 11 from 3:30pm-5:30pm for people helping out.
Want more info about the group and other upcoming dates?
Am delighted to be facilitating a week-long intergenerational workshop at the end of March on five afternoons. Ages 9 to 70+ are welcome! Below is the description from the Art Gallery of Greater Victoria website:
Spring Camp 2017: Dancing with Art (ages 9+)
Monday, March 27 – Friday, March 31 | 1:00pm – 4:00pm
At the Art Gallery of Greater Victoria
Photo Credit: Art Gallery of Greater Victoria
“Move in new ways! Join Joanne for a week of expressing yourself through playful dance activities and creative arts. Improv movement sessions will be held in various locations around the Gallery where inspiration will be sought from paintings, sculpture, sound, poetry, buildings and the land. Over the five days the group will also collaborate on creating a site-specific dance piece.
“All abilities are welcome and activities will be adapted to accommodate each participant. There is no wrong move, and no prior dance experience is needed!”
Accessibility notes: The Dancing with Art venue is an older building, and although it has washrooms that are designated as mobility accessible, the width of the restroom doorways and turn-around space may be too narrow for some participants who use wheelchairs. There are ramps to the restrooms and to the gallery rooms. The gallery is lit by bright lighting (including fluorescent lights); it may be useful to bring a hat with a visor and/or sunglasses if you are sensitive to lighting. We will spend time in two studios that have windows , natural lighting and access to fresh air; as well as movement sessions in some gallery rooms that have no windows; and we can do some activities outdoors if it is not raining (please bring weather-appropriate clothing).
Please be in touch with Joanne if you would like any accessibility details, such as the dimensions of doorways and layout of the restrooms.
Dancing Together, inclusive social dance lessons for people with diverse genders, sexualities, backgrounds and ways of moving; will start this Spring! It will be on one or two Saturdays per month, with alternating start times of 3:30pm and 7:00pm, in Quadra Village in Lekwungen Homelands. For a detailed description of the sessions, please click [link: Dancing Together group overview].
Would you like to help Dancing Together sessions happen in a good way?
The group is looking for volunteers for a variety of shared roles: music, sound, “on call” team (access support/ safer spaces), movement translators, sign language teachers, co-facilitators, fundraising, social media, postering, first aid, set-up/clean-up, and zine-making.
There are options both for volunteers who want to dance and those who don’t want to dance. There may also be opportunities for people who like drawing, sewing hems, translating languages, providing informal audio description, assisting with ASL interpretation, Braille embossing, website updating and graphic design.
If you’d like to be involved, please RSVP to dancingtog@gmail.com and include the following:
1) Which is the first session date you will be attending? (Session dates are March 18 from 7:00pm-9:00pm, likely April 22 from 7:00pm-9:00pm, and more dates will be confirmed in April on [link: group page]; volunteers are asked to arrive 15 minutes before the session start time)
2) Is there a group role/s that you are interested in, or do you have experience or skills in a certain aspect that you would like to share?
Want your email added to the group’s listserv, or interested in donating to the sessions?
The group has started a collaborative google-document to compile favourite anti-oppressive songs for dancing, including suggesting songs of musicians with dancey music who are trans, gender variant, queer, Indigenous, people of colour, and/or living with disabilities; and discussing and/or flagging songs with lyrics that might be problematic, oppressive, and/or not trauma-informed. If you would like to contribute to the music ideas document, please be in touch.
Here is a draft description of the various roles:
*If you would like to try something you’ve never done before and would like support learning what’s involved, let a co-facilitator know at a session or by email, as we could organize skills-shares or mentoring this Spring. (: *If you have experience in a role and would like to share what you have learned or co-mentor, let a co-facilitator know at a session or by email. (:
Co-facilitators: people who love dancing, have a strong understanding of consent, and are committed to learning inclusive language and practices. We’re gathering together a collective of co-facilitators that includes Indigenous people, people of colour, people living with disabilities, intersex people, and two-spirit, trans, nonbinary and/or gender-variant people. Co-facilitators might take turns, with 2-3 people co-facilitating each session. It will be a paid position, although the honourarium amount will be dependent on how many donations come in at each session.
Sound: people who take turns hanging out near the stereo to press play, pause, and adjust volume.
Music:people who collaborate or take turns creating a playlist either just for the freestyle part of sessions (30-45 minutes), or for the whole session (90 minutes), in consultation with that week’s co-facilitators. Guidelines for songs: aiming for lyrics that are consensual, anti-oppressive and friendly for all ages.
Fundraising team: people who help the group seek donations and write grant applications. Costs include accessibility needs (such as having bus tickets available, hiring a translator or sign language interpreter when needed, etc.), space rental, honourariums for co-facilitators and guest instructors, buying rad music that people request, printing the zine (find an organization to sponsor photocopying?), etc.
“On call” team (access support/ safer spaces): people who participate in sessions but are available for people to connect with if an issue comes up during a session, and who take turns being by the door.
The group is currently drafting safer spaces guidelines (e.g. adapting from the guidelines for Alt Pride’s All Bodies Swim and Homospun dances), and will be brainstorming protocols for situations that may arise. The “on call” team will need to decide on how to note who is “on call” (e.g. with a green heart safety pinned to the back of the “on call” people’s shirts/tops like Homospun, with green fabric tied around an arm like the Stolen Sisters Memorial March organizers, or with hankies/ fabric if we can figure out a pattern that doesn’t already have connotations?)
Movementtranslators:people who help translate dance instructions into a variety of options based on needs and abilities. During lessons a small group could hang out beside the instructors and offer examples of ways of interpreting dance steps (e.g. seated, moving an arm instead of feet, partner dancing without holding hands, etc.).
Sign language teachers: people who teach the group a few new signs at the beginning of each session to do with consent (“yes”, “no”, “stop”, “I’m sorry”, “is this okay?”, “do you want to hold hands?”, “awesome, thank-you”, “you’re welcome”, etc.), dancing (“fast”, “slow”, “which role?”, “you choose”, “freestyle”, etc.) and accessibility (“options”, “if sitting”, “if standing”, etc.); and who are available to support/teach co-facilitators and “on call” people signs related to their roles (“are you okay?”, “do you want support?”, etc.).
Social media and posters: people who, in collaboration with the group, create facebook event pages and posters, poster, handle social media, compile a list of relevant groups and calendars for sending updates to, etc.
First aid: people with current certification in first aid and CPR, who are available to assist if a participant has a sudden illness or injury.
Set-up/ clean-up: people who can arrive 20 minutes early and/or stay 15 minutes after to help move chairs and tables to/from the studio, sweeping the floor if needed, etc.
Zine-making team: people who like to draw, create art, compile resources, edit, summarize or do layout to create a Dancing Together zine in collaboration with co-facilitators and “on call” team, from around April – October 2017. The resource zine could include summaries about consent in dance, acknowledging the peoples of the land, pronouns, confidentiality, safer spaces, conversation starter ideas, inappropriate questions, anti-colonial gender-inclusive all-abilities dance, cultural appropriation vs. cultural exchange, and local resources for emotional support. Once it’s ready, copies of the zine will be available at sessions and can be referred to as things come up. Once the group creates a website, the resource info could go online as well.
For any questions, or to get involved, please [link: contact us].
