Let’s Dance Ian!! Updated April 04 2021 – Mis à jour le 04 avril 2021
Let’s Dance Ian!!
The best way to read this message is using the Newsletter Web Version that is updated mid-week. Click on your favourite events in the Table of Contents. – Ian! D. Allen
Local News:
Online Dance Brunch 11am Saturday: The Ontario Regional Contact Improvisation Dance Jam (ORCJ), normally a gathering of over 250 dancers from all over the world held Easter Weekend in Toronto, is having a free, impromptu online Zoom “Dance Brunch” on Saturday April 3 at 11am. Details here: https://contactimprov.ca/
Avoid Pandemic Panic this winter by thinking like a Norwegian.
Ottawa Public Health says be W.I.S.E.:
The links to images on the facebook may be broken in this newsletter. They must have changed their policy on access, so at some point I’ll have to go through the newsletter and delete all the facebook references. Event organizers: please ensure you have a non-facebook web site with images to which I can link for your event.
Dancers who pursue graceful movement must practice being aware of their bodies and being aware of wordless communication. These skills are particularly important today, when we spend so much time sitting and in virtual realities. Our way of life has taken us further from our own physical experiences and the understanding of the wordless emotional messages of others. For example, contact improvisation makes the dancers listen attentively to the body of their partner. Touch is known to reduce pain, fear and anxiety. – Hanna Poikonen
Events in the local Ottawa/Gatineau/Wakefield/Lanark/CarletonPlace Region
Events that recur weekly or monthly show only the nearest upcoming event or two. Follow the link for future events.
See the Dance to Nature group on the facebook or contact Alana O’Donnell for more information.
On the Web:
On the facebook:
The Global Underscore long-form Contact Improv Dance Jam takes place for four hours simultaneously, world-wide, Saturday, June 19 in 2021. (Contact the organizers for the start time.) Follow the link for a location near you. We have no Underscore practice in Ottawa, alas, but we might have a regular dance jam on Saturday and you can find events in other communities on the facebook Global Underscore page.
The Underscore is a long-form dance improvisation structure developed by Nancy Stark Smith. It has been evolving since 1990 and is practiced all over the globe.
The Underscore is a vehicle for incorporating Contact Improvisation into a broader arena of improvisational dance practice; for developing greater ease dancing in spherical space—alone and with others; and for integrating kinesthetic and compositional concerns while improvising. It allows for a full spectrum of energetic and physical expressions, embodying a range of forms and changing states. Its practice is familiar yet unpredictable.
The practice—usually 3 to 4 hours in length—progresses through a broad range of dynamic states, including long periods of very small, private, and quiet internal activity and other times of higher energy and interactive dancing.
Events outside the local Ottawa/Gatineau/Wakefield/Lanark/CarletonPlace Region
every thing is movement – Let’s Dance
People who dance regularly are healthier, have keener minds and a calmer presence. Self-expression, community, creativity and fun – this is why we dance. Open Floor is an embodied movement practice bringing self awareness, mindfulness, and purpose to life.
Dear Dance Community,
Over the last several months, several committees and workgroups have been working to determine whether we can safely, practically, and logistically hold a true Dance Camp this summer. This process has included consulting with healthcare professionals to aid us in how to think about this.
In the interest of wanting us all to be safe and healthy, we have made the difficult decision that we cannot hold a traditional Dance Camp event as we know it.
However, we are exploring opportunities to hold different kinds of event/s for the community, hopefully this summer and/or fall, that will allow the option to gather at our beloved homeplace, Camp Timber Trails, and come together as a community while taking precautions to ensure individual and collective safety. To this end, we want your input on how to hold possible events in safe and enjoyable ways! We know what we can’t do; now it’s time to be creative about what might be possible, and we want your thoughts and desires to make it happen!
Your first opportunity to share your ideas on what type of in-person event we could create is coming up at the March Virtual Event weekend! On Saturday Night March 20th, we will host a community conversation about alternatives to camp from 5:45-7:00pm! It will be a community brainstorming session. We will break into small groups to get creative about envisioning safe ways to connect in person.
You can register and see info for the March Virtual Event here. If you just want to attend the discussion and not the weekend event, you can sign up here.
We know many of you will be incredibly disappointed that we aren’t having Dance Camp; we are as well and did not make this decision lightly. However, we are excited about the possibilities that are open to us and look forward to exploring our options together as a community.
In Community, Myla Green, Managing Coordinator, on behalf of DNE leadership.
Recurring Events outside the local Ottawa/Gatineau/Wakefield/Lanark/CarletonPlace Region
I don’t know if these events are now happening online. Contact the organizers.
Groove Tonic PEC hosts a weekly barefoot, free-form movement and dance event in Picton.
We meet every Wednesday evening from 7–9:00 pm for barefoot, free-form movement and and dance. All are welcome! Wear comfortable clothing, bring water to keep hydrated and a $5 donation to cover the cost of the space. Groove Tonic happens at the Picton Town Hall, 2nd floor above the old firehall (2 Ross St, at King St).
Contact Arsalan Ahmad for details on what’s happening around Contact Improvisation Dance in Peterborough, Ontario. (For wheelchair and washroom accessibility information, contact Arsalan.)
For other Peterborough dance events, e.g. Ecstatic Dance, see Dance Your Bones
DYB’s purpose is to offer an Ecstatic Dance movement practice in an accessible, respectful and safe environment.
Each Thursday evening, we dance together in a beautiful church hall for 90 minutes without interruption. The music varies weekly depending on the dj. We try to use an interesting blend of world music, pop, blues and even classical.
Dance and celebrate – Danser, se rassembler, célébrer, s’émerveiller …
Classes in Biodanza and Authentic Movement in and near Montréal with Catherine Fabiola Lessard
Dance and celebrate – Danser, se rassembler, célébrer, s’émerveiller …
Classes in Biodanza and Authentic Movement in and near Montréal with Catherine Fabiola Lessard
Freeing the Creative Spirit Teaching people to experience the pulsating sensual energy inside them and awakening their connection to flowing breath, rooted feet and a centered alive pelvis – reach up, root down, live in the heart center. Visit http://www.erik.iversen.ca/ or http://www.5rhythms.com/teachers/Erik+Iversen or contact Erik Iversen for more
information. (For wheelchair and washroom accessibility information, contact Erik.)
Dance a weekly Thursday night 5Rhythms class with Lynne Adams in Montréal. (For wheelchair and washroom accessibility information, contact Lynne.)
Contact Improvisation de la ville de Québec
Bienvenue à tous. Les jams de Contact improvisation seront annoncés dans le groupe par le biais d’évènements. Consultez la publication épinglée pour plus d’information.
Classes are facilitated in French (with possible English translation on request): Biodanza Sherbrooke: français and Sherbrook Biodanza: English
Ian! D. Allen via idallen@idallen.ca
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Prepared by:
| Ian! D. Allen, BA, MMath - idallen@idallen.ca - Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
| Home: www.idallen.com Contact Improvisation Dance: www.contactimprov.ca
| Former college professor (Free/Libre GNU+Linux) at: teaching.idallen.com
| Defend digital freedom: http://eff.org/ and have fun: http://fools.ca/
