Updated September 20 2023 – Mis à jour le 20 septembre 2023
Let’s Dance !
Hello, Ottawa/Gatineau area dancers and movers.
The accessible, community-run
Ottawa/Gatineau Contact Improvisation Dance
classes and jams run a free all-welcome CI
Basics class at 11:15am on October 7.
Follow this link for details on time, location, and what to wear:
Contact Improv Dance Basics
Excerpt from Burnt Norton from Four Quartets by TS Elliott:
At the still point of the turning world.
Neither flesh or fleshless;
Neither from nor towards;
at the still point, there the dance is,
But neither arrest nor movement.
And do not call it fixity,
Where past and future are gathered.
Neither movement from nor towards,
Neither ascent nor decline.
Except for the point, the still point,
There would be no dance,
and there is only the dance.
I can only say, there we have been: but I cannot say where.
And I cannot say, how long, for that is to place it in time.
About touch:
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 or originating from 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.
Free CI Basics class open to everyone on Saturday October 7 at 11:15am
The accessible, community-run Ottawa/Gatineau Contact Improvisation Dance classes and jams run a free all-welcome CI Basics class at 11:15am on October 7. Follow this link for details on time, location, and what to wear: Contact Improv Dance Basics.
CI dancers who have already taken a CI Basics class in Ottawa are welcome to attend any of our weekly CI jams.
The ODD studio is fully accessible, with a large accessible washroom on the same floor as the dance space.
See the Dance to Nature group on the facebook or contact Alana O’Donnell for current information. Some Sundays have no facilitated dances.
The grassy dance area is not very friendly to wheelchairs, though there are paved paths adjacent. Accessible city washrooms are available in the main building at Mooney’s Bay.
See the link to Kristen Lewis Events
See the link to Laurinda Cheng Events
These evening Ecstatic Dances take place on the first and third Thursdays each month at the Rosemount Orange Hall at 41 Rosemount Avenue in Ottawa. Different people run these events, each with their own facebook sites, so you have to look in multiple places to find out the details, and the start times aren’t always the same; sometimes they start at 7pm and sometimes they start at 7:30pm. The events are only visible on the facebook; there is no public web page. Try looking in all these places for the upcoming events:
This space is not accessible; there are many steps up to the dance floor and the washroom is too small for a wheelchair.
First dance of the season: October 6 at 7pm
We gather again to dance the Dances of Universal Peace. It is time now. We will dance at the First United Church in Westboro neighborhood of Ottawa. You are invited to dance for peace - bring a friend! The Dances of Universal Peace are a 40 year old tradition of dancing to simple chants from a variety of the world’s religions in a simple and peaceful moving meditation. Newcomers are happily welcomed. No previous experience or dance partner needed. All dances and movements are learned on the spot. A donation will be requested (Suggested $10.) No one will be turned away for lack of funds. Our leaders and musicians team includes Marlene Neufeld, Bob Neufeld, Pat Kerr and Yves St-Pierre.
This location is wheelchair accessible with an accessible washroom.
Ecstatic Dance is this Friday (September 23) and we’re squeezing in one more outdoor dance before moving inside for the season.
We are meeting a little earlier this month to have some daylight. We won’t meet if it’s very stormy, but will dance in mixed weather - be brave and dress for it. Dancing in weather can be beautiful.
Rather than dance as entertainment, we dance in celebration, play, exploration, expansive awareness, transformation, building community and expressive freedom. As a form of meditation-in-motion, the music starts slow, builds energy, then ends in a meditative space. We gather as part of the worldwide community of Ecstatic Dance.
The general guidelines are about creating a safe and sacred space to move however you wish, honouring your body and allowing respectful connection with others in your dancing. We move in bare feet (or socks of course), everybody is welcome (children accompanied by an adult), and know that it’s a drug/alcohol free and scent free zone (no perfume please). You can come to the whole event- starting with an opening circle and centering, or just drop in for a visit during the evening. We ask movers to refrain from talking on the dance floor to allow one another to deepen into the experience of expression through movement, but if you would like to chit-chat, there is comfortable space in the lobby for hanging out!
Danse Extatique Wakefield fait partie de la communauté mondiale de Danse Extatique. Plutôt que de danser pour nous divertir, nous dansons pour célébrer, jouer, explorer, prendre conscience, transformer, construire une communauté et exprimer notre liberté. En tant que forme de méditation en mouvement, la musique commence doucement, monte en énergie puis se termine en créant un espace méditatif.
Les directives générales consistent à créer un espace sécuritaire et sacré pour bouger comme vous le souhaitez, en honorant votre corps et en permettant une connexion respectueuse avec les autres à travers la danse. Nous bougeons pieds nus (ou en chaussettes, bien sûr), tout le monde est le bienvenu (incluant les enfants accompagnés d’un adulte), et c’est une zone sans drogue/alcool et sans parfum. Vous pouvez assister à l’ensemble de l’événement, en commençant par un cercle d’ouverture et un centrage, ou simplement passer nous voir pendant la soirée. Nous demandons aux participants de s’abstenir de parler sur la piste de danse afin de permettre aux autres d’approfondir leur expérience, mais si vous souhaitez bavarder, il y a un espace confortable dans l’entrée pour le faire.
Tous niveaux d’expérience bienvenues.
Don suggéré de $10.
Pour plus d’informations contactez owentuf@yahoo.ca
Unfortunately, the various Ottawa dance organizers don’t cooperate and list their events on one site, or even on each other’s sites, so you have to watch a half-dozen different places to know what’s going on. Many events don’t have public web pages, so you have to sell your soul to The Facebook to access their information. We’ve included links to some of the dance events we know about, below.
Except for the community-owned, community-run Ottawa/Gatineau Contact Improvisation Dance group, all dances are privately run.
Local events with links available on the Web:
Local events with links available on the facebook:
Events outside the local Ottawa/Gatineau/Wakefield/Lanark/CarletonPlace Region
Contact Ian Allen about car pooling from Ottawa to some of the above dance events.
(This weekend event is privately run by RDD; it is not associated with the annual community-run Ontario Regional Contact Jam weekend that takes place in the same building in the spring.)
We welcome dancers from Toronto and the surrounding areas to join us from Oct 6 to 8, 2023 at the National Ballet School to celebrate and practise Contact Improvisation.
This venue is fully accessible with accessible washrooms.
https://events.eventzilla.net/e/toronto-falling-into-autumn-jam-2138619892
We are very happy to announce the return of:
Montreal’s annual jam which will take place at Circuit-Est in October
21-22, 2023 with an opening jam on Friday evening, October 20.
We will have the chance during the annual jam to have two warm-ups guided by Chris Aiken et Angie Hauser.
Book your dates because the jam will be preceded by an INTENSIVE COURSE with Chris, Angie, Andrew de Lotbinière Harwood and Stephanie Gaudreau every evening from Tuesday, October 17th to Thursday, October 19th as well as Friday, October 20th, all day.
This location is partially wheelchair accessible.
Contact Ian Allen about car pooling from Ottawa to this event.
Yes, Earthdance booked the same weekend for this annual event as the
Montréal Annual Jam. We are sad. :-(
Earthdance annual Falling Leaves Contact Improvisation Dance Jam
This location is partially wheelchair accessible.
Earthdance Gratitude CI Dance Jam
This location is partially wheelchair accessible.
Earthdance Winter Contact Improv Jam
This location is partially wheelchair accessible.
Contact Ian Allen about car pooling from Ottawa to this event.
Shake! Mornings, afternoons, and evenings
bioLUMINosity Edge of Trance dance
bioLUMINosity: I create a soundtrack to bring you out of your head and into your body, heart, spirit… You ride it wherever it takes you personally. This is about Your LIFE-LIGHT!
bioLUMINosity is:
Not all Biodanza dances are listed here. Search in your local city.
Recurring Events outside the local Ottawa/Gatineau/Wakefield/Lanark/CarletonPlace Region
Some of these events changed during the pandemic. If the listing below seems out-of-date, please contact the organizers.
Groove Tonic PEC hosts a weekly barefoot, free-form movement and dance event in Picton (Prince Edward County).
For wheelchair and washroom accessibility information, contact the organizer.
Sep 24 2023
Oct 29 2023 (5th weekend - Toronto fall jam over the 4th weekend - Thanksgiving -just 80 spots - register soon)
Nov 26 2023
Dec 17 2023 (2nd weekend to avoid Xmas)
Jan 28 2024
Feb 25 2024
Mar 24 2024
Apr 28 2024
May 26 2024
This location is wheelchair accessible with an accessible washroom.
For other Peterborough dance events, e.g. Ecstatic Dance, see Dance Your Bones
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 https://www.erik.iversen.ca/ or https://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 (The English pages may not be updated; use the French pages!)
