Let’s Dance Ian!! 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:
CI Dancers at the Ottawa CI dance jam: Ken, Kia, Isabelle, Barbara, AnneMarie, Ian, Marcia
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.
Please confirm the date, time, and location with the organizers.
Every third Friday, come to the next monthly Dances of Universal Peace at the University of Ottawa, hosted by Dances of Universal Peace Ottawa. (For wheelchair and washroom accessibility information, contact the organizers.)
No musical or dance experience of any kind is required and everyone is welcomed to join in. Participation, not presentation, is the focus. No special attire is required and dancers need not bring a partner.
Circle Dances to live music. We bring the unifying traditions of spirit centered cultures to life with our song and dancing together.
Participants join hands forming a circle with the Dance leader, and possibly musicians, in the center. The leader teaches the sacred phrase, melody, and movements for each Dance and perhaps some context about that particular Dance. The teaching is always brought from a compassionate heart in a comfortable, quiet, and often sacred setting. When Dance lyrics include sacred phrases in native languages, attention is given to ensure that all have ample opportunity to pronounce the unfamiliar words comfortably and correctly. Most Dances are only four lines long and repeated many times, so learning is usually quick and easy – within ten minutes dancers are moving, singing, and sharing together.
The mood of the Dances is infinitely variable, evoking feelings of love, joy, peace, compassion and ecstasy. The focus is on the sacred phrase, which often points to truths about Life which cannot be put into words. The dancers’ experience flows out in the context of sacred presence to one another and to the group as a whole. An experience of the Unity of the human family with all of Life and a taste of one’s essential nature are among the gifts the Dances bring to so many who come in contact with them.
Dances of Universal Peace – Monthly, participatory simple circle dances and songs drawn from the earth’s sacred traditions, such as: Jewish, Christian (Creation Spirituality, Aramaic & Gospel), Islamic Su, Buddhist, Native American, Hindu, African, Celtic, Zoroastrian, and other Universal songs of peace. All welcome. No partner required. Beginners welcome. The Dances have no performers or audience. No musical or dance experience is necessary, All dances are taught. Dress casual. Singles and couples are welcome. Live music by (leader(s)) & friends. $5–10 donation at the door.
We dance this week in Room FSS #4004 of the Faculty of Social Sciences, 120 University Private, at the University of Ottawa.
The Dances of Universal Peace and Walking Concentrations are spiritual practice in motion. Drawing on the sacred phrases, scripture, and poetry of the many spiritual traditions of the earth, the Dances blend chant, live music and evocative movement into a living experience of unity, peace and integration. This taste of our true nature – as Universal Peace – opens to the possibility of a deep spiritual revolution within the person.
From the beginning of time, sacred movement, song and story have brought people together – at times of seasonal ceremony and celebration, as part of everyday life and life passages, in daily renewal and meditation. The Dances of Universal Peace are part of this timeless tradition of sacred movement, song and story.
Dances of Universal Peace are participatory simple circle dances and songs drawn from the earth’s sacred traditions, and other Universal songs of peace. Dress is casual. No previous experience or dance partner needed. Live music and a cappella. A donation of $5-$10 is requested.
Next dance (after this one) is usually the third Friday. Contact the organizers to be sure.
For more information please contact Patricia Kerr
The Ottawa Authentic Movement group meets most Saturday mornings each month at Arts Court in Ottawa. (This location is wheelchair accessible.)
Experience with Authentic Movement is required to attend these events. Contact Wendy before you attend.
January dates are Saturdays 9:30am to 11am: January 11,18
This Saturday January 18 two-hour drop-in CI class and dance jam is facilitated by Frithjof and starts at the usual time of 11:15am.
Come to a weekly open drop-in Contact Improv Dance Class and Jam. Hosted by Ottawa/Gatineau Contact Improv. Also on the facebook!
Some things to learn about Contact Improvisation Dance:
Some CI things to watch:
Note that many of these videos have had music added after the dance; the dance itself was done in silence, or occasionally with a live musician improvising with the dancers.
CI Dancers at the Ottawa CI dance jam: Ken, Kia, AnneMarie, Isabelle, Barbara, Ian, Marcia
Step outside for a weekly Dance to Nature outdoor dances among the trees every Sunday morning at Mooney’s Bay. Express, create and surrender the dance from within! Let go of all inhibitions and come Dance to Nature! (For wheelchair and washroom accessibility information, contact Alana.)
No rules, steps or choreography, only your own unique dance creation.
Exprimez, créez et libérez votre danse de l’intérieur!
Click on the link above or contact Alana O’Donnell for more information.
Here is the schedule of all the sacred dances in a circle by Ottawa Sacred Dance Guild. We will dance in Aylmer, Chelsea, and Hull. Dances are open to all; no registration required. Donations welcome. For information contact diane.schreiner@bell.net
Chelsea on Sunday afternoon: Grace United Church, 8 Mill Road, Chelsea QC JB9 1K8 from 15h to 17h. Doors open at 2:45pm
Aylmer on Tuesday evening: The Lucie Vigneault Room (2nd floor) at the Old Aylmer Cultural Center, 120 Main Street, Gatineau (Aylmer) from 18:30 to 20:15 The doors are open from 18:15. Free! Courtesy of the City of Gatineau.
In Chelsea at Grace United Church, 8 Chemin Mill, Chelsea QC JB9 1K8
In Hull in l’Église Notre-Dame-de-l’Île at 115, boul. Sacré-Coeur, Gatineau (Hull) QC J8X 1C5.
Please verify these times and venues with the organizers.
For wheelchair and washroom accessibility information, contact the organizers.
For more information, contact Diane Schreiner diane.schreiner@bell.net
Explore the joy and creativity of group improvised movement in a weekly drop-in class in Group Movement Improvisation on Monday evenings in New Edinburgh. All adults welcome (drop-in); no registration or experience required. Led by Lola Ryan. (This location is not wheelchair accessible.)
Movement Improvisation is exploration – you can explore what you like to do in dance and in movement. It frees you to be as daring and creative as you wish. This is not a contact improv dance class, though safe touch and elements of contact improv are usually incorporated as we improvise to music.
Lola opens each class with a specific warm-up and then focuses on a movement technique or a way to open up your movement vocabulary. It could be an exercise on vision or balance, a unique way to create shape or pattern, or the best way to connect with a partner or partners. The class always concludes with an open dance space where you are free to create your own movement experience, in solo, in duets or as an ensemble. Music courtesy of Lola!
We invite you to come and have fun on your way to learning new skills and enhancing your dancing and movement with other people.
Click on the link above or contact Lola Ryan 613-237-0790 for more information.
Attend weekly drop-in bilingual English/French Biodanza evening sessions led by Anne Marie Riel (613.316.8118).
Biodanza is a non-verbal practice for the participants. You do not need to speak either language to participate; you only need to listen.
Biodanza, meaning to dance with life, is a fusion of music, natural movement and emotion. It is a method of human development aimed at uncovering the passion, beauty, and love for ourselves, others and the world that was always there. Reconnect with the pleasure of movement and celebrate life!
Biodanza…
- increases our health and consciousness
- improves our physical and emotional well-being
- enriches the quality of our relationships
- integrates thinking, feeling and acting
- develops our potential for living full, radiant lives
Come to your weekly drop-in movement class Parkinson’s In Motion in Carleton Place, hosted by Melissa in Motion.
Activate the mind + body with music + movement. Get moving, be social, share laughs + feel great. Have you ever found yourself tapping your feet, shaking your hips, clapping or swaying along to a song? Well then, this class is for you!
The body inherently responds to music with movement. Classes are lighthearted, designed and catered to dancers with Parkinson’s with varying abilities. Simple instructions and a variety of music invites the body to follow and revel in the joy of movement + dancing.
Open door for family, friends and caregivers to join in. Classes are a mix of sitting and standing (adaptations are always available). No previous movement or dance experience is needed.
Come to your weekly drop-in movement class Seniors Smooth Groove in Perth, hosted by Melissa Moves Lanark.
“When you dance, your purpose is not to get to a certain place on the floor. It’s to enjoy each step along the way.” – Wayne Dyer
For 8 weeks, we’ll dance for the joy of it. To express, not to impress. To connect, relax, release and uplift. To find the freedom of being in our bodies + revel in the joy and marriage of movement and music. It’ll be gentle and invigorating. A little spice of life! Movement and dance experience aren’t needed. Only a light heart and a willingness to move. All levels and abilities are welcomed. Chairs are available.
Dress in layers. Bring water + consider bringing a friend. Clean indoor shoes or bare feet only. Leave with a pep in your step.
TUESDAYS JAN 21 - MAR 10, 2020
$108 (8 week series) | $17 Drop-in | $9 First Class *Taxes included
Graciously Hosted at Omnes Arts Circle | The Old Perth Shoe Factory | 2nd Floor - 1 Sherbrooke E. Perth
The studio is accessible by stairs and/or elevator.
Elke presents Rhythmic Dancing with Cacao Meditation at Shoreline Studio in Britannia.
We invite you to attend a very special class where we will serve a pure cacao drink (cacao, water, honey and chili) and dance. Through the music of drumming we will wake up our bodies with some stretching exercises and free flow dancing with an indigenous twist. This opportunity will assist you in connecting with your inner self and to open up your heart space. As you open to yourself the music and movements will allow you to connect to the New Earth and her elements (Earth, water, fire, air and spirit). Cacao is also known as the medicine of love because it contains many feel-good substances. Cacao combined with your movements will allow to awaken your nervous system and emotional sensations, you will then be guided into a gentle meditation in order to allow the process of emotional transmutation, meaning letting go of what no longer serves you. This experience will teach you how to empower yourself and feel joy. Bring your yoga mats. There is a $15 fee to attend and you can pay elke@kasanda.com
Come to your weekly 7pm Thursday drop-in Biodanza in English in Ottawa! Contact Rémi Gregoire for a brief introduction and all the details.
Biodanza, meaning to dance with life, is a fusion of music, natural movement and emotion. It is a method of human development aimed at uncovering the passion, beauty, and love for ourselves, others and the world that was always there. Reconnect with the pleasure of movement and celebrate life!
Come to your twice-monthly drop-in Thursday Night Dance Jam in McDonalds Corners, hosted by Melissa and the MERA Dance Collective.
Friends new and old meet every other week to dance, groove and jam. Music and movement fills our cup. It’s no mess, no fuss. Think of a living room party with friends!!! If you’ve got a body and desire to creatively dance, move and express, this is for you!
What makes us a collective? We’re movers and shakers of all sorts - props like hula hoops, hip scarves, sarongs, etc are welcomed. Playlists, set-up and clean-up are shared. Contribute when and how you can.
Come on in and try it. We can’t wait to meet you! It’s a drop-in gathering.
Come to a four-day 5Rhythms Workshop Road to Compassion with Evangelos Diavolitsis at Borden Hall in the All Saints Event Space in Ottawa. This location is wheelchair accessible.In Heartbeat, we explore our emotions as kinetic energy, as power, as part of our human experience and part of our normal, organic expression. Old feelings that have been locked in our limbs or caged in our chest need to shake loose. It is vital to our sanity to be at ease with our everyday feelings, neither hanging onto them nor pushing them away.
What emotion do you need to honour, release or unravel?
FEAR? ANGER? SADNESS? JOY? COMPASSION?
When our hearts are closed, our ability to love is diminished. If the entrance to love is tight, life may seem grey and meaningless. Opening one’s heart a little bit in life brings creativity and an increased ability to give and receive love. A lot of heart opening means we don’t chase love, we become a beacon of love and it naturally flows to us.
This life-transforming practice is suitable for all levels of physical fitness over the age of 14. It supports whatever practice you are exploring now, or offers an excellent start to self-exploration. No previous experience is necessary.
The Dance and meditation / Danse et méditation workshops will be held one Friday per month from 6:30pm to 8:30pm at L’Atelier Shiatsu-Do 69 rue Eddy in Gatineau, hosted by Anissa Michaud Reiki & mouvement énergétique:
Playful workshop combining ecstatic dance, meditation, contact improvisation, Qi Gong and Yoga. Explore movement with simplicity, freedom and authenticity. Learn to listen to your own rhythm and to take care of yourself while playing with the natural movements of your body, heart and mind. No experience is required. Wear comfortable clothes to move. Knee pads are optional.
Each workshop will have a guided first hour during which I will present you a few games and exercises inspired by the approaches mentioned earlier and by my personal intuition ;). Then, during the second hour, a jam will take place where you will be able to continue exploring what we will have started.
Dance with your Ottawa/Gatineau community at an Ottawa Inner Rhythm Ecstatic Dance at Surround Circle Yoga, 7 Galt Street in Ottawa (second floor of the church annex). See the facebook event. (This location is wheelchair accessible.)
Rebecca White Raven, Kevin Guerette, and Maureen Fallis are so happy to be hosting Inner Rhythm Ecstatic Dances usually the last Saturday of each month. So grateful for with this wonderful space for us to get out of our heads and into our bodies to discover and explore our inner rhythms!
These evenings will be about community connection, open hearts, and free spirits. No drugs or alcohol please. ♥ We will meet and mingle, circle and connect, move and dance, center and tone, and end with community circle and sharing. All ages and abilities are welcome! We SO look forward to sharing exuberant joy through dance with you!
You are also encouraged to bring a yoga mat or cushion to be more comfy on the floor.
If you haven’t been to Surround Circle before, you need to enter the church thru the doors on Galt Street, then take the stairs or elevator to the very top and you will find us.
Questions? Send an email to Rebecca or find her on the facebook. For further chanting, sound healing and ecstatic dance events see http://rebeccawhiteraven.com/upcoming-events/
Click on the above links for information. Next dance (after this one): February 15 (at the Circus School) and then usually the last Saturday of each month. Contact the organizers to be sure.
Come to your monthly drop-in Freedom Fridays Movement Class in Almonte, hosted by Melissa Moves Lanark.
Are you looking to shake things up this winter? Reset and reboot for the weekend with music + movement! Ride the wave of various genres, tempos and rhythms of music that’ll have your toes tapping and hips swaying. Loosen your mind, body and soul + leave energized. All levels and abilities are welcomed.
Come to the next Ecstatic Dance – (the date on the facebook event is wrong – it should be February 6) with your Ottawa/Gatineau Ecstatic Dance community. Dances take place on first and third Thursdays each month as part of Ecstatic Dance Ottawa. Venue: 41 Rosemount in Hintonburg. (This location is not wheelchair accessible.)
41 Rosemount Ave is a block from Gladstone/Wellington. Free parking in the school lot opposite the hall. #11 Bus. Wear loose clothes and bring a water bottle – we sweat.
Ecstatic Dance would like to acknowledge that we are dancing on the traditional unceded territory of the Algonquin Anishnaabeg people.
DJ Sarah – Heart offering : 15$ at the door, 20$ with cacao ( 10$ for students and underemployed, 15$ with cacao)
Dance is a beautiful, embodied exploration into our ability to adapt and flow with change. We find constancy in the floor, our awareness and our breath which enables our movements to adapt to vibrant changes in rhythms and melodies. For more details about the DJs and Ecstatic Dance, please go to http://ecstaticdanceottawa.ca/
Ecstatic dances are a safe space container created for self expression, investigation, & exploration. Come explore the magnificent territory between your head and your feet, your breath, and your overall physical, emotional and mental body through movement. As an investigator of your psyche and heart, you will learn to search for the hidden jewel as you come into a space of discovery. Beginning and ending in circle. There is no particular yoga or dance experience necessary. Come and share your energy with other electrifying souls. Dance your joy, dance your pain; just dance and have some fun! Celebrate where you are, where you’ve been, and where you are going.
Click on the link above or contact DJ Saira Monica for more information. Ecstatic Dance would like to acknowledge that we are dancing on the traditional unceded territory of the Algonquin Anishnaabeg people.
Follow the link above for future dances and confirm future dates and times with the organizers as they change.
Come to your monthly drop-in Sunday Moves: All Ages Movement Class in Carleton Place, hosted by Melissa Moves Lanark.
Dance with your Ottawa/Gatineau community at an Ottawa Inner Rhythm Ecstatic Dance at the Ottawa Circus School 2275 Gladwin Crescent in Ottawa. (This location is wheelchair accessible.)
Rebecca White Raven, Kevin Guerette, and Maureen Fallis are so happy to be hosting Inner Rhythm Ecstatic Dances usually the last Saturday of each month. (Plus this mid-month dance February 15!) So grateful for with this wonderful space for us to get out of our heads and into our bodies to discover and explore our inner rhythms!
These evenings will be about community connection, open hearts, and free spirits. No drugs or alcohol please. ♥ We will meet and mingle, circle and connect, move and dance, center and tone, and end with community circle and sharing. All ages and abilities are welcome! We SO look forward to sharing exuberant joy through dance with you!
You are also encouraged to bring a yoga mat or cushion to be more comfy on the concrete floor.
This February 15 is a mid-month dance at the Ottawa Circus School.
Questions? Send an email to Rebecca or find her on the facebook. For further chanting, sound healing and ecstatic dance events see http://rebeccawhiteraven.com/upcoming-events/
Click on the above links for information. Next dance (after this one): Usually the last Saturday of each month. Contact the organizers to be sure.
Contact Anne to confirm the date and time of this event.
Dance the Spring Equinox as part of Seasonal Dances with Anne Pitman at the Dovercourt Recreation Centre 411 Dovercourt Ave. (This location is wheelchair accessible.)
Dance the darkness, and toward the new light of SunReturn.
Dance your aliveness, your life and the turning of the wheel. Dance your rhythm and the rhythm of the season. Free form dances, circle dances, and warm community. No dance experience necessary. All adults welcome. $10
Seasonal music, free form dance, circle dance, and warm community spirit.
Dance the Seasons of the Year – Take time out of your busy life to dance your aliveness, your life and honour the turning of the wheel. No dance experience is necessary. Dance your rhythm and the rhythm of the season. All of nature; earth, air, water and fire – everything that surrounds you, is also in you. Connect with these natural elements and find their qualities of groundedness, inspiration, flow and passion in you and in your life. Dance in the season with open arms.
Click on the links above or contact Anne Pitman for more information.
Anne usually hosts four Seasonal Dances each year. The Spring Equinox Dance may happen in March. Check her web link, above.
Events outside the local Ottawa/Gatineau/Wakefield/Lanark/CarletonPlace Region
Touch&Play Montréal Winter Edition is back this year in Canada at a retreat centre near Montréal. There is a Facebook Event.
“The only way to deal with an unfree world is to become so absolutely free that your very existence is an act of rebellion.” -― Albert Camus
Discover a new world of play and pleasure, drawing from:
Touch&Play is a community and conscious sexuality festival. It’s a space for exploration of participants’ comfort zones and edges. The festival is built around certain disciplines related to relationships, sexuality and movement. Inspired by: Contact Improvisation, Nonviolent Communication, Authentic Movement, Tantra, BDSM, Ritual, Somatic Consciousness, and more.
Touch&Play est un festival communautaire et de sexualité consciente et exploratoire des frontières des zones de confort des participant.e.s. Le festival est bâti autour de certaines disciplines liées aux relations, à la sexualité et au mouvement, et s’inspire du Contact Improvisation, de la communication non-violente (CNV), du mouvement authentique, du tantra, du BDSM, du rituel, de la conscience somatique, et plus.
We will have the entire location for ourselves, with a (very hot) heated indoor swimming pool, a sauna, a jacuzzi, 3 delicious homemade meals every day, and an incredible team of teachers & participants! Come and be ready to feel bolder, sexier and radically real, in nature. Let’s expand our experiences, what we think is allowed, and fully own our desire s based on our own inherent passions. Curiously stepping out of our comfort zones and seeing what lies beyond them.
Contact Improvisation can be an act of freedom and revelation! Let’s pull back the veil, expand our edges, investigate how our patterns and attitudes may limit us and try on new versions of ourselves. We continue to question the relationship of “chemistry & physics” in CI through movement, touch, intimacy, communication and connection to radical truth.
Touch&Play festivals have a history of exploring the edges of what CI can be while maintaining high standards of safety and consent, and are known as events in which personal and communal celebration and growth reach new levels.
We believe that major change can and does happen when we give ourselves time and space to recognize our growing edges and feel safe enough to explore and expand them with ourselves and within community. Touch&Play aims to both provide a profound space for honesty, celebration, joy, discomfort, clarity, growth, and acceptance. It also is a time where consent, choice, and self-care come first.
From Touch&Play 2017 at Earthdance comes this Are you ready for Liberation? video by Zahava (“Z”). At Touch&Play 2017, Zahava led an intensive dealing with The Intimate Act of Creating Performance Ritual: Exploring Kink, Gender Expression & Devotion
Earthdance annual Spring Contact Improvisation Dance Jam
Earthdance’s annual Spring Equinox Jam is centered around themes of research and renewal. As winter melts and gives way to spring, a cozy, curious, quiet atmosphere opens up for engaging in Contact Improvisation (CI) dancing and investigation. The Spring Jam averages 40–50 people, and is particularly geared toward anyone looking to explore Contact Improv for the first time or explore new layers of movement exploration in CI. Through focused dancing, light conversation, and creative exchange, the Spring Equinox Jam offers many opportunities for awakening and beginning.
(This location is partially wheelchair accessible.)
Learn More & Register: http://www.earthdance.net/springequinoxjam2020
Contact Ian! Allen about car pooling from Ottawa/Gatineau.
Again in 2020 the annual Ontario Regional Contact Improv Dance Jam will be in Toronto, Ontario. Also via the facebook. There is also a facebook event. (This location is fully wheelchair accessible.)
Three days of contact improvisation on one entire floor of Canada’s National Ballet School. Three beautiful studios with grand pianos in every room. Over 250 people to dance with – the largest contact improv dance jam in North America.
One of the key values of the ORCJ is to be welcoming and friendly – to all. We want to be the multi-day Jam of choice for first time people. We have a peer support team available to you throughout the jam – to listen, mediate, and offer emotional support to dancers in need in English and French.
Especially welcoming to new people, non dancers, people of all sizes, ages, shapes, mental and physical abilities. The venue is completely wheelchair accessible. LGBTQ welcoming.
Register early and we should have no problem finding you a local host accommodation (billet).
It’s an incredible deal, really. A whole weekend of contact improv dance jamming, several meals, a place to stay, dance workshops, etc., all for one low price!
Details are still being arranged. Click on the links above or contact An ORCJ Human Being for more information. Contact Ian! Allen about car pooling from Ottawa to Toronto.
It is important for us that everyone feels welcome: people who are new to dance, people with disabilities, all kinds of bodies, minds and hearts; that all gender and gender expressions are welcome, womyn and men; cis and trans; of all ages, sizes and shapes, skin colours, cultures, sub-cultures and counter-cultures; that gays, lesbian, bi, queer and straight people are welcome. Whatever your story or the story of your people, your mother tongue, you are welcome, the fullness of you is welcome, no parts left out. Whatever your mind state, whether your heart is heavy or light, troubled or clear.
If there’s a way we can better include all parts of you, please let us know; we want to know. We are perfectly imperfect beings. We are going to make mistakes, and we want to learn from them and to create a jam that welcomes you.
The Global Underscore long-form Contact Improv Dance Jam takes place for four hours simultaneously, world-wide at 10am EDT (14:00 UTC) on Saturday June 20 in 2020. Follow the link for a location near you. We have no Underscore practice in Ottawa, alas, but we 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.
Big Heart number Twelve is coming June 23–28 in 2020!
Big Heart Dance Camp is a family-friendly, multi-arts, intergenerational extended week/weekend gathering. (This location is partially wheelchair accessible.)
We are a growing community of artists, dancers, musicians, healers, helpers and lovers. Big Heart takes place annually in June at Unicamp of Ontario in Dufferin County, north of Toronto. Nurtured and infused by the spirited land, we strive for peace and joy by being together consciously and creatively.
Big Heart reaches a broad spectrum of ages. We welcome singles, couples and families to join us. Big Heart offers a wide variety of dance, music and other healing arts classes.
- See Yourself … dancing on the grass
- Hear Yourself … singing around the campfire
- Feel Yourself … sharing a meal of nourishing food and rich conversation
- Delight Yourself … watching children dance, while you sit and chat with an elder
- Express Yourself … finding new and juicy ways to move, create, play and be
- Give Yourself … the gift of living in creative, conscious community
- Be Yourself … at Big Heart Dance Camp!
We welcome you to experience embodying your full creative self in a safe, supportive and playful environment. A wide array of dance, yoga, music, and other healing arts modalities are shared through playshops and evening events. Meals are eaten in community, lovingly and mindfully prepared by our kitchen team.
Big Heart Dance Camp takes place at Unicamp, near Honeywood, Ontario. Beautiful hiking trails, forest, and a swimming pond invites you to take a dip. We invite you to join us in growing our creative, conscious community as we blossom into our 9th year!
Click on the link above or contact Big Heart Dance Camp 705-444-0550 for more information. Contact Ian! Allen about car pooling from Ottawa.
The annual Earthdance July 4 Contact Improv Dance Jam at the Earthdance retreat centre in western Massachusetts.
Enjoy the brilliant sunshine, grassy fields, fun, games, and dances of all kinds at this family-oriented Jam. Includes programming for young people of all ages.
Contact Improv Dance Jam at Earthdance – Ian! and Karen, photo and Photoshop by Moti
Playing with Courage, Compassion, Consent & Inclusion
BE – Be in your body… Be passionate… Be seen… Be listening… Be curious… Be courageous… Be loving… Be playful… Be trusted… Be trusting… Be resilient… Be interested in what you’re here to contribute to others… Be held and appreciated… Be yourself more than you’ve ever been…
We welcome a diverse community of dancers and somatic visionaries. This is a festival about play, vulnerability and building community with embodied, emotional, and erotic intelligence. It takes courage, compassion and consent to play truth or dare with integrity. Sharing one’s truth is an act of intimacy. Being daring is about getting outside our comfort zones. If we want something we’ve never had before, we have to do something we’ve never done before. This is a space to explore our personal, tribal, and societal desires! What can dance, somatics, tantra, kink, Contact Improvisation, and communication practices contribute to our intimacy?
“The only way to deal with an unfree world is to become so absolutely free that your very existence is an act of rebellion.” -― Albert Camus
Contact Improvisation can be an act of freedom and revelation! Let’s pull back the veil, expand our edges, investigate how our patterns and attitudes may limit us and try on new versions of ourselves. We continue to question the relationship of “chemistry & physics” in CI through movement, touch, intimacy, communication and connection to radical truth.
Touch&Play festivals have a history of exploring the edges of what CI can be while maintaining high standards of safety and consent, and are known as events in which personal and communal celebration and growth reach new levels.
We believe that major change can and does happen when we give ourselves time and space to recognize our growing edges and feel safe enough to explore and expand them with ourselves and within community. Touch&Play aims to both provide a profound space for honesty, celebration, joy, discomfort, clarity, growth, and acceptance. It also is a time where consent, choice, and self-care come first.
What happened last time? From Touch&Play 2017 at Earthdance comes this Are you ready for Liberation? video by Zahava (“Z”). At Touch&Play 2017, Zahava led an intensive dealing with The Intimate Act of Creating Performance Ritual: Exploring Kink, Gender Expression & Devotion See descriptions of all the 2017 Touch&Play workshops and descriptions of all the 2018 Touch&Play workshops.
Touch&Play Montréal Summer Edition may return again to Montréal in 2020. Details to come.
“The only way to deal with an unfree world is to become so absolutely free that your very existence is an act of rebellion.” -― Albert Camus
Discover a new world of play and pleasure, drawing from:
and more!
Contact Improvisation can be an act of freedom and revelation! Let’s pull back the veil, expand our edges, investigate how our patterns and attitudes may limit us and try on new versions of ourselves. We continue to question the relationship of “chemistry & physics” in CI through movement, touch, intimacy, communication and connection to radical truth.
Touch&Play festivals have a history of exploring the edges of what CI can be while maintaining high standards of safety and consent, and are known as events in which personal and communal celebration and growth reach new levels.
We believe that major change can and does happen when we give ourselves time and space to recognize our growing edges and feel safe enough to explore and expand them with ourselves and within community. Touch&Play aims to both provide a profound space for honesty, celebration, joy, discomfort, clarity, growth, and acceptance. It also is a time where consent, choice, and self-care come first.
From Touch&Play 2017 at Earthdance comes this Are you ready for Liberation? video by Zahava (“Z”). At Touch&Play 2017, Zahava led an intensive dealing with The Intimate Act of Creating Performance Ritual: Exploring Kink, Gender Expression & Devotion See descriptions of all the 2017 Touch&Play workshops and descriptions of all the 2018 Touch&Play workshops.
The annual Sutton Summer Dance Jam happens near the USA border 120km south-east of Montréal in Sutton Québec.
Come for dance, pond swimming and sauna playing outdoors and night bonfire singing. Hear the roosters crow, horses gallop and frogs croak. Sleep in cabins, the big house or tent in the orchard or forest. Your summer dreams come true.
Enjoy dance, movement, and community at the Dance New England annual Summer Dance Camp in Massachusetts in August 2020. See last year’s 2019 Camp Schedule to see the kind of workshops that may take place in the 2020 camp. Child and family friendly; free child care available much of the day. (This location is only partially wheelchair accessible.)
Dance New England (DNE) is a creative collective of individuals who love to dance, as well as a consortium of cooperatively-run, not-for-profit freestyle barefoot dances in the New England area. DNE members are also actively involved in creating and running other freestyle barefoot, cooperative dances in New England and elsewhere. DNE events include our annual summer camp, and a few weekends throughout the year hosted and produced by our member dances.
Consult the organizers for the date of the 2020 Burlington CI dance jam.
The Burlington VT International Contact Improv Dance Jam happens in a beautiful downtown dance space: Contois Auditorium, Burlington VT City Hall, 149 Church St., Burlington, Vermont. All levels of CI dance experience welcome. Led warm-ups and other surprises. Burlington Annual Contact Improv Jam 2019 on the facebook (This location is wheelchair accessible.)
The events below are tentative, based on the 2019 dance jam:
Contact Ian! Allen about car pooling from Ottawa.
Autumn’s vibrancy of colors, shapes, and forms enters our bodies as we play with a range of approaches to Contact Improvisation and community. Diversity and Inclusion Scholarships available to support those who self-identify as being under-represented in CI. Sweetness embodied - dance, play and connect against a backdrop of cool nights and warm, golden days. As with our other jams, those who show up employ improvisation to design a yummy, full weekend of classes, performances and open jam times. If you’re new to Earthdance or an old friend, please come join us. All levels of experience welcome. Follow the above link for details.
(This location is partially wheelchair accessible.)
Learn More & Register: http://www.earthdance.net/
Contact Ian! Allen about car pooling from Ottawa/Gatineau.
The 38th Annual Montréal International Contact Improv Jam will take place some time in late 2020. Nearly 200 dancers participate from across Canada and the USA.
Contact the organizers for the exact date of the CI dance jam.
The ACI’s most prized event: Montréal’s Annual Contact Improvisation Dance Jam. This annual dance jam usually takes place in November, and is jam-packed with great warm-ups and a beginner class, lots of open jamming, great food, a show and dance. Don’t miss it!!
Please bring your own re-usable mug, cutlery, and dishes, if possible.
God, Sex and the Body – A 5Rhythms Workshop with Alex Mackay
In the dancing path of the 5Rhythms, God, Sex & the Body is an initiation into being an embodied soul. It is a deeply personal journey, a celebration like no other, a ritual for the hot and holy you.
It’s a call to stretch our imaginations, move through a spectrum of feminine and masculine archetypes, to dress them up, get inside them and give them expression. No one can embody your soul, project your magic or have your specific curiosity. Part artist, part lover, part god – we were born to rock the world and feel our way into each other’s hearts. This workshop liberates and inspires us to emerge a bit more fascinated with each other and the mystery of it all.
First early-registration deadline is October 1 2020.
The Gratitude Jam & Workshop Celebration is an annual USA Thanksgiving weekend gathering at Earthdance for sharing CI dances, fall harvest food, and the Earthdance land. We gather in the spirit of generosity and thanks to remember all who came before us and all who may come after.
(This location is partially wheelchair accessible.)
Learn More & Register: http://www.earthdance.net/
Contact Ian! Allen about car pooling from Ottawa/Gatineau.
Formerly known as “The Earthdance New Year Jam”.
As winter swirls outside, we come together on the dance floor to find new connections through Contact Improvisation, co-creating five days of magic, intimacy, warmth, and dancing celebration. Workshops, performances, bonfires, and nonstop jamming ring in the New Year with utter joy at our biggest Contact Improvisation Dance Jam of the year.
Earthdance’s annual Winter Jam centers around the theme of darkness and light. One of Earthdance’s biggest events of the year, the Winter Jam averages 180–200 people and fills every nook and cranny of Earthdance’s rooms and studios, bringing an intimacy and warmth to the sharing of Contact Improvisation (CI). With long patches of morning sun, luxurious warm-ups, lounging, packed saunas, fun in the snow, bonfires, and performances, the Winter Jam is particularly geared toward anyone looking to connect deeply with self and other through the extremes of Winter.
(This location is partially wheelchair accessible.)
Learn More & Register: http://www.earthdance.net/
Contact Ian! Allen about car pooling from Ottawa/Gatineau.
Recurring Events outside the local Ottawa/Gatineau/Wakefield/Lanark/CarletonPlace Region
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
Contact Improv Dance Jam at Earthdance – Ian! and Eva, photo by John Barrett
If your vote didn’t elect anyone to represent you, look into Proportional Representation at Fair Vote Canada:
