Local News:Let’s Dance Ian!!
Local News:
Ian! is back from Dance New England’s Summer Dance Camp! Y’all should come with me next year.
Ottawa Contact Dance Improvisation class and dance jams will resume on September 7.
Group Movement Improvisation dance classes will resume on September 16.
Don’t forget to attend the Lumière Festival on Saturday.
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.
The best way to read this message is using the Newsletter Web Version that is updated mid-week: http://contactimprov.ca/on/ottawa/news.html Click on your favourite events in the Table of Contents below or use the web version above. (Outlook/Evolution email users – sorry, clicking below doesn’t work; use the web version.) – Ian! D. Allen
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
CI Dancers at the Ottawa CI dance jam: Ken, Kia, Isabelle, Barbara, AnneMarie, Ian, Marcia
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.
Some events don’t repeat through the July and August summer months and won’t show up again until September.
Move with Consciousness / Bouger avec Conscience
You want to activate your precious body in an healthy environment and while being surrounded by beautiful people?
If you have experience in dance or not, you are invited to this workshop that will help you recenter yourself and reconnect to your/our Conciousness. To move in mindfulness. Without any pressure to perform. Only being yourself in the present moment.
The workshops will be held one Friday per month from 5:30pm to 8:30pm in Chelsea:
Each workshop will last for about an hour and will be followed by an open jam where you will have the chance to continue to explore with the tools you’ll have learned.
It will be a perfect moment to move while having fun and also respecting your body’s messages. I am preparing you a few games and exercices inspired by contact improvisation, mindfulness meditation, contemporary dance, yoga and personal intuition. ;)
I you have a tight budget but you would really want to come, send me a private facebook message. I will have a few places with adapted price. ;)
Caution: Hard (tile on concrete) floor; bring a yoga mat and kneepads.
Follow the above link or contact Anissa Hirondelle directly via the facebook.
Vous avez envie de dégourdir votre corps si précieux dans un environnement sain et entouré de belles personnes?
Que vous ayez de l’expérience en danse ou non, vous êtes tous les bienvenus à cet atelier qui vous amènera à vous recentrer et à connecter avec votre/notre Conscience. À bouger en plein conscience. Sans pression de performance. En étant seulement nous-mêmes dans le moment présent.
Chaque atelier aura une durée d’environ 1 heure et sera suivi d’un jam où vous pourrez poursuivre l’exploration que nous aurons commencée et l’amener où bon vous semble.
Ce sera un moment parfait pour bouger en jouant tout en respectant les messages de notre corps. Je vous prépare quelques jeux et exercices inspirés du contact improvisation, de la méditation pleine conscience, de la danse contemporaine, du yoga et de mon intuition personnelle.
Si votre budget est serré, mais que vous aimeriez vraiment venir, contactez-moi en privé. J’aurai quelques places subventionnées.
Awaken Ottawa presents AwakenFlow Activation – Tai Chi Meditation, Sound Healing & Ecstatic Dance
Awaken Flow is a sequenced flow through an evening of experiences to awaken mind, body and soul. A special Edition – Activation @ Peace Room – that blends the popular Tai Chi movement meditation practices to carefully selected meditative, melodic and ambient music - flowing into free flow ecstatic dance & completed with a sound healing crystal bowl experience.
A spin off of our regular AWAKENFLOW ecstatic dance experiences. An intentional Awaken Flow Ecstatic Dance party, connect with like minds, an experience of inward and outward journey through movement, dance, music and tantalizing of the senses.
Enjoy an evening that dives into your soul, connecting you with your wild essence and opens you up to a night of connection and bliss. Enter a sacred space of dance, clarity and connection. Be guided into the pleasure of your 5 senses and beyond!
This is a Sober event. Please be respectful and mindful of the ways in shared space of consciousness and energy we exchange with each other non-verbally.
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.
We are upon our 8th year drumming and dancing in the park in West African styles.
We meet at the front of the entrance off of Heron Road and Riverside and walk over to the covered picnic area. If it rains, we use the covering, if not, we pick a nice place on the grass or pavement depending on who is in attendance. If you can’t find us, listen for the drums!
Join Julie Beaulac and Janet Nicol for a weekly early morning Dynamic Walk using our whole bodies and minds to explore the urban landscape at an active pace! We will incorporate a balance of dynamic stretching, opportunities to connect with others, and also a time to move together in silence. TheSe WAlkS ArE FReE For ALl
Presented by the Metta Movement & Meditation Studio.
Gaiafest in Wakefield has two dance events scheduled: 6pm Saturday and 9:30pm Sunday. Lots of other stuff, too, including “beachside Dj’s daily from noon until sunset”. (Ask the organizers about accessibility.)
Gaiafest in Wakefield has two dance events scheduled: 6pm Saturday and 9:30pm Sunday. Lots of other stuff, too, including “beachside Dj’s daily from noon until sunset”. (Ask the organizers about accessibility.)
Come to the next Ecstatic Dance – Light Beings with your Ottawa/Gatineau Ecstatic Dance community. Dances take place twice monthly as part of Ecstatic Dance Ottawa. Venue: 41 Rosemount in Hintonburg. (This location is not wheelchair accessible.)
Dance your inner, free spirit nature - gently, freely or wildly. Connect to your inner light and find your authentic expression, in whatever way it comes, naturally moving to changing rhythms and melodies.
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 or DJ Kaia Nightingale for more information.
Follow the link above for future dances and confirm future dates and times with the organizers as they change.
Weekly CI dance jams resume September 7.
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
Biodanza hébdomadaire en français! Contactez Anne Marie Riel (613.316.8118).
Attend weekly English drop-in Biodanza evening sessions led by Anne Marie Riel (613.316.8118).
Dear friends that love to dance,
I hope this message is finding you well and enjoying the sunshine. I am coming to you with great news for our Biodanza community: I have finally found a fantastic space to re-open our Wednesday ENGLISH ONLY Biodanza group!
It is called All Saints Event space and is located at 330 Laurier Avenue East (at Blackburn), in the Sandy Hill area in Ottawa. Our new place has lots to offer… plenty of easy parking, a private entrance door, a very nice café serving healthy foods and drinks opened 7am to 7pm And most important, it has a very spacious dance space with easy access on main floor! (Note: This space is not accessible; four steps.)
So mark your agenda for Wednesday September 11th at 7pm the big re-opening nights of our ENGLISH BIODANZA! Hurray! Welcome to all and please share the great news with all your friends! Everyone is very welcome! It is a large space: let us fill it with our dances full of life!
More to come….
With my heart so full of joy to see you all in the beauty of our dances! Anne-Marie Riel Didactic Biodanza facilitator and teacher 613-316-8118
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
Weekly Biodanza in English! Contact Rémi Gregoire.
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. (The date on this facebook event link is wrong; it should be September 16.) 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.
Every third Friday, come to the next monthly Dances of Universal Peace event 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 #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
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). (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 dances (after this one): Last Saturday of each month. Contact the organizers to be sure.
Dance the Autumn Equinox as part of Seasonal Dances with Anne Pitman at the Dovercourt Recreation Centre 411 Dovercourt Ave. (This location is wheelchair accessible.)
Dance in the balance of light and dark, harvest and community gathering. Dance your aliveness, your life and the turning of the wheel. Dance your rhythm and the rhythm of the season. Free form dance, circle dance 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 Fall Equinox Dance will happen in September. Check her web link, above.
Please verify this time and venue with the organizers.
For wheelchair and washroom accessibility information, contact the organizers.
We’re Dancing!! A free (by donation) happening 6:30 to 8:00, at Bells Corners United Church at 3955 Old Richmond Road. All are welcome; Join us! Ottawa Sacred Dance Guild Dances are open to all; no registration required; last Sunday of every month; donations welcome.
For more information call Wendy at 613-726-1375
Next dances (after this one): Last Sunday of every month. Contact the organizers to be sure.
Please confirm the Fall dates and times with the organizers.
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.
5Rhythms: Live Wire Ritual Theatre LabLIVE WIRE: A RITUAL THEATRE LAB with Lorca Simons & Lynne Adams: An investigation of the soul through the body / Une investigation de l’âme par le corps
A single thread is cast through space, invoking emptiness – a basket is placed full of blank pages, waiting for whispers and entrances. The unravelling – the revealing tale of the feet, the hips, the hands and the breath – an unveiling of the truths discovered through the 5Rhythms, one body part at a time. We will write, wonder and weather our way through light and shadow, footfalls and silences, creating the Ritual Theatre of your/our stories, detailed soulfulness. Sculpting spirit into shape, writing soul into story, dancing mind into the wind and racing the heart home. Furious dancing, mysterious humour and indelible visuals may occur.
Un fil unique est lancé dans l’espace, invoquant le vide – un panier plein de pages blanches est placé en attente de chuchotements et d’entrées. Le dénouement – l’histoire révélatrice des pieds, des hanches, des mains, du souffle – un dévoilement des vérités découvertes au travers des 5Rythmes, une partie du corps à la fois. Nous allons écrire, nous émerveiller et nous épandre dans la lumière et l’ombre, dans les bruits de pas et les silences. Nous allons créer le Théâtre Rituel de vos/nos histoires, détails d’âmes qui sculptent l’esprit en formes, composent l’âme en histoires, dansent la tête dans le vent et coursent avec le coeur jusqu’au bercail. Danses furieuses, humeurs mystérieuses et visuels inoubliables peuvent survenir.
Le mouvement est clef pour incarner l’intelligence et l’intégrité de notre corps. Par l’intermédiaire de la musique, la danse, la conscience et la découverte, la pratique 5Rythmes encourage la connection avec soi-même, avec un autre et avec un groupe. Pré-requis: la curiosité. Tous sont bienvenus.
For more information or to register contact Melissa lanarkinmotion@gmail.com 416.559.2676
Alternate Venue! Dance at the Ottawa Circus School!
Dance with your Ottawa/Gatineau community at an Ottawa Inner Rhythm Ecstatic Dance at the Ottawa Circus School 2275 Gladwin Crescent in Ottawa. 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. (This is a special mid-month dance.) 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!
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 dances (after this one): Last Saturday of each month. Contact the organizers to be sure.
The events in this section happen next year.
Details are not yet available. This is what we know so far:
Events outside the local Ottawa/Gatineau/Wakefield/Lanark/CarletonPlace Region
Groove Tonic PEC is hosting a Beginning Contact Improvisation Dance class at the Picton Town Hall.
Contact Improvisation is a form of creative movement and dance, open to anyone of any level of experience and/or mobility. It involves moving in and out of contact with other people. sharing weight and resistance. following and responding to energetic patterns of movement and also moving creatively in any ways you feel drawn. It offers techniques in these practices that allow us to move sometimes in ways we did not think we could. It provides an opportunity for opening in body and mind through movement. Everyone is free to participate as much or as little as it feels comfortable for them. Those with some experience in martial arts like Aikido, Qi Gong, Tai Chi etc, as well as those with experience of meditation practices like Vipassana will have some sense of Contact Improv. There are active Contact Improv (CI) in various countries. The technique was introduced and began to spread in the mid 1970s, largely under the influence of dancer Nancy Stark Smith. The lively Toronto CI community is now bringing this practice to smaller Ontario communities in hopes of sharing the benefits. This event is an introduction to CI. It will begin with a one hour workshop, followed by a break, and then there will be an open Contact Improv Jam where participants can play, and practice movement in this way. Instructor Celia McBride will be guiding the workshop and jam. She has experience leading beginners with patience and kindness, and is ready to inspire others to get into this technique. We aim to make this available to everyone. We are asking for a suggested donation of $10-$30 to cover our costs, and to hopefully create a fund for future similar workshops. Space is limited. To sign up, please message us on FB or contact Tamara Segal at newmoonfarm@kos.net, 613-476-1830
https://www.facebook.com/events/620976708406993/ with Peter Fodera and Erik Iversen.
PREREQUISITE: 15 hours of Waves classes or a weekend workshop with a Certified and Accredited 5Rhythms® teacher.
Everything that we experience in life is reflected in our bodies. Our emotions and thoughts are directly connected to our body parts and the history of these experiences shape and define our posture and form. We all have unconscious physical muscular patterns in our bodies, which are the representation of unresolved emotional experiences. By connecting to these patterns consciously through movement, and then learning to complete the natural emotional response, we can release those unconscious patterns in our bodies.
Anatomy of Emotion is a 5-day 5Rhythms® Heartbeat + Waves investigation where we will explore these emotional landscapes with kindness, curiosity and compassion.
In Heartbeat, we explore our emotions as energy, as power, as part of being human. Old feelings that have been locked in our limbs or caged in our chest begin to shake loose. We get comfortable with feelings, neither hanging onto them nor pushing them away.
We hope you will join us!
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 2018 dance jam:
Click on the link above or contact Abbi Jaffe for details. Contact Ian! Allen about car pooling from Ottawa.
Breath in Motion: A RITUAL THEATRE LAB with Lorca Simons & Lynne Adams: A deep dive into the shapes of our being, through movement, ritual theatre, breath and embodied presence. Un plongeon dans les profondeurs de l’être à travers le mouvement, le théâtre rituel, le souffle et une présence incarnée.
The spirit may be willing but the flesh and voice are sometimes tongue-tied. Yet the spirit longs to break the silence and speak from the deepest Live Wire place within us. What words express your current state of being? How does the voice move within the shapes of the body? How do those physical shapes breathe? In this workshop we will create a stage for the spirit within to manifest. Theatrical. Articulate. An embodied language that expands our creative potential and opens the door of those voices within, articulating all our bodies have to offer.
L’esprit est souvent enclin à s’exprimer mais la chair n’y donne voix. Pourtant l’esprit ne désire que de rompre ce silence et témoigner de cet espace profond en nous où réside notre Fil Vivant. Quels mots reflètent notre état présent? Comment la voix se mue dans les formes de notre corps? Comment respirent ces formes corporelles? Dans cet atelier, nous créons un espace de jeu pour manifester notre esprit. Espace théâtral. Articulé. Un langage pour élargir notre potentiel créatif et articuler ces voix innées, donnant plein jeu à tout ce que nos corps peuvent offrir.
Le mouvement est clef pour incarner l’intelligence et l’intégrité de notre corps. Par l’intermédiaire de la musique, la danse, la conscience et la découverte, la pratique 5Rythmes encourage la connection avec soi-même, avec un autre et avec un groupe. Pré-requis: la curiosité. Tous sont bienvenus.
For more information or to register, see the links below and contact Lynne Adams or info@tribeconnections.com
Earthdance annual Falling Leaves Contact Improvisation Dance Jam
Join us as we celebrate New England’s vibrant autumn colors that will inspire our dances and time together in community.
Learn More & Register: http://www.earthdance.net/fallingleavesjam2019
Scholarship opportunities are available through the Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (DEI) Scholarship for those self-identifying as being underrepresented in CI. Apply by SEPT 8!
Contact Ian! Allen about car pooling from Ottawa/Gatineau.
(This location is partially wheelchair accessible.)
The art and practice of shape-shifting in Shapes & Patterns with Erik Iversen:
You are how you move. – Gabrielle Roth
Life is movement. From birth we become shaped by cultural, generational, and emotional norms. Our bodies literally shape to our experience. The 5Rhythms practice invites permission to discover freedom in action. We can identify and connect with habits of movement that no longer serve us and engage with body parts that are stuck. By dancing with these habitual sequences, and by creating easy and fun new choices, we become present, connected, and playful in our daily lives. This way, we magnify our vibrancy. And with this newfound freedom, we can explore our sensitivity to the dimensions of mass, energy, and space, leading to an integrated self with a consistent life flow.
A note from Erik: Every interaction in our lives – be it within us, between ourselves and others, or ourselves and our environment – generates the opportunity to presence ourselves in the moment. Nurturing a pathway to sensualising our feet and their relationships to our other body parts creates the context for presence. Befriending our breathing and gravity enlivens our experience of moving. Noticing this sixth sense enhances balance and focuses our ability to be present. My commitment to the participants of the workshops I facilitate promises to catalyze and inspire them to integrate the playful and pleasurable sense of developing their body intelligence into the 5Rhythms and into daily life.
5Rhythms® is a dynamic movement meditation practice created by Gabrielle Roth. It encourages connection, creativity, and expression with oneself, with others, and within community. There are no steps to follow. We show up, tune in, and move what is alive in us, as we dance a wave of the 5Rhythms (Flowing, Staccato, Chaos, Lyrical and Stillness). These qualities of movement mirror the way energy moves and changes in the world. No previous dance or movement experience is required!
Please pass this invitation along to anyone you feel may be interested!
5Rhythms EMPOWERED: Movement&Embodiment Workshop
A 5Rhythms® Movement & Embodiment Workshop with Bettina Rothe October 25-27, 2019 in Montreal
We live in a VUCA world… Volatile, Uncertain, Complex and Ambiguous. Things are changing at a pace like we have never seen before.
How do we develop the physical, mental, emotional, and interpersonal skills for the personal and global challenges we face?
The 5Rhythms moment practice offers us teachings that can help us in the navigation of our lives.
Flowing teaches us where we are stuck, frozen or disengaged and invites us to move with more fluidity and flexibility.
Staccato guides us to shift from feeling disempowered or over-engaged into our centered power. We learn how to take risks, how to stand up, speak up and express our heart’s truth.
Chaos teaches us to become more comfortable with the currents of change, to develop resiliency or to shift into becoming the eye of the storm.
Lyrical opens us from feeling alone and separate into possibilities of collaboration and the resource of community.
Stillness helps us to cultivate awareness and reflection, the art of pausing, so that we can consciously choose our next steps.
When we feel empowered to choose how to step in, step out or step up, we can embrace change and uncertainty with more strength and confidence.
No previous experience is required.
Organizer: Amy Dhindsa 514-616-4200 dhindsa.amy@gmail.com
The 37th Annual Montréal International Contact Improv Jam takes place in a lovely renovated church building on Sherbrooke street.
The ACI’s most prized event: Montréal’s Annual Contact Improv. Jam takes place usually around late November, and is jam-packed with great warm-ups & a beginner class, lots of open jamming, great food, a show and dance. Don’t miss it!!
Earthdance annual New Year’s Contact Improvisation Dance Jam
Contact the organizers for the exact date of the 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.
Contact Ian! Allen about car pooling from Ottawa/Gatineau.
(This location is partially wheelchair accessible.)
The events in this section happen next year.
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.
Big Heart number Twelve is coming June 16–21 in 2020!
Big Heart Dance Camp is a 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 Global Underscore long-form Contact Improv Dance Jam takes place for four hours simultaneously, world-wide at 10am EDT (14:00 UTC) on June ? in 2020. (Contact the organizers for the date.) 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.
Contact the organizers for the exact date of the Jam.
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
Contact the organizers for the exact date and location of Touch&Play 2020.
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.)
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.)
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
