Updated December 08 2024 – Mis à jour le 08 décembre 2024
Let’s Dance! Subscription information is at the bottom of this newsletter. – Ian!
Hello, Ottawa/Gatineau area dancers and movers.
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.
The events in this section recur weekly, with some exceptions. Check the official event page to make sure the event is scheduled on the day you want to attend.
If you’re new to Contact Improvisation Dance, attend the free CI Basics class/jam on December 7 below.
CI dancers who have already taken a CI Basics class in Ottawa are welcome to attend any of our weekly CI jams running every Saturday until December 21 2024.
This dance takes place mostly weekly, outdoors at Mooney’s Bay, all year round. See the facebook: Dance to Nature group 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.
Warning: The facebook events may incorrectly include some days where there are no dances. Read the text to know which days those are.
Come and join the dance! The evening is bilingual English/French.
Weekly drop-in on most Mondays 7pm-9:15pm until December 16
- Biodanza presque chaque lundi à 19h00 jusqu’au 16 décembre
- Viens danser la joie d’être vivant, vivante!
- La permission d’être pleinement soi.
- La Biodanza est une pratique qui s’adresse à tout le monde.
- Danser la vie, c’est prendre du temps pour retrouver le meilleur de soi.
- Danser la vie, c’est entrer dans la simplicité et le plaisir des liens humains.
- Danser la vie, c’est offrir au monde la qualité de ma présence aimante.
- À la joie de vous accueillir pour danser ensemble!
- Bienvenue à tous et à toutes!
- Au Centre Jules-Desbiens à Gatineau (Hull) 109 rue Wright (coin Leduc) au rez-de-chaussée
- Ascenseur disponible à droite de l’édifice – stationnement gratuit autour de l’édifice
- Pour informations: Anne-Marie Riel 450-266-4511 ou 613-316-8118 facebook: Anne Marie Riel
Biodanza en français avec facebook: Biodanza Isabelle Burnier:
Bouger et se sentir profondément vivant dans l’ici et maintenant, c’est cesser de vivre au passé ou au conditionnel. Habiter nos gestes par le mouvement ému grâce à la musique et au groupe, c’est retrouver une joie existentielle, un émerveillement naturel.
Le cours multiniveaux est ouvert à toute personne qui désire découvrir la Biodanza ou s’investir dans une pratique régulière. Pas besoin d’inscription, présentez-vous à partir de 18h30 à la salle. Le cours commence à 19h.
This event has no online site on which to post updates, so you have to contact Naomi Sparrow to make sure that there are no last-minute changes.
Somatic Qigong: The Sea of Marrow and the 18 Luohan
Please register before attending by messaging or emailing Naomi Sparrow
Through this series, we’ve been learning movements from the 18 Luohan. In the last workshop we learned the 8 Brocades, which are rooted in the first 8 movements of the 18 Luohan. Together we’ll review and discuss the movements we’ve learned so far. New people: don’t worry! You can jump in! I promise it won’t be overwhelming!
The structural focus in this workshop will be on the dynamics of weight shift in the body. How does the upper body ride the lower body through the dynamic movement of the pelvis? How can gentle weight-shift movements facilitate flow through the pelvis and related structures? How does this movement support digestion, elimination, deep rest, and creative process?
In the first Somatic Qigong workshop we looked at how to allow movement to happen naturally and why that is so important when practicing Forms such as Qigong. In the second workshop we explored the spine, the curves of the ribs and movements that help with back tension.
In the third, we inhabited the shoulder girdle and found ways to ease neck and shoulder tension. In the fourth workshop we encountered the space around the heart and we felt the rise and fall of the heart on the diaphragm.
In this fifth and final workshop of the series we will focus on tension in the pelvis and lower back. How do organs and Yin meridians affect the posture and movement of the pelvis?
This workshop will not take a particularly structural approach, rather we will find the marrow in the pelvis and approach the Sea of Marrow as an energy that flows through the pelvis, spine, and nervous system.
….Come and move with us to see what the heck I mean by that!!
NO PREVIOUS EXPERIENCE NECESSARY with either Body-Mind Centering or Qigong. Bring an open mind, a journal… bring a friend if you like! Bring something to write/draw with and wear comfy clothes!
On Saturday December 14 adults can dance the season with Anne Pitman at the Dovercourt Recreation Centre 411 Dovercourt Ave., Ottawa.
Dance from darkness to light, as we celebrate Winter Solstice in a warm, welcoming community. We’ll move through free dance to circle dance, embracing the rhythm of the season and connection in beeswax candlelight.
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. Play with movement and stillness, free-form dances and traditional circle dances, invigorated by world music and warm community spirit. All of nature: Honour earth, air, water, fire and space – 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.
⭐️⭐️⭐️ 3 hours Community CI jam on Saturday evening December 14, 7-10 pm at ODD lead by contact improv teacher Valerie Sabbah from Montreal.
Save the date! More details to come. ⭐️⭐️⭐️
The ODD/CDC studio is fully accessible, with a large accessible washroom on
the same floor as the dance space.
Ecstatic dance is an immersive free-form movement guided by a musical journey intentionally crafted to induce healing and self-discovery. This journey follows a wave-like progression: it begins with gentle rhythms, builds to a vibrant climax, and softly descends into tranquility. It’s an inclusive practice where no prior dance experience or partner is required—only an openness to explore personal expression within a supportive environment.
This dance happens on Sundays approximately every two weeks until at least December 15 2024. See the links to Katie’s Dance Temple Ottawa and Katie Bigras’ events under Links to Various Local Dance/Movement Pages
These Thursday evening Ecstatic Dances usually take place on the first and third Thursdays of 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. The start times aren’t always the same; check online before you head out. The events are only visible on The Facebook; there is no public web page. Try looking in all these places for the upcoming events:
The Rosemount Orange Hall is not accessible; there are many steps up to the dance floor and the washroom is too small for a wheelchair.
We welcome you to our Dances of Universal Peace.
We will dance at the First United Church in the 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.
Welcome to the first of many weekly Wednesday Contact Improv Jam Nights in Ottawa at the Routhier Community Centre. Ticket details are not yet available from [Anne-Marie)(annemava@hotmail.com). Contact her for more information.
Contact improv (CI) is the dance of physics, where we experience the joy of dancing in contact with others while experimenting with gravity, weight sharing, rolling, falling, and flying. We will be open jamming to an exquisite music playlist on a sprung dance floor! The jam is open to all levels. There is no class, so it is strongly encouraged that you have some CI experience before attending. Note: You must be 18 years of age or older to participate.
This location is wheelchair accessible with an accessible washroom.
A local event for the dance-curious and dance-joyous communities of Wakefield, Rupert and beyond. This Workshop is hosted by local dance artist Emily Rudenberg (Ballet du Village) with classes taught by a guest artist. Each class will include time for networking.
Venue: Rupert Hall, 24 Chemin Shouldice, La Pêche, QC J0X 1A0, Canada
Free CI Basics class and dance jam open to everyone on
Saturday February 1 at 11:15am.
All Welcome! No experience necessary! We teach you everything.
The accessible, community-run Ottawa/Gatineau Contact Improvisation Dance classes and jams run a free all-welcome CI Basics class and dance jam at 11:15am on Saturday February 1 open to everyone, especially people new to CI dance. 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 running weekly every Saturday at 11:5am until December 21 2024 and then resuming weekly again on January 11 2025.
The ODD/CDC studio is fully accessible, with a large accessible washroom on
the same floor as the dance space.
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.
Ottawa/Gatineau Contact Improvisation Dance
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.
Registration is open! Register early – this jam fills up quickly.
The Winter Jam is one of the four main Earthdance seasonal jams. It often has around 100-140 participants, is open to all movement levels and backgrounds. We will be offering classes on embodied consent and CI fundamentals. We are excited to offer up to 10 FULL JAM Equity & Access Discounts to individuals who have a financial need.
Contact Ian Allen about car pooling from Ottawa to this event.
Classic Thursday-Sunday Contact/Collective Improvisation Jam at The Field Center! Classes, labs, and open jams. Workshops with Jennifer Nugent and Shira Yaziv!
Breakfast, lunch and dinner provided. Dancing, sunbathing, swimming, sauna, rigor and relaxation…
The Field Center is in south-central Vermont near Rockingham / Bellows Falls / Brockways Mills.
Contact Ian Allen about car pooling from Ottawa to this event.
ORCJ is back live and in person for the
first time since 2019.
We welcome beginners and newcomers and all levels of dance experience.
See dozens and dozens and dozens of your bestest dancing friends from
all over the world!
https://contactimprov.ca/orcjIf you register early enough, we will feed you an on-premises catered vegan lunch every day!
Contact Ian Allen about car pooling from Ottawa to this event.
Dance New England Summer Dance Camp
Wednesday July 30 through Sunday August 10 2025.
NOTICE: The DNE web site may not be updated yet and still show old information from 2024.
Up to eleven days of dance, movement, drumming, yoga, workshops, food, and clothing-optional private swimming in the woods of Camp Timber Trails outside of Tolland in south-western Massachusetts. On-site all-ages daytime child care is included in the event fee so that parents may attend workshops. A camp schedule is available (may not be updated yet for 2025).
Contact Ian Allen about car pooling from Ottawa to this event.
Contact Ian Allen about car pooling from Ottawa to this event.
Contact Ian Allen about car pooling from Ottawa to this event.
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.
facebook: 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.
Dear contact dancers (or those who want to do contact improvisation!), Suzanne and Opal are continuing to host Contact dance Jams in Peterborough, after a summer hiatus. Details are below. Please feel free to share widely! Contact Improvisation is movement inspired by the spontaneous interaction between two people playing with weight, momentum and gravity. Beginners welcome! Contact Dance Jam is hosted the 4th Sunday of the month (with some exceptions - see below).
We will start with just an hour and a silent jam and we can consider expansion, depending on interest. Mark your calendars!
We have created guidelines to foster a culture of consent. Please review them (your feedback welcome, if you have any). We ask people to sign that they will abide by them.
This location is wheelchair accessible with an accessible washroom.
For other Peterborough dance events, e.g. Ecstatic Dance, see Dance Your Bones
Our mission: to invite pure, unabashed self-expression through movement, in a warm, permissive, nonjudgmental space. NOTE: the capacity of our space is limited to 65 people; therefore, please register ahead so that you can ensure you have a spot.
This is a dance intended for all bodies, and St. Peter’s Church is an accessible space with an elevator. There are no “moves” or “steps,” but rather just an invitation to do what feels right. This kind of dance can look like anything – it can be big, small, upright, or lying down. As long as you are moving and breathing, you are doing it right.
Dance and celebrate – Danser, se rassembler, célébrer, s’émerveiller …
Classes in Biodanza and Authentic Movement in and near Montréal with Catherine Fabiola Lessard
Currently (October 2024) only the French pages are up-to-date. The English pages still date from 2021.
I recall always dancing. A tiny, faded 3×3 photograph of me in traditional garb with hair in plaits doubled over, age 4, in my village in India, shows me dancing (and caught self-consciously!). I’ve tried many forms of movement and 5Rhythms® is my home-coming. 5Rhythms® is free-form movement meditation, in every class we dance through the five energies/rhythms of Flowing, Staccato, Chaos, Lyrical, and Stillness®. There is a vast ever-changing inner landscape of our bodies and psyches for us to be fascinated by and navigate with curiosity. Certified at the Waves level of this practice, philosophy, and perspective, you can find out about my classes here. As an accredited 5Rhythms® teacher, all class and workshop hours with me count towards teacher training prerequisites.
I produce workshops where I invite teachers to Montreal/Ottawa to share their wisdom, experience, perspective, and learnings. Upcoming workshops can be found here.
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.)
facebook: Contact Improvisation Bas-Saint-Laurent
Groupe pour faciliter l’épanouissement de la communauté de contact impro dans la région. Cours, jams, covoiturage vers des activités ailleurs au Québec, etc.
facebook: 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!)
Shake! Mornings, afternoons, and evenings
facebook: ~bioLUMINosity®~ Edge of Trance dance, meditation, playground.
Dancing is not just getting up painlessly,
like a leaf blown on the wind;
dancing is when you tear your heart out
and rise out of your body
to hang suspended between the worlds.
We have come to be danced
not the pretty dance
not the pretty pretty, pick me, pick me dance
but the claw our way back into the belly
of the sacred, sensual animal dance
the unhinged, unplugged, cat is out of its box dance
the holding the precious moment in the palms
of our hands and feet dance
[…]
If people ask me how to Contact Improvise, I simply say, “Start small” or, “Start small for a long time.”
After fifty years of all this, I realize I should have said,
“Go beyond small to the place where no message is being given. Start there. Let small be the first of the pleasures to come.”
Accept the first perturbation of that emptiness as the focus of the next moments. It is not a dance about you, or your partner. It is a dance about its movement.
There is a vitality, a life force, an energy, a quickening that is translated through you into action, and because there is only one of you in all of time, this expression is unique. And if you block it, it will never exist through any other medium and it will be lost. The world will not have it. It is not your business to determine how good it is nor how valuable nor how it compares with other expressions. It is your business to keep it yours clearly and directly, to keep the channel open. You do not even have to believe in yourself or your work. You have to keep yourself open and aware to the urges that motivate you. Keep the channel open. … No artist is pleased. [There is] no satisfaction whatever at any time. There is only a queer divine dissatisfaction, a blessed unrest that keeps us marching and makes us more alive than the others.
[…]
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.
[…]
You do not have to be good.
You do not have to walk on your knees
for a hundred miles through the desert repenting.
You only have to let the soft animal of your body
love what it loves.
[…]
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.
