% Dance, Movement, and CI Events in Ottawa/Gatineau % [Contact Improv Home Page for Ottawa/Gatineau] % Updated July 05 2025 -- Mis à jour le 05 juillet 2025 Let’s Dance! Subscription information is at the bottom of this newsletter. -- Ian! | >>> Attend a free *Contact Improv* Basics Class and dance jam 11:15am on [Saturday September 13]. All Welcome! <<< | The *best* way to read this message is using the [*Newsletter Web Version*] that is *updated mid-week*. -- [*Ian! D. Allen*] Dance News =========================================================================================== ![Ian! and Eva in Burlington VT] Hello, Ottawa/Gatineau area dancers and movers. - *Do not attend a dance/movement event if you are ill or have been exposed to people who are ill.* The [COVID-19 pandemic] continues to injure and kill people in the Ottawa area, especially older and immunocompromised people. [Truthdig] notes "Covid-19 infections continue to outnumber flu cases and lead to more hospitalization and death than the flu." The [Ottawa wastewater COVID-19 viral signal] is currently (May 2025) trending low. "Diagnosed cases are often referred to as the ["tip of the iceberg,"] which means that for each case that is diagnosed, there are likely many individuals who are infected and unknowingly transmitting the infection to others." *If you think you've been exposed, see the [updated procedure for Rapid Antigen Testing].* Most events in this newsletter have no COVID-19 precautions in place; it's up to you to protect yourself. Some dances happen outdoors; have a look below. - TEDxEmory: [*Life Lessons Learned Through Contact Improvisation*] - A short, powerful observation about non-sexual intimacy (from the facebook): [THIS IS INTIMACY] - A collection of responses to ["Please tell us something you like about Contact Improvisation in two or three sentences."] - Sanford Lewis' film about Contact Improvisation is now available for free: [An Intimate Dance] - [Quotes about dance] ![Ottawa Canada] Events Near Ottawa/Gatineau/Wakefield/Lanark/CarletonPlace ========================================================== *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. >> Weekly 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. Most Ottawa weekly dance events are on summer recess and will resume in September 2025. ### Saturdays at 11:15am -- Contact Improvisation Class and Dance Jam If you're new to Contact Improvisation Dance, attend the next [free CI Basics class/jam in September 2025][Saturday September 13] below. CI dancers who have already taken a CI Basics class in Ottawa are welcome to attend any of our [weekly Saturday CI jams] in June 2025 and starting again on September 13 2025 through end June 2026. (No Saturday CI during July and August.) ### Sundays at 10:15am -- Dance to Nature (outdoors) with Alana - [*Dance to Nature*] is online and outdoors at Mooney's Bay in Ottawa. This dance takes place mostly weekly, online and outdoors at Mooney's Bay, all year round. See the web page above, 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.* ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- July 17 at 7:30pm -- Ecstatic Dance at Rosemount Hall ----------------------------------------------------- *The start time is approximate.* *Each weekly dance does it differently, so you have to check [The Facebook] event for the current week to know the actual start time and dance schedule.* 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.* ![Ecstatic Dance] August 1 at 7pm -- Dances of Universal Peace -------------------------------------------- - [facebook page: *Dances of Universal Peace Ottawa*] We welcome you to our Dances of Universal Peace. We will dance at the First United Church in the Westboro neighborhood of Ottawa on the first Friday of each month. 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.* ![[Dances of Universal Peace]][2] 22-24 août -- Biodanza "Consentir à la Vie" avec Isabelle --------------------------------------------------------- *PRE REQUIS: expérience hebdomadaire de Biodanza nécessaire* - [*Biodanza Printemps 2025*] - [facebook: *Biodanza Isabelle Burnier*] *STAGE EN RÉSIDENCE AVEC ISABELLE BURNIER* | « Vivre c'est désirer le grand souffle du monde » | Consentir c'est répondre aux vents qui proposent. La vie se construit sur des propositions, avec des oui et des non, cela s'appelle l'évolution. La vie se construit aussi sur des impositions, avec des je dois et des il faut; cela s'appelle la socialisation. Entre les deux, mon identité se manifeste, entourée de responsabilité et d'illusions. Tout est proposition en Biodanza; le but est de nous amener à consentir le plus librement à ce qui se propose. Sortir de ce que je sais de moi pour écouter ce que la vie veut pour moi. « Même la plus grande des forteresses reste ouverte à tous les vents » Alors consentir à l'expérience du vivre intensément se fait si je donne mon accord à ce qui est, si je me laisse toucher par l'inconnu et si j'ai la capacité de me retirer si cela ne me convient plus. - PRE REQUIS: expérience hebdomadaire de Biodanza nécessaire - STAGE RÉSIDENTIEL: Profitez d'un dernier week end d'aout à la campagne dans un magnifique manoir - LIEU : CANTLEY (30mn de Gatineau) ![[Biodanza Canada]][3] September 13 at 11:15am -- Free Contact Improvisation Basics Class & Jam ------------------------------------------------------------------------ ![Ian!, Anne-Marie(up), and Marcia] *Come to our free CI Basics class and dance jam, open to everyone, on Saturday September 13 at 11:15am. Invite your CI-curious friends! All Welcome! No experience necessary! We teach you everything! Please arrive on time (11:15am) for the consent talk.* This September event is the first CI Basics class of the season. The next CI Basics class will be the first Saturday in October. - [CI Basics Intro Class and dance jam] - [facebook event: *CI Basics Intro Class and dance jam*] - Please arrive on time (11:15am) for the consent talk. The accessible, community-run [*Ottawa/Gatineau Contact Improvisation Dance*][Contact Improv Home Page for Ottawa/Gatineau] classes and jams run a *free* all-welcome [CI Basics class and dance jam][CI Basics Intro Class and dance jam] at 11:15am on Saturday September 13 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 Basics Intro Class and dance jam]. Please arrive on time (11:15am) for the consent talk. The next free CI Basics course will be held on October 4 at the same time and venue. (This September event is the first CI Basics course of the new season.) CI dancers who have already taken a [CI Basics class][CI Basics Intro Class and dance jam] in Ottawa are welcome to attend any of our [weekly CI jams][weekly Saturday CI jams] running mostly weekly (check the schedule!) for ten months on Saturday at 11:5am until June 27 2026 and then resuming weekly again in September 2026. [![ODD/CDC Ottawa Dance Directive]][4] *The ODD/CDC studio is fully accessible, with a large accessible washroom on the same floor as the dance space.* ![CI Dancers at the [Ottawa CI dance jam][Contact Improv Home Page for Ottawa/Gatineau]: Ken, Kia, Isabelle, Barbara, Anne-Marie(up), Ian!, Marcia][5] >> Online Links to Various Local Dance/Movement Pages << ------------------------------------------------------------ > 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][Contact Improv Home Page for Ottawa/Gatineau] group, all dances are privately run. ### Local events with links available on the Web - ![Karen and Ian! at Earthdance, photo by Moti] [Ottawa/Gatineau Contact Improvisation Dance][Contact Improv Home Page for Ottawa/Gatineau] - [Rebecca White Raven's events] - [Saira Monica's events] - [Katie Bigras' events] - [Eric Iversen events] ### Local events with links available on [The Facebook] - ![Burlington VT Contact Improv] [Ottawa/Gatineau Contact Improvisation Dance] - [Anne-Marie Vachon's CI events] - [Katie Bigras' Dance Temple Ottawa] - [Creative Dance and Movement Ottawa/Gatineau] - [Ottawa Area Dance] - [Saira Monica's Ecstatic Dance Ottawa] - [Rebecca White Raven's events][6] - [Rebecca's Ottawa Conscious Dance] - [Katie Bigras' events][7] Outside Ottawa/Gatineau/Wakefield/Lanark/CarletonPlace ====================================================== *Events outside the local Ottawa/Gatineau/Wakefield/Lanark/CarletonPlace Region* - The [*Earthdance*][Earthdance] retreat centre has various in-person activities going on in western Massachusetts. - The [*Field Center*] has various in-person activities going on in south-central Vermont. - [*Touch&Play*] has various in-person activities going on around the globe, and some are within driving distance of Ottawa, especially [Massachusetts Touch&Play]. *Contact [Ian Allen] about car pooling from Ottawa to some of the above dance events.* Montréal QC: January through June -- CI Essentials with Valérie --------------------------------------------------------------- - [facebook event: *Contact Improvisation Essentials*] 🌸Please join me [Valerie Sabbah] for ESSENTIALS : 4 sessions of 6-week courses for those beginning to roll into Contact-Improvisation and are searching to deepen their curiosity of this enigmatic and fascinating movement practice. Although ESSENTIALS is especially for movers with no previous experience in Contact-Improvisation, it is also open to those who would like to brush up on their basic skills. > 🌸 Rejoignez-moi [Valerie Sabbah] pour ESSENTIELS : 4 sessions de 6 > semaines destiné à celles et ceux qui débutent en Contact-Improvisation et > souhaitent approfondir leur curiosité pour cette pratique de mouvement > énigmatique et fascinante. > > Bien qu'ESSENTIELS soit spécialement conçu pour des personnes n'ayant > aucune expérience préalable en Contact-Improvisation, il est également > ouvert à celles et ceux qui aimeraient réviser leurs compétences de base. Earthdance MA: June 28--July 5 -- Earthdance Summer CI Jam ---------------------------------------------------------- - [*Earthdance Summer CI Dance Jam*] | The Summer Jam is one of the four main Earthdance seasonal jams. | This jam is also known as the July 4th jam. | It is open to all movement levels and backgrounds. | Details to be announced. *Contact [Ian Allen] about car pooling from Ottawa to this event.* ![[Earthdance]][8] Sutton QC: July 24--27 -- The Sutton Contact Improv Dance Jam ------------------------------------------------------------- Details to be announced. Save the dates! July 24--27 (over four days: Thursday to Sunday) in Sutton QC near the USA border 120km south-east of Montréal. *NOTE:* The jam is *four* days long again this year, as it was last year! *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.* ![[The Sutton Jam]][9] Tolland MA: July 30--August 10 -- DNE Summer Dance Camp ------------------------------------------------------- ![[DNE Summer Dance Camp]][10] [*Dance New England Summer Dance Camp*] Wednesday July 30 through Sunday August 10 2025. *NOTICE: The DNE web site may not be updated to 2025 yet; it may 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.* ![[DNE Summer Dance Camp at Camp Timber Trails near Tolland MA]][11] ![[DNE Summer Dance Camp at Camp Timber Trails near Tolland MA]][12] Burlington VT: September 12--14 -- Burlington International CI Jam ------------------------------------------------------------------ - [*Burlington International CI Jam*] - [*Burlington International CI Jam*][13] The Burlington Vermont International Contact Improvisation Dance Jam returns! Friday September 12 through Sunday September 14 in the historic Burlington City Hall, 71 Park St. in Burlington, Vermont. *Contact [Ian Allen] about car pooling from Ottawa to this event.* ![[Burlington VT International CI Jam]][14] Earthdance MA: October 16--19 -- Earthdance Fall CI Jam ------------------------------------------------------- - [*Earthdance Fall CI Dance Jam*] | The Fall Jam is one of the four main Earthdance seasonal jams. | It is open to all movement levels and backgrounds. | Details to be announced. *Contact [Ian Allen] about car pooling from Ottawa to this event.* ![[Earthdance]][15] Montréal QC: October 27--31 -- Le collectif de chez-nous contact déca --------------------------------------------------------------------- Details to be announced. Montréal QC: November 1--2 -- Scores en corps weekend ----------------------------------------------------- Details to be announced. Montréal QC: November 7--9 -- Montréal Annual CI Jam ---------------------------------------------------- Le Jam annuel de Montréal! Details to be announced. *Contact [Ian Allen] about car pooling from Ottawa to this event.* Earthdance MA: December 27 2025--January 1 2026 -- Earthdance Winter CI Jam --------------------------------------------------------------------------- - [*Earthdance Winter CI Dance Jam*][*Earthdance Summer CI Dance Jam*] | The Winter Jam is one of the four main Earthdance seasonal jams. | This jam is also known as the New Year's Jam. | It is open to all movement levels and backgrounds. | It usually sells out by USA Thanksgiving. | Details to be announced. *Contact [Ian Allen] about car pooling from Ottawa to this event.* ![[Earthdance]][16] Recurring Events Outside the Ottawa/Gatineau Region =================================================== *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. Picton ON: Barefoot Groove Tonic Free Form Dance ------------------------------------------------ [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.* Peterborough ON: Contact Improvisation and other Dance ------------------------------------------------------ - [facebook event: *Peterborough Contact Improv Jams*] *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). - Venue: Studio 505 at 505 Sherbrooke Street in Peterborough - Cost: $10/jam, $35 for 5 jams, or $60 for 9 jams if paid in advance - Please bring cash. - Please share this with anyone who would be interested. - We look forward to dancing with you! - Best, [Suzanne] and Opal We will start with just an hour and a silent jam and we can consider expansion, depending on interest. Mark your calendars! - Jan 26 2025 - Feb 23 2025 - Mar 23 2025 - Apr 27 2025 - May 25 2025 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] Val-David ON: Danse Extatique ----------------------------- - [facebook group: *On Danse Val-David*] OnDanse Val-David est un collectif soutenant la pratique de la danse extatique. Offert hebdomadairement, la danse suit une courbe musicale particulière pour induire un contact à soi à travers l'expression corporelle et une exploration personnelle dans le mouvement. Une rencontre entre le festif et le sacré! Cobourg ON: Monthly Ecstatic Dance with Justine ----------------------------------------------- [*Ecstatic Dance Cobourg*] - April 11, 2025, 7-9 pm - May 9, 2025, 7-9 pm - June 20, 2025, 7-9 pm > 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. ![[Cobourg Ecstatic Dance][*Ecstatic Dance Cobourg*]][17] Montréal QC: Biodanza and Authentic Movement with Catherine Fabiola Lessard --------------------------------------------------------------------------- ![[Catherine Lessard]][18] *Dance and celebrate -- Danser, se rassembler, célébrer, s'émerveiller ...* Classes in Biodanza and Authentic Movement in and near Montréal with [Catherine Fabiola Lessard][Catherine Lessard] Currently (January 2025) only the French pages are up-to-date. The English pages still date from 2021. Use the French pages. ![[Catherine Fabiola Lessard][Catherine Lessard]][19] Montréal QC: 5Rhythms Classes with Amy Dhindsa ---------------------------------------------- - [Amy Dhindsa] - [facebook: Amy Dhindsa] 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. Montréal QC: 5Rhythms Classes with Erik Iversen ----------------------------------------------- *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 or or contact [Erik Iversen] for more information. *(For wheelchair and washroom accessibility information, contact Erik.)* ![[Erik Iversen 5Rhythms]][20] Montréal QC: 5Rhythms Classes with Lynne Adams ---------------------------------------------- Dance a weekly [Thursday night 5Rhythms class] with [Lynne Adams] in Montréal. *(For wheelchair and washroom accessibility information, contact Lynne.)* ![[Lynne Adams 5Rhythms][Lynne Adams]][21] Montréal QC: Ecstatic Dances ---------------------------- 1. [facebook: *Communauté Soirée danse Extatique*] 2. [*Plein Soleil Soirée danse Extatique*]   [Instagram: *Plein Soleil*]   [facebook: *Plein Soleil*] ![[Ecstatic Dance Montréal][facebook: *Communauté Soirée danse Extatique*]][22] Bas-Saint-Laurent QC: Contact Improvisation Bas-Saint-Laurent ------------------------------------------------------------- [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. Québec QC: Contact Improvisation, Communauté de Québec ------------------------------------------------------ - [facebook public profile: *Contact Improvisation -- Québec, QC*] - [facebook private group: *Contact Improvisation, Communauté 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. Sherbrooke QC: Biodanza with Yves Léger --------------------------------------- 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!)* ![[Biodanza Canada][23]][24] Recurring Online Dance/Movement Events ====================================== Online Rise & Shine Shake ------------------------- [Shake! Mornings, afternoons, and evenings] - What to expect: Music you can move to -- shake, wiggle, tap, bob... perhaps even dance. Friends and strangers shaking, undulating, wriggling, throbbing, pulsating, and moving freely -- like no one's watching. Minimal direction. - Hosted my [Michael Haltrecht] in Toronto ![[Rise&Shine Shake][Shake! Mornings, afternoons, and evenings]][25] Saturdays 12:45pm -- Online CI-Inspired Weekly Score & Jam: Beyond Saudade -------------------------------------------------------------------------- [Beyond Saudade] - Web pages are currently showing Pacific Time, three hours earlier than Eastern time. - Hosted by Zach Pine ![[Beyond Saudade]][26] Wednesdays 8:30pm -- bioLUMINosity Online Trance Dance ------------------------------------------------------ [facebook: *~bioLUMINosity®~*] Edge of Trance dance, meditation, playground. - I create a soundtrack to bring you out of your head and into your body, heart, spirit... You ride it wherever it takes you personally. - This is about Your LIFE-LIGHT! - A movement practice held in nonverbal sacred container based on principles of mindful loving - A music flow based on opening chakras - A vehicle of music offered to integrate whatever movement forms one knows or wishes to explore into a free flowing and sometimes hypnotic like dynamic. - Each mover chooses how to interact based on attentiveness to each moment. - Now held every Wednesday night at 8:30pm on Zoom - Hosted by Bonnie (*fireUrchin*) from Western Massachusetts Online Dance Classes -------------------- - [facebook: *Let's Dance Together -- ONLINE! Everywhere!*] - [*ReMix: Art in Motion*] (Open Floor): This exploratory Art in Motion series is always an insightful adventure. You will gain insight into the patterns and stories that animate your days while creating, moving and sharing both on your own and with the group. ReMix work builds both emotional and creative intelligence through a combination of movement and writing. We engage with process as well as product in order to move with the mover, the maker, the editor, and the inner critic. This workshop is for dancers who didn't know they could write, writers who didn't know they could dance, and the generally curious who are open to unfolding. ![[Lasqueti Leviathan Studio]][27] Quotations and poetry about dance ================================= [Rumi] on [Dancing] ------------------- > | ![Ottawa CI Dance] > | 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. [Jewel Mathieson] opening excerpt from [*We Have Come to Be Danced*] -------------------------------------------------------------------- > | ![Ian! and Eva in Burlington VT][28] > | 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 > | [...] [Steve Paxton] explains [the initiation of contact improvisation] ----------------------------------------------------------------- > ![Ottawa CI Dance -- Alexis and Ken] 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. [Martha Graham] on [being an artist] ------------------------------------ > ![Ontario Regional Contact Jam] 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. [T.S.Eliot] excerpt from [*Burnt Norton*] from [*Four Quartets*] ---------------------------------------------------------------- > | [...] ![I cannot say where...] > | 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. > | [...] [Mary Oliver] opening excerpt from [*Wild Geese*] ------------------------------------------------- > | ![Contact Improv in Montréal] > | 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. > | [...] > | > | [Hanna Poikonen] tells how dancers listen attentively ----------------------------------------------------- > ![Contact Improv in Montréal][29] *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. ![Contact Improvisation -- Alexis and Ken in Ottawa] EMail Subscription Management; =========================================================================================================== - Send Ian an email (idallen@idallen.ca) to subscribe to this newsletter. - [Invite your friends][Ian Allen] to join this mailing list and come dance with us! - *Newsletter Web Version* (updated mid-week): [Ian! and Eva in Burlington VT]: https://contactimprov.ca/on/ottawa/images/burlingtonJam2014e.jpg "Ian! and Eva in Burlington VT ]" [COVID-19 pandemic]: https://www.who.int/health-topics/coronavirus [Truthdig]: https://www.truthdig.com/articles/decoding-long-covid/ [Ottawa wastewater COVID-19 viral signal]: https://613covid.ca/wastewater/# ["tip of the iceberg,"]: https://www.ottawapublichealth.ca/en/reports-research-and-statistics/Projections.aspx [updated procedure for Rapid Antigen Testing]: https://covid19-sciencetable.ca/sciencebrief/use-of-rapid-antigen-tests-during-the-omicron-wave/ [*Life Lessons Learned Through Contact Improvisation*]: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hlIRjfto7o0 [THIS IS INTIMACY]: https://www.facebook.com/rachrickards/posts/pfbid0JRXknR1Uqwnh1VrPfDX9edDxBaMnHD5ynbp2DEYFnnCyggF1RAWUd85BvgEaU6sql ["Please tell us something you like about Contact Improvisation in two or three sentences."]: https://docs.google.com/document/d/e/2PACX-1vQq7rdsPtoNGpxrbTedBE6GpYAJyznjqUtLxT0XcSuSVD-cPe8Tw4GDacvMjbgM-LCzADZecQG_VqYE/pub [An Intimate Dance]: https://vimeo.com/164734609/93b1574902 [Quotes about dance]: #quotations-and-poetry-about-dance [Ottawa Canada]: https://whc.ca/wp-content/themes/whc/images/blog/blog_25392_large.jpg "Ottawa Canada" [weekly Saturday CI jams]: https://contactimprov.ca/on/ottawa/#jams [*Dance to Nature*]: https://dancetonature.com/ [facebook: *Dance to Nature*]: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1522188478077142/ [Alana O'Donnell]: mailto:alana@dancetonature.com [The Facebook]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Privacy_concerns_with_Facebook [Ecstatic Dance]: https://i.ytimg.com/vi/lY41coxPKuY/maxresdefault.jpg "Ecstatic Dance" [facebook page: *Dances of Universal Peace Ottawa*]: https://www.facebook.com/DancesOfUniversalPeaceOttawa [Dances of Universal Peace]: https://dancesofuniversalpeace.org/ [2]: https://media1-production-mightynetworks.imgix.net/asset/aa5c9df8-9cad-4613-b546-fb426a7e4e1d/29-fotor-2024051761148.png "Dances of Universal Peace Canada" [*Biodanza Printemps 2025*]: https://mailchi.mp/88f8c1c5b2d1/biodanza-printemps2025 [facebook: *Biodanza Isabelle Burnier*]: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100083699260221 [Biodanza Canada]: https://biodanza.ca/ [3]: https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/26FlREHm8qeRSt4WzMXIH2pI5vvfdhgJbaKQUSkUlmp_feeOZrenJYcaFpegc3-mPy9ctUiCeBR9oPbmrrFEV4yqWERVGhUmrzPvYia0JevJa7YtKxQ8RYUhyLsAXn3N7WJPxdKYMLAZlF0VqnFrUGJVVXYimAKqyU5LdQ81yWTzCIwzJw=w1200 "Biodanza Canada" [Ian!, Anne-Marie(up), and Marcia]: https://contactimprov.ca/on/ottawa/images/ian_annemarie_marcia.jpg "Ian!, Anne-Marie(up), and Marcia ]" [CI Basics Intro Class and dance jam]: https://contactimprov.ca/on/ottawa/#classes [facebook event: *CI Basics Intro Class and dance jam*]: https://www.facebook.com/events/628453873077275 [ODD/CDC Ottawa Dance Directive]: https://contactimprov.ca/on/ottawa/images/odd_logo_2_small.jpg "https://odd-cdc.org/ ]" [4]: https://odd-cdc.org/ [5]: https://www.contactimprov.ca/on/ottawa/images/ken_kia_isabelle_barbara_annemarie_ian_marcia.jpg "CI Dancers at the Ottawa jam: Ken, Kia, Isabelle, Barbara, Anne-Marie(up), Ian!, Marcia" [Karen and Ian! at Earthdance, photo by Moti]: https://contactimprov.ca/images/ian_karen2_by_moti.jpg "Karen and Ian! at Earthdance, photo by Moti ]" [Rebecca White Raven's events]: https://rebeccawhiteraven.com/ [Saira Monica's events]: https://www.eventbrite.ca/o/saira-monica-44954533273 [Katie Bigras' events]: https://www.eventbrite.ca/o/katie-bigras-34213329507 [Eric Iversen events]: https://www.facebook.com/erik.iversen.140/events [Burlington VT Contact Improv]: https://contactimprov.ca/images/burlington.jpg "Burlington VT Contact Improv ]" [Ottawa/Gatineau Contact Improvisation Dance]: https://www.facebook.com/OttawaGatineauContactImprovisationDance/ [Anne-Marie Vachon's CI events]: https://www.facebook.com/annemarie.vachon.58/events [Katie Bigras' Dance Temple Ottawa]: https://www.facebook.com/groups/660661881985446 [Creative Dance and Movement Ottawa/Gatineau]: https://www.facebook.com/CreativeDanceandMovementOttawaGatineau [Ottawa Area Dance]: https://www.facebook.com/groups/937071413009599/ [Saira Monica's Ecstatic Dance Ottawa]: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1636141113283461/ [6]: https://www.facebook.com/rebeccawhiteraven/ [Rebecca's Ottawa Conscious Dance]: https://www.facebook.com/groups/230746671192962/ [7]: https://www.facebook.com/katie.bigras/events [*Field Center*]: https://www.thefieldcenter.com [*Touch&Play*]: https://touchandplay.org/ [Massachusetts Touch&Play]: https://ma.touchandplay.org/ [Ian Allen]: mailto:idallen@idallen.ca [facebook event: *Contact Improvisation Essentials*]: https://www.facebook.com/events/914950984097118/ [Valerie Sabbah]: mailto:valeriesabbah@gmail.com [*Earthdance Summer CI Dance Jam*]: https://www.earthdance.net/event/july-4th-jam-2025/ [8]: https://www.earthdance.net/sites/www.earthdance.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/J4J_24_AMM_20-1024x683.jpg "Earthdance" [The Sutton Jam]: [9]: https://static.wixstatic.com/media/56c551_59417b7926b847da963177a4faff9c43~mv2_d_3600_2400_s_4_2.jpg/v1/fill/w_1570,h_485,al_t,q_85,usm_0.66_1.00_0.01,enc_auto/56c551_59417b7926b847da963177a4faff9c43~mv2_d_3600_2400_s_4_2.jpg "The Sutton Jam" [DNE Summer Dance Camp]: https://dne.org/ [10]: https://camptimbertrails.files.wordpress.com/2018/01/dne_mgreen_03.jpg?w=437 "DNE Summer Dance Camp ]" [*Dance New England Summer Dance Camp*]: http://dne.org/dance-camp/ [Camp Timber Trails]: https://camptimbertrails.org/ [south-western Massachusetts]: https://www.google.ca/maps/place/Camp+Timber+Trails/@41.9887734,-72.6684303,7.5z/data=!4m6!3m5!1s0x89e71372dceaaf75:0xfd58090be4013acf!8m2!3d42.1212078!4d-73.049462!16s%2Fg%2F1tghqm0p?entry=ttu [child care]: https://dne.org/young-people-teens/ [camp schedule]: https://dne.org/schedule/ [DNE Summer Dance Camp at Camp Timber Trails near Tolland MA]: http://dne.org/ [11]: https://camptimbertrails.files.wordpress.com/2021/02/img_5650.jpg?w=750 "DNE Summer Dance Camp at Camp Timber Trails near Tolland MA" [12]: https://dne.org/wp-content/themes/dne/img/logo.png "DNE Summer Dance Camp at Camp Timber Trails near Tolland MA" [*Burlington International CI Jam*]: https://mailchi.mp/ec5c68fde6ff/burlington-international-contact-jam [13]: https://contactimprovvermont.blogspot.com/p/burlington-international-contact-jam.html [Burlington VT International CI Jam]: https://contactimprovvermont.blogspot.com/ [14]: https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjegzzsfEbFFPKO1Xt-gPlEsN7a3nlKRq-FtSsuhuNOCz-XAcWKApIRUXhkTl9gzxWNpBp-l7y9WZAySjWNS-KFoAlDvYYhHh_N2eNzCcLLIoK999T2z1zGnAz0NqFBOQX-Bz8ngrg1X5Sh/s1600/IMG_4390.JPG "Burlington VT International CI Jam" [*Earthdance Fall CI Dance Jam*]: https://www.earthdance.net/event/falling-leaves-jam-2025/ [15]: https://www.earthdance.net/sites/www.earthdance.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/IMG_1238-1024x684.jpg "Earthdance" [16]: https://www.earthdance.net/sites/www.earthdance.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/DSC_0691-1-1024x977.jpg "Earthdance" [facebook: *Groove Tonic PEC*]: https://www.facebook.com/groovetonicpec [facebook event: *Peterborough Contact Improv Jams*]: https://www.facebook.com/events/1657130158417249/ [Suzanne]: mailto:suzgalloway1@gmail.com [Dance Your Bones]: https://danceyourbones.com/ [facebook group: *On Danse Val-David*]: https://www.facebook.com/groups/ondanse.valdavid.danse.extatique/ [*Ecstatic Dance Cobourg*]: https://www.ecstaticdancecobourg.com/ [17]: https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/65346fd118a63117188dbe31/e792cfad-a56c-4cc8-b0c7-ebeaf86ec7b2/St.+Peter%27s+Church+Image+1.jpg "Cobourg Ecstatic Dance" [Catherine Lessard]: https://sourcesimprovisation.blogspot.com/ [18]: https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiT1_yiU1vrpwa6ToX9WN6oeRIXmufYWhNeTrIGzd4kgjwGkAVxGmPEp3NLEDmdnqocjG7rtBPgUVlX2CwyxBSLU2jHTEAT2mXXzOqjpINM7sdzAITg6MqNrAYT6BOgM5FrRPpkVK3jyyFAOF9bRlRckXUAopuvgDCogETtpP5nDrHTw1ZSy-P1ERpnQ/w200-h131/suricates%20group%20hug2.jpg "Catherine Lessard ]" [19]: https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiFDnXT5L8EMkeRMCCgY0VmJyEXAvYQ8wg1kw948yL1ht2UpqvaH1YEqs3TL8whSrBgswmQFJFDi_jdgY-4vTRu9sl1JcBoGHtlMYUldkDcN6iG2v1icw3sil6YnOHp1sJox-Dfm-8Ze1z_LLKIVH0WlH_9d6AFAWgY6upD-lsM_QGdGFx-NwbgJfYTERDV=w350-h233 "Catherine Fabiola Lessard" [Amy Dhindsa]: https://amydhindsa.ca/ [facebook: Amy Dhindsa]: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100070267506940 [Erik Iversen]: mailto:erik@iversen.ca [Erik Iversen 5Rhythms]: https://www.erik.iversen.ca/ [20]: https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f578e760330bb21bd90f62d/1599573685062-HR79QTFX1JVHY5BCIRQ8/banner-erik_iversen.jpg%22 "Erik Iversen 5Rhythms" [Thursday night 5Rhythms class]: https://www.5rhythms.com/classes/RhythmsExplorations-9445 [Lynne Adams]: https://www.5rhythms.com/teachers/Lynne+Adams [21]: https://teachers.5rhythms.com/files/photo/5Rhythms_Explorations_85252.jpg "Lynne Adams 5Rhythms" [facebook: *Communauté Soirée danse Extatique*]: https://www.facebook.com/danse.extatique.montreal.ecstatic.dance/ [*Plein Soleil Soirée danse Extatique*]: https://www.pleinsoleil.club/ [Instagram: *Plein Soleil*]: https://www.instagram.com/pleinsoleil.club [facebook: *Plein Soleil*]: https://www.facebook.com/pleinsoleil.club [22]: https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/639782ab00142b4b60ef3ea0/7d2b121c-5d0a-49bf-9f8e-728589be851e/mushroom69_cutout_collage_of_photographs_of_rainbows_sunsets_ec_a6b637b2-a4bc-4c69-a9c3-6a59eb9bfa36.png "Ecstatic Dance Montréal" [facebook: *Contact Improvisation Bas-Saint-Laurent*]: https://www.facebook.com/groups/171787496007751/ [facebook public profile: *Contact Improvisation -- Québec, QC*]: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61555487421468 [facebook private group: *Contact Improvisation, Communauté de Québec*]: https://www.facebook.com/groups/344461388901015/ [Biodanza Sherbrooke: français]: https://www.yvesleger.com/ [Sherbrook Biodanza: English]: https://www.yvesleger.com/english.html [23]: https://www.biodanza.ca/ [24]: https://www.biodanza.ca/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/pourqui1-480x320.jpg "Biodanza Canada" [Shake! Mornings, afternoons, and evenings]: https://www.riseshineshake.ca/ [Michael Haltrecht]: mailto:shake@riseshineshake.ca [25]: https://www.riseshineshake.ca/ZoomGrid10WithTimes-800-296.png "Rise&Shine Shake" [Beyond Saudade]: https://www.playfulcontactjam.org/beyond.html [26]: https://www.playfulcontactjam.org/uploads/2/3/0/2/23023118/published/hands-score-jam_2.jpg "Beyond Saudade" [facebook: *~bioLUMINosity®~*]: https://www.facebook.com/groups/479736038779305 [facebook: *Let's Dance Together -- ONLINE! Everywhere!*]: https://www.facebook.com/groups/LetsDanceTogetherOnline/ [*ReMix: Art in Motion*]: https://www.openfloor.ca/remix [Lasqueti Leviathan Studio]: https://leviathan.lasqueti.ca/ [27]: https://leviathan.lasqueti.ca/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/cropped-Leviathan_Panorama_WM-FILEminimizer.jpg "Lasqueti Leviathan Studio" [Rumi]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rumi [Dancing]: https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/283133-dancing-is-not-just-getting-up-painlessly-like-a-leaf [Ottawa CI Dance]: https://contactimprov.ca/on/images/contactimprovlogo.jpg "Ottawa CI Dance ]" [Jewel Mathieson]: https://www.facebook.com/jewel.mathieson [*We Have Come to Be Danced*]: https://livingthepresentmoment.com/poem-we-have-come-to-be-danced/ [28]: https://contactimprov.ca/on/ottawa/images/ian_eva.jpg "Ian! and Eva in Burlington VT ]" [Steve Paxton]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steve_Paxton [the initiation of contact improvisation]: https://contactquarterly.com/contact-improvisation/newsletter/view/the-initiation-of-contact-improvisation [Ottawa CI Dance -- Alexis and Ken]: https://contactimprov.ca/on/ottawa/images/alexis_ken2.jpg "Ottawa CI Dance -- Alexis and Ken ]" [Martha Graham]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martha_Graham [being an artist]: https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Martha_Graham [Ontario Regional Contact Jam]: https://contactimprov.ca/on/images/child_contact.jpg "Ontario Regional Contact Jam ]" [T.S.Eliot]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/T._S._Eliot [*Burnt Norton*]: https://www.themarginalian.org/2015/11/18/t-s-eliot-reads-burnt-norton/ [*Four Quartets*]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Four_Quartets [I cannot say where...]: https://contactimprov.ca/on/ottawa/images/blindfold.jpg "I cannot say where... ]" [Mary Oliver]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_Oliver [*Wild Geese*]: http://www.famouspoetsandpoems.com/poets/mary_oliver/poems/15809 [Contact Improv in Montréal]: https://contactimprov.ca/on/images/montreal1.jpg "Contact Improv in Montréal ]" [Hanna Poikonen]: https://www.helsinki.fi/en/news/health/a-dancers-brain-develops-in-a-unique-way [29]: https://contactimprov.ca/on/images/montreal2.jpg "Contact Improv in Montréal ]" [Contact Improvisation -- Alexis and Ken in Ottawa]: https://contactimprov.ca/on/ottawa/images/alexis_ken3.jpg "Contact Improvisation -- Alexis and Ken in Ottawa" [30]: https://www.contactimprov.ca/on/ottawa/images/ian_earthdancenyjam2011e.jpg "Contact Improv Dance -- Ian! and Eva, photo by John Barrett"