Updated December 01 2023 – Mis à jour le 01 décembre 2023
Let’s Dance !
Hello, Ottawa/Gatineau area dancers and movers.
The accessible, community-run
Ottawa/Gatineau Contact Improvisation Dance
classes and jams run a free all-welcome CI
Basics class at 11:15am on Saturday December 2.
Follow this link for details on time, location, and what to wear:
Contact Improv Dance Basics
Ottawa dance artist and teacher Lola Ryan passed away on the morning of November 14 2023. The Celebration of Lola’s Life will take place on Sunday May 19 2024 from 2pm–4pm at Arts Court in Ottawa. – Monique, Théa, Antoine, Susan, and Roger
“So the darkness shall be the light, and the stillness the dancing.” – T.S. Eliot
Martha Graham, as quoted in The Life and Work of Martha Graham (1991) by Agnes de Mille, p. 264, ISBN 0-394-55643-7:
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.
Excerpt from Burnt Norton from Four Quartets by TS Elliott:
At the still point of the turning world.
Neither flesh or fleshless;
Neither from nor towards;
at the still point, there the dance is,
But neither arrest nor movement.
And do not call it fixity,
Where past and future are gathered.
Neither movement from nor towards,
Neither ascent nor decline.
Except for the point, the still point,
There would be no dance,
and there is only the dance.
I can only say, there we have been: but I cannot say where.
And I cannot say, how long, for that is to place it in time.
About touch:
Dancers who pursue graceful movement must practice being aware of their bodies and being aware of wordless communication. These skills are particularly important today, when we spend so much time sitting and in virtual realities. Our way of life has taken us further from our own physical experiences and the understanding of the wordless emotional messages of others. For example, contact improvisation makes the dancers listen attentively to the body of their partner. Touch is known to reduce pain, fear and anxiety. – Hanna Poikonen
Events in or originating from the local Ottawa/Gatineau/Wakefield/Lanark/CarletonPlace Region
Events that recur weekly or monthly show only the nearest upcoming event or two. Follow the link for future events.
Free CI Basics class and dance jam open to everyone on Saturday December 2 at 11:15am
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 December 2. Follow this link for details on time, location, and what to wear: Contact Improv Dance Basics.
The ODD studio is fully accessible, with a large accessible washroom on the same floor as the dance space.
See the Facebook: Dance to Nature group on The Facebook or contact Alana O’Donnell for current information. Some Sundays have no facilitated dances.
The grassy dance area is not very friendly to wheelchairs, though there are paved paths adjacent. Accessible city washrooms are available in the main building at Mooney’s Bay.
December dance dates: December 10 and ???
This dance happens approximately every two weeks. See the links to Katie’s Dance Temple Ottawa and Katie Bigras’ events under Links to Various Local Dance/Movement Pages below. Check their schedule for the actual dates – some Sundays do not have a dance.
This location is wheelchair accessible with an accessible washroom.
See the links to Kristen’s Sunday Contact Improv, Kristen Lewis’ Google Group, and Kristen Lewis’ events under Local events with links available on The Facebook below. Kristen is also offering a three-day intensive class during the holidays.
The ODD studio is fully accessible, with a large accessible washroom on the same floor as the dance space.
December dance dates: December 7 and ???
These evening Ecstatic Dances usually take place on the first and third Thursdays each month at the Rosemount Orange Hall at 41 Rosemount Avenue in Ottawa. Different people run these events, each with their own facebook sites, so you have to look in multiple places to find out the details, and the start times aren’t always the same; sometimes they start at 7pm and sometimes they start at 7:30pm. The events are only visible on The Facebook; there is no public web page. Try looking in all these places for the upcoming events:
This space is not accessible; there are many steps up to the dance floor and the washroom is too small for a wheelchair.
Facebook: Dances of Universal Peace Ottawa
We gather again to dance the Dances of Universal Peace. It is time now. We will dance at the First United Church in Westboro neighborhood of Ottawa. You are invited to dance for peace – bring a friend! The Dances of Universal Peace are a 40 year old tradition of dancing to simple chants from a variety of the world’s religions in a simple and peaceful moving meditation. Newcomers are happily welcomed. No previous experience or dance partner needed. All dances and movements are learned on the spot. A donation will be requested (Suggested $10.) No one will be turned away for lack of funds. Our leaders and musicians team includes Marlene Neufeld, Bob Neufeld, Pat Kerr and Yves St-Pierre.
This location is wheelchair accessible with an accessible washroom.
This event has no online site on which to post updates, so you have to contact Owen Tuf to make sure that there are no last-minute changes.
From Owen Tuf:
Rather than dance as entertainment, we dance in celebration, play, exploration, expansive awareness, transformation, building community and expressive freedom. As a form of meditation-in-motion, the music starts slow, builds energy, then ends in a meditative space. We gather as part of the worldwide community of Ecstatic Dance.
The general guidelines are about creating a safe and sacred space to move however you wish, honouring your body and allowing respectful connection with others in your dancing. We move in barefeet (or socks of course), everybody is welcome (children accompanied by an adult), and know that it’s a drug/alchohol free and scent free zone (no perfume pls).
You can come to the whole event- starting with an opening circle and centering, or just drop in for a visit during the evening. We ask movers to refrain from talking on the dance floor to allow one another to deepen into the experience of expression through movement, but if you would like to chit-chat, there is comfortable space in the lobby for hanging out!
Danse Extatique Wakefield fait partie de la communauté mondiale de Danse Extatique.
Plutôt que de danser pour nous divertir, nous dansons pour célébrer, jouer, explorer, prendre conscience, transformer, construire une communauté et exprimer notre liberté. En tant que forme de méditation en mouvement, la musique commence doucement, monte en énergie puis se termine en créant un espace méditatif.
Les directives générales consistent à créer un espace sécuritaire et sacré pour bouger comme vous le souhaitez, en honorant votre corps et en permettant une connexion respectueuse avec les autres à travers la danse. Nous bougeons pieds nus (ou en chaussettes, bien sûr), tout le monde est le bienvenu (incluant les enfants accompagnés d’un adulte), et c’est une zone sans drogue/alcool et sans parfum.
Vous pouvez assister à l’ensemble de l’événement, en commençant par un cercle d’ouverture et un centrage, ou simplement passer nous voir pendant la soirée. Nous demandons aux participants de s’abstenir de parler sur la piste de danse afin de permettre aux autres d’approfondir leur expérience, mais si vous souhaitez bavarder, il y a un espace confortable dans l’entrée pour le faire.
See the link below to Laurinda Cheng Events for Laurinda’s End of the Year CI Jam.
This location is wheelchair accessible with an accessible washroom.
TIME CHANGE (twice) (Dovercourt double-booked the room.)
SPACE is LIMITED Registration is now required by email ahead of time to reserve a space.
On Saturday December 16 dance the Winter Solstice with Anne Pitman at the Dovercourt Recreation Centre 411 Dovercourt Ave., Ottawa.
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.
Kristen Lewis is offering a facebook: Winter Contact Dance Intensive between Christmas and New Years. The dates on the facebook event and the dates in the text don’t match, so you’ll have to contact Kristen to find out which is correct.
Unfortunately, the various Ottawa dance organizers don’t cooperate and list their events on one site, or even on each other’s sites, so you have to watch a half-dozen different places to know what’s going on. Many events don’t have public web pages, so you have to sell your soul to The Facebook to access their information. We’ve included links to some of the dance events we know about, below.
Except for the community-owned, community-run Ottawa/Gatineau Contact Improvisation Dance group, all dances are privately run.
Local events with links available on the Web:
Local events with links available on The Facebook:
Events outside the local Ottawa/Gatineau/Wakefield/Lanark/CarletonPlace Region
Contact Ian Allen about car pooling from Ottawa to some of the above dance events.
Winter can’t cant stop us from fixing and reinvigorating Earthdance this season. Come help us beautify the interiors and exteriors (if the weather permits) of Earthdance. Make your mark by lending a hand to strengthen this unique place we all call home and then dance together in the evenings!
Flow, Falling & Flight: A Contact Improv Workshop for Beginning and Intermediate Dance Experience at Earthdance, December 9th, 2023.
This beginner/intermediate Contact Improvisation workshop will explore spirals, falls, basing, and flight, while attuning to tone and states of awareness. Moving through different levels, we will start with rolling on the floor and work up to flying. We’ll leave newcomers with enough movement patterns to thrive in Contact Improv jams, and everyone with some more skills and avenues of exploration.
A contact improvisation marathon to celebrate the holidays in Montréal.
A full day dedicated to the practice of Contact Improvisation through an extended jam, multiple video screenings, two facilitated sessions, a discussion, and an evening of performances. Facilitated and organized by Andrew de Lotbinière Harwood and Valerie Sabbah.
Une journée entière dédiée à la pratique du Contact Improvisation à travers un jam prolongé, plusieurs projections vidéo, deux sessions animées, une discussion et une soirée de performances. Facilité et organisé par Andrew de Lotbinière Harwood et Valerie Sabbah.
Earthdance Winter Contact Improv Jam
Registration for this event opened on November 20. This jam sells out quickly!
Contact Ian Allen about car pooling from Ottawa to this event.
This location is partially wheelchair accessible.
Retreat CI : Space (6th Edition) in the Eastern Townships of Québec. facebook: Retraite/Dance retreat : Contact Improvisation
A countryside retreat allows you to minimize the hubbub of daily life and focus on the environment, communication (verbal or non-verbal) and creativity. The intention behind this weekend is to transcend or evolve the “contact improvisation” form and to tap into something broader, the relationship to space.
Une retraite en campagne permet de minimiser le brouhaha de la vie quotidienne et se concentrer sur l’environnement, la communication (verbale ou non verbal) et la créativité. L’intention derrière ce weekend est de transcender ou faire évoluer la forme « contact improvisation » et de puiser dans quelque chose de plus large, la relation à l’espace.
Instinct Experimental Dance Festival in Burlington, Vermont.
Experimental dance celebrates the weird, the wild, with an ever-changing definition of style and form. Experimental dance creates space for all types of expression, ranging from conceptual and abstract, to mythical story telling and poetic spirituality. It is a vehicle for investigation, understanding, and reimagining the complexities of each moment. Through media, music, movement and mystery, experimental artists bring the human experience into an imaginative reality, to help us all remember to ask: “What else is possible?”
This festival will bring together experimental and interdisciplinary makers working between movement and other artistic fields for a week of workshops, showcases, and exchange. EVERY MOMENT IS AN EXPERIMENT. Let’s make the most of every moment!
Facebook: CI Workshop with Mark Young
Join us for a transformative workshop in two available formats: a week-long series and a weekend immersion, both aiming to explore the captivating spiral dynamics in Contact Improvisation with Mark Young! Limited enrollment.
Rejoignez-nous pour un atelier disponible en deux formats : une série d’une semaine et une immersion de fin de semaine, visant toutes deux à explorer les captivantes dynamiques en spirale dans l’Improvisation Contact avec Mark Young ! Places limitées.
This event is in 2024. Save the date. For more information, if there is any, see the Earthdance web site.
Contact Ian Allen about car pooling from Ottawa to this event.
This event is in 2024. Save the date. For more information, if there is any, see the Earthdance web site.
Contact Ian Allen about car pooling from Ottawa to this event.
This event is in 2024. Save the date. For more information, if there is any, see the Earthdance web site.
Contact Ian Allen about car pooling from Ottawa to this event.
This event is in 2024/2025. Save the date. For more information, if there is any, see the Earthdance web site.
Contact Ian Allen about car pooling from Ottawa to this event.
Shake! Mornings, afternoons, and evenings
Facebook: DJ Sillydelic Monday Dance
Facebook: ~bioLUMINosity®~ Edge of Trance dance, meditation, playground.
~bioLUMINosity®~: I create a soundtrack to bring you out of your head and into your body, heart, spirit… You ride it wherever it takes you personally. This is about Your LIFE-LIGHT!
~bioLUMINosity®~ is:
Not all Biodanza dances are listed here. Search in your local city.
Recurring Events outside the local Ottawa/Gatineau/Wakefield/Lanark/CarletonPlace Region
Some of these events changed during the pandemic. If the listing below seems out-of-date, please contact the organizers.
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.
Sherbrooke Street on the 4th Sunday of the month between 4-5pm (dates are below – note changes in Oct & Dec to avoid the Toronto fall jam) & Xmas. | We will start with just an hour and a silent jam and we can consider expansion, depending on interest. | $10/jam or $35 for 5 jams or $60 for all 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 | | Mark your calendars!: | > | Oct 29 2023 (5th weekend – Toronto fall jam over the 4th weekend – Thanksgiving -just 80 spots – register soon) > | Nov 26 2023 > | Dec 17 2023 (2nd weekend to avoid Xmas) > | Jan 28 2024 > | Feb 25 2024 > | Mar 24 2024 > | Apr 28 2024 > | May 26 2024
This location is wheelchair accessible with an accessible washroom.
For other Peterborough dance events, e.g. Ecstatic Dance, see Dance Your Bones
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.
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!)
