Over the next few months…

Over the next few months, i will be transitioning from the non-profit, volunteer teaching of dancing with integrity sessions, to starting a little business under a new name.

This change means that i will be able to offer many classes each week around town, starting in October.

If you know of a group or venue that might be interested in a weekly class in the Fall or 2014 – e.g. dance improvisation for fun & fitness, dancing while sitting for older adults, creative dance as self-care, or a theme tailored to your group – please be in touch. Thank you!

Happy Solstice to those who celebrate it, and warm wishes to everyone for an excellent summer!

Thank-you for a beautiful, creative year

Thank-you everyone for your creative playfulness, nourishing dancing and excellent ideas! It has been fantastic to move and improvise with everyone at the 50 sessions since July 2012.

Around 70 participants have come to the Thursday dancing with integrity sessions at Heart & Hands since January, including some wonderful people who have participated practically every week. As well, there have been approximately 45 people at outdoor sessions and 75 for dance improvisation at various other indoor locations since last summer.

It has been an honour to witness participants’ confidence, spontaneity and freedom of movement expand. And I have had so much fun being in supportive community with all of you. Thank-you SO much!

Wishing everyone the best for an amazing summer. (:

Ideas, suggestions, feedback?? (little survey)

What would you like to see for future dancing with integrity community sessions – in terms of themes, locations, music, and times (e.g. in the Fall)?

Do you have any suggestions for spreading the word, who might be interested, fundraising, etc.?

There is space awaiting your ideas, suggestions & feedback at this Survey Monkey link (http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/BHB9T3B) …or chatting in person/ by email/ by phone also works well.

Only answer the questions you feel like answering!

It would be great to have your input even if you haven’t made it to any sessions yet. (:

Thank-you!

A Freeskool dance session May 10th

There will be a dancing with integrity workshop on May 10th that brings together a variety of activities (dance as self-care, movement games, music with rad lyrics, and an improv activity for interacting with common things that come up in community organizing).

Friday May 10th, 7pm-9pm, at Heart and Hands Health Collective, free/ donations encouraged. As space is limited, RSVPing is encouraged. (If the session fills up, it will say ‘FULL’ next to the title on the calendar.)

More info here. If you’re on facebook, click here for the event page.

(Image from A Freeskool’s Facebook page.)

Thursdays in April: new set of classes!

There will be a new series of dancing with integrity community classes on Thursdays, April 4th – 25th, 7:30-9pm, at Heart & Hands Health Collective, by donation.

The classes include dance improvisation and creative movement activities focused on: having fun, being curious, and renewing how we want to be with ourselves, each other and the world. Everyone is welcome, and no prior dance experience needed. Click here for an overview of the classes.

Camas blooming last Spring! (Around 95% of Lekwungen Kwetlal Food Systems have been impacted through colonialism. For more info: http://lekwungenfoodsystems.org/resources/)

Thursday April 4th is 2-for-1 night = bring a friend or relative for free!

Click here for a description of the April 4th session.

Drop-ins are still welcome when there is room… AND, people are encouraged to sign up for multiple weeks – that way we can build on our experiences from one week to the next (-:

*If you RSVP/ register for all four April sessions, then you get to come to a session in March for free! (Thurs. March 28 is Dance Games Night. Thurs. March 21’s theme: Equinox, M21 poems, Water.)

Click here for details about the location and accessibilities.

To register for one or more class, please be in touch.

Intersecting Movements ~ March 7th: dancin’ to poems by womyn

The March 7th dancing with integrity session will be on Intersecting Movements, in recognition of International Womyn’s Day (which is the following day). People of all genders are welcome.

This session will be an invitation to explore ‘intersecting movements’ in various ways… playing with ways to move through space on our own and as a group; and noticing: the ways that impulses move through our bodies; the overlapping aspects of how we are each implicated in – and resist – oppressive contexts in various ways; and the crossroads among the community issues and social movements that we each care about.

The session will include dancing to poetry, spoken word and songs by womyn and trans* folks (e.g. poetry such as Audre Lorde, Lee Maracle, climbing poeTree, and local zines). Optional: bringing a poem that you like! (We’ll be using poems as spurs for movement.)

Click here for an overview of the Thursday community dance improvisation sessions at Heart and Hands.

Click here for details about the location, how to register and accessibility details. Drop-ins welcome as long as there is room.

Improvising with an Uncertain World (Free workshop Sun. Feb. 10)

This dance improvisation workshop is happening Sunday Feb. 10th
1:00pm-2:30pm, at Dance Victoria (2750 Quadra Street – North Entrance)
in Studio 3 (ground level – accessible entrance, turn left).

What are a couple big worries we each have, in terms of the drastic changes happening with the planet/ land/ world? And what are a bunch of potential changes we’re excited about? We will play with creating gestures and movement about how we feel about the time that we live in (e.g. climate change, societal change, community responses).

Everyone welcome. No prior dance experience needed. No special clothing needed (just something comfy for moving in).

This workshop is part of Dance Days with LOTS of fun dance classes and events around town between Feb. 1st and 10th, organized by Dance Victoria with YAM Magazine.

dancing with integrity ~ Thursdays February 7-28, 7:30pm!

The dancing with integrity community sessions continue on Thursdays at Heart and Hands Health Collective! Everyone is welcome, and all sessions are by donation. You can pick and choose which Thursday/s you want to attend.

Each week will have its own theme:

Feb. 7 Log-out, Power-off, and Dance!

Feb. 14 Dance as Self-Care / Mutual-Care (recognizing One Billion Rising and Stolen Sisters Memorial March week)

Feb. 21 Dancing and Learn-in ~ in solidarity with #F21 Indigenous Rights Education Day. *This session is free and might move to a larger venue; please be in touch if you would like to come.

Feb. 28 “Awkward”/ “Rusty” Dancers & Friends

Click here for details about the location and accessibilities.

To register for one or more class, please be in touch. Drop-ins are welcome IF there is space.

welcome!

**For info about upcoming sessions, please see the Creative Momentum website: www.creativemoment.im **

The dancing with integrity website includes an archive of sessions Joanne facilitated in 2012 and 2013.

If you’d like to be in touch or receive regular updates, see the contact page on the new website. Thank-you!

dancing praxis ~ improvisation workshop Mon. Dec. 3rd

The final dancing with integrity workshop of 2012 will be Monday, Dec. 3rd from 7:30-9pm. Everyone is welcome! No prior dance experience needed.

This session’s focus is dancing praxis ~ bringing movement to more aspects of our lives. (‘Praxis’ is just a fancy word meaning ‘the practical side or applied practice of an area of learning’.) There will be a series of dance improvisation activities and games, for having fun while reflecting on how we interact with the world.

Drop-ins welcome. It is by donation to help cover rental costs. For information about the location (Oaklands Community Centre) and accessibilities, click here.