2025-26 Community Engagement
Dance West Network’s Community Engagement projects have grown and changed over the years,
becoming an integral part of the work to connect dance and communities around the province.
In 2025/26 we have projects that are both co-produced with artists themselves - artists with whom we have developed relationships in past projects - as well as those that are developed and produced with the Community Dance Connectors.
Community Engaged Projects Co-Produced with Artists
Through the many programs offered by Dance West Network, we have built long-term relationships with many of the artists involved. As a result, DWN is able to support some of these artists in their community engaged dance projects, be it through grant writing support, publicity, or mentorship.
Energy Never Dies - Kapwa Workshops
Josh Ongcol and James Cabrera
Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish), Səl̓ílwətaʔ/Selilwitulh (Tsleil-Waututh) and xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam) Nations (Vancouver)
In early 2026, Josh Oncol and James Cabrera offered a series of workshops in house dance for IBPOC and queer youth and community members impacted by the Lapu Lapu Day Festival tragedy. Rooted in Filipino values of kapwa (shared self) and bayanihan (collective care), the program uses dance and music to cultivate joy, release grief, and leverage community connection.
The project invites the youth into a space of movement, rhythm, and expression where healing and reconnection can occur through culturally rooted dance practices and intergenerational mentorship, connecting with a lineage of older streetdance Filipino queers and community building tools and workshop practices.
The program supports Filipino youth in reconnecting with their roots and engaging in embodied cultural memory, creating space for healing, joy and cultural restoration allowing participants to reconnect with their bodies, their communities, and one another.
The project will culminate in a community showing and celebration!
This project was supported by the United Way.
POW WOW Dance Style and Hoop Dancing
Vee Sparvier-Wells/Wild Mint Arts
Unceded Sinixt Territory (Slocan Valley)
In late February 2026, Artist Vee Sparvier-Wells of Wild Mint Arts will offer classes in Hoop Dance and Powwow to Indigenous community members of all ages.
Community Engaged Projects with the
Community Dance Connectors
Dance West Network engages with a group of dance artists and community cultural leaders- aka Community Dance Connectors, CDCs - in ten locations throughout the province to provide peer-to-peer networking to share ideas and resources, as well as offering access to funds, training and planning assistance.
Our work supports the individual efforts of the CDCs, their community-engaged dance projects in rural/remote BC, as well as their collective work to make dance more accessible to all in the province. Some of the CDCs are affiliated with a local theatre venue, while a majority work independently as community engaged artists.
In 2023, we began building a new group of Ancillary CDCs to support more dance in the province. Welcoming these community engaged cultural leaders into our network became a first step towards building relationships with them and their communities. This has allowed us to support more dance in more communities, allowing exciting new projects and collaborations to emerge!
CDC - Secwepemc (Secwepemcul’ewc), Ktunaxa, Sinixt Territory (Revelstoke)
Emily Carlson
Artist Nick Miami Benz and videographer Vita Spinelli travelled to Ktunaxa, Sinixt Territory (Revelstoke) in late January.
With the help of Revelstoke Visual Arts Centre, Arts Revelstoke, Tourism Revelstoke, the queer community and the artist community, we made space for a wonderful Burlesque and Drag show and a Runway workshop. Nick fostered a relationship of giving mentorship and advice to many local artists (Emry Johnston, Hailey Johnston, Ayla Farley, Janine Arellano, Hailey Christie-Hoyle and Emily Carlson) and inspired an enthusiastic audience - tickets for the show sold out in 24 hrs!
One of the audience members said it best: "When will you be coming back?" This was a tremendously impactful event that has nourished the community of Revelstoke with inspiration.
Thanks to funding from Tourism Revelstoke, videographer Vita Spinelli filmed the activities as well as interviews with local artists, and will be producing a short documentary offering a window into the local community to raise the visibility of LGBTQ2S+ voices.
Thank you to funders : Cascadia Credit Union and Tourism Revelstoke
”That was incredible. The variety of storytelling and talent was so amazing. We need to have more events like this in Revelstoke! -“ Audience member
"Congratulations on an incredible event! The show was fantastic, the audience loved it, and your artists were incredible.Thank you for letting RVAC be a part of your event.” - Director Revelstoke Visual Arts Centre
From participating local artists:
"Thank you so much for all your work putting on the event! It was a blast to be a part of. Everyone did such amazing performances”
"I had the best time thank you SO much for having me”
"Wow, what an incredibly organized event. It is a pleasure to be able to just perform and not have to host and perform and organize etc. I have never felt so prepared for a performance!"
Katie Wertz
CDC - Wet'suwet'en Territory (Smithers)
Workshop: Camino y Despedida — A Creative Process on Migration & Hope
Dance Artist Marco Esccer - a queer Mexican dance artist, Dance Movement Therapist, and TEMPO Co-Director - will lead a creative process workshop offering an opportunity to connect with the ideas, practices, and questions behind Camino y Despedida, the interdisciplinary performance touring with TEMPO Dance & Visual Art. The workshop invites participants of all bodies and experience levels into an embodied exploration of migration, hope, change, and belonging. Using guided movement, improvisation, writing, and collective reflection, participants will engage with the symbol of the suitcase and the figure of the traveller as entry points into personal and shared stories.
All publicity for the workshop was produced in both English and Spanish, with the intention of offering a welcoming invitation for participation from local members of the Latin American community.
In January, FakeKnot’s artistic director, Ralph Escamillan, offered a wonderful textile workshop to the Nelson community, sharing his creative process for his recent work, Croquis.
Central to this work is the materiality and structure of a garment constructed entirely out of paper, which is created new each time the work is performed.
In this workshop, Ralph took participants on a crafting journey—sharing his unique process for building the paper dress for Croquis. The participants were then invited to explore the packing paper medium and his techniques to create their own paper garments. Each garment was a unique creation. The workshop finished with a runway-style showcase, allowing for an exploration in movement and a celebration and sharing of each other's creations in a supportive environment. Several participants were professional artists looking to learn new techniques and work with new mediums, and one participant was an art therapy educator.
In collaboration with Slava Doval's DanceFusion Studio, Ralph also offered a workshop for local dancers, encapsulating his current interests of integrating textile/weaving techniques through the body—Scraping, Knotting, Shuttle, Hit, and Plucking—generative movement developed from his Philippine Textile work “PIÑA”. This movement vocabulary will be used in the new expanded group version of “Croquis” with the Winnipeg Contemporary Dancers later this November, and these local dancers learned a short section of the work!
Some of the students who enjoyed the class with Ralph - Photo by Anneke Rosch
"Being so far removed from an urban centre, having the opportunity to learn from a professional touring artist is a privilege, and we were very grateful."
Anneke Rosch
CDC - Sinixt Nation and the Yaqan Nukiy (Ktunaxa) (Nelson)
Photos: Anneke Rosch
"I really didn't know what to expect, but it looked cool so I signed up! It was really cool how each dress was completely different, how much room and encouragement there was for individual creativity and expression." - Participant in Textile Workshop