Mainstage

There’s still time!

Applications open for Dance West Network’s 2026-2027 Showcase/ Pitch and Conversation event. Open to all professional BC-based dance artists with professional-level work ready to tour.

If you have any questions about applying, please reach out to jane@dancewest.net.

Applications are due Tues July 21 2026, 11:59pm

Artists announced by mid-September. 

For more info dancewest.net 

Festival Acces Asie, Montreal

FESTIVAL ACCES ASIE & STUDIO MARIKO TANABE

Juolin Lee, Simran Sachar, and Sevrin Emnacen-Boyd traveled to Montreal to present their work on May 26 2026 through Festival Accès Asie, Maison de la Culture-Janine Sutto with over 200 audeince members.

A conversation with the artists followed the performances, facilitated by Mariko Tanabe, with ED Jane Gabriels and translation by Gabrielle Bertrand-Lehouillier.

The artists also had a residency at Studio Mariko Tanabe with an informal showing of excerpts. For more details, visit HERE

Thank you Festival Accès Asie !

photo by Jordi Rosen

DADAO Artists Showing

On May 9th 2026, DADAO artists Palak Dhiman, Sarah Kennedy, Punit & Evie, Rachel Helten / soma anima arts, and Linden Tse Yin Choi performed excepts of their works in various locations throughout the Alliance Francaise Vancouver building.

Video is HERE

For more details, visit HERE

We will announce the new 2026-27 artist cohort this summer!

Check dancewest.net for details.

COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT CDC Updates 

Community Moves Festival May 2026

This past May, a group of 8 community-engaged artists, including five Community Dance Connectors travelled to the territory of the Lheidli T’enneh, Prince George to participate in Community Moves, a community engaged dance festival produced by Method Dance Society.

Community Moves offers the Prince George community a week full of opportunities to participate in workshops, watch performances both in the theatre and in outdoor spaces, and be a part of creative happenings that invite people into the process of creating dance!

Each of the participating CDCs offered a workshop to both their peers and other members of the Prince George community - five wonderful days sharing dance, conversation, food and laughter! It was so uplifting to see a community in dance - from young children to seniors, all engaged in moving their bodies and sharing the love of dance! Thank you to the Deux Mille Foundation for their support.

Collage, beginning top left going clockwise: Photos Darlene Macintosh and the Khast’an Drummers (@carla_alcantaraphotography), Interlacing Sound (Photo James Doyle), Flock Together (Photo James Doyle), Flock Together (@carla_alcantaraphotography), For the Trees (Photo James Doyle)

GATHER SCATTER: a community engaged outdoor experiment

Gather Scatter:  A Community engaged outdoor experiment for all ages, held at Riverside Park Campground, Wet'suwet'en Territory, Smithers with Artist Robin Lough.

Kids, parents and grandparents were invited to experiment with the interplay between visual arts and dance in a creative process. The dancing/moving bodies inspired colours, textures, shapes, and tension in the painting and mark making with natural materials.

Premiere showing of REVELATION! 

CDC Emily Carlson, Secwepemc (Secwepemcul’ewc), Ktunaxa, Syilx Okanagan, and Sinixt Territory (Revelstoke)

When artist Nick Miami Benz visited Revelstoke for a residency in January of this year, they were accompanied by videographer Vita Spinelli. The result is REVELATION! - a short documentary offering a window into the local community to raise the visibility of LGBTQ2S+ voices, featuring local artists Jackie Daytona, Big Dickie Daytona, Miss Ayla, Demi Amour and Emily Carlson. Produced in collaboration with

THE STUDIO: Dance and Wellness, Revelstoke Visual Arts Centre, Arts Revelstoke,Tourism Revelstoke, and Queer Shred.

In June, as part of Gay Pride month, the Revelstoke Visual Arts Centre presented the premier showing of REVELATION! at their gallery, attended by local community members and artists.

Check out the trailer of REVELATION! here

“Watching this documentary reminded me that being queer in a small town isn't just about challenge. It's also about finding community, expressing ourselves through art and creating spaces where everyone belongs” Attendee

Thank you to funders : Cascadia Credit Union and Tourism Revelstoke 

Conversations and Essays on Dance in BC

BOOK

Conversations and Essays on Dance in British Columbia: A Dance West Network Anthology is available for purchase ($45).

Locally in Vancouver, reach out to jane@dancewest.net.

For online orders, click HERE 

DIGITAL LIBRARY

Dance West Network offers seven recorded conversations featuring 14 local and primarily IBPOC artists who share their reflections and stories on the role dance plays in their lives, and how dance can impact all our lives.

Each newsletter we will share with you the podcast of one of these conversations for you to listen to, and to share if you wish.

This month we are highlighting the conversation between Sevrin Emnacen-Boyd and Marissa Wong (bios here) titled Finding my own Path

If you would like to see the full conversation with performance excerpts in video form, as well as a beautiful tool-kit - great if you are working with youth as a dance teacher or mentor - please contact: debora@dancewest.net

BELLE SPIRALE DANCE PROJECTS

The Dance Deck

July 18, 19, 25, 26, 4pm-6pm

1745 Napier Street, Vancouver

This summer, The Dance Deck curation brings together some new upcoming creative voices, as well as established creators and artists who are an integral part of our vibrant Vancouver artistic community, all presented up close and personal in our garden theatre. Click here for tickets and for more information

THE DANCE CENTRE

677 Davie St, Vancouver

Sunday, August 9

DanceLab Studio Showing

Peter Mole | Davide Sampaolo | Yurie Kaneko

El Lobo y La Luna

Through the meeting of art and ecology, El Lobo y La Luna traces and reflects on the fragile and interconnected rhythms that bind all living beings. This work-in-progress weaves together flamenco dance, music, and original spoken text to encounter the wolf as a symbolic figure of flamenco — a spirit of instinct, synergy, resilience, and untamed presence. For more information

NEW WORKS

All Over the Map

Experience dance that celebrates diverse cultures and styles through a free outdoor dance performance series at two iconic locations: Picnic Pavilion on Granville Island and the rooftop of the Vancouver Public Library, Central Library. All events are Free.

From high-energy contemporary movement and street dance to the beautiful storytelling of Kathak, Bharatanatyam, and even juggling, everyone is invited to enjoy these captivating, family-friendly performances from all over the map.

Event Dates: Fridays, July 24 and August 14, 2026 and at the Picnic Pavilion at Granville Island on Sundays, July 26 and August 16, 2026. 

Featured Artists: Arno Kamolika & Akshaya Surve | Bryn Bridgen, Linnea Goldstrom & Piper French | Jayden Gigliotti | Jes Hanzelkova | Joanne Park | Mario Matias | Satya Mari & Max Hanic | Sruthi Purusothaman & Remya Rajiv

Click here for more information

VINES ART FESTIVAL

August 5 - 15 2026

Vines 2026 Festival is all about Transformation. What is becoming visible that we were told not to look at? Join us in witnessing work that knows everything is alive and looking back at you.

For the full schedule, click HERE

THANK YOU FOR SUPPORTING DANCE WEST NETWORK

We welcome any individual donations, please click HERE