May 2025 Newsletter, CALLS FOR ARTISTS

Dance West Network

Connecting Artists and Communities in Motion

May 2025

CALLS FOR ARTISTS

DADAO, Des Arts Dehors/Arts Outside

11th annual DADAO Des Arts Dehors/Arts Outside

Professional Development which supports dance artists creating work for outdoors/alternative settings.

To apply, click HERE

Due: Tuesday July 15th, 2025 before 11:59pm

Artists announced: mid-August

For more info: click HERE

MAINSTAGE

Dance West Network invites all BC dance artists with tour-ready work to apply to our MAINSTAGE ONLINE SHOWCASE.

To apply, click HERE

Due: Tuesday, August 5, 2025 before 11:59pm

Artists announced: mid-October

For more info: click HERE

Dance West Network connects BC-based dance artists with presenters in the province, nationally and beyond.

The Mainstage touring program is inclusive of dance from all traditions that speak to the present time (i.e. contemporary dance). Practitioners - artists, collectives, companies - are encouraged to apply.

Dance in Surrey: Community Showing & Conversation

Friday June 6, 2025 7:30- 9:00pm

For reservations, please click HERE

Dance West Network, in collaboration with Surrey Civic Theatres, presents a collection of performances from dance artists based in and/or having strong connections to Surrey. Featuring:

B's Dancing Roses

Linden Tsz Yin Choi

Ria Goel

Vidya Kotamraju

The Paul Tavai-Latta Polynesian Dancers & Co

Mia Pelayo (video)

Puneet Singh

plus a performance by Punit Singh

who will also facilitate a public talkback with all of the artists.

Location: Surrey Arts Centre. 13750 - 88 Avenue

Funded in part with the support of a City of Surrey Cultural Grant.

DADAO, Des Arts Dehors/Arts Outside

Sat June 7, 2025 11am-12:30pm

For reservations, please click HERE

Presented by Dance West Network and Alliance Française Vancouver,. this is a free public showing of dance artists from the Des Arts Dehors / Arts Outside (DADAO) program .

Performances feature artists from British Columbia and Québec:

Aurore Liang (QC), Judith Colibri, Isaac Gassawanga/Elite Squad,

Jhoely Triana, and Sarah Kennedy.

The artists will present short performances in a roving presentation throughout Alliance Francaise Vancouver's new building, 6161 Cambie St.

Come for one performance or come for all!

For more info on DADAO, click HERE

AB/BC Showcase, part of off-FTA programming in Montréal

Friday May 30 2025, 12Noon-1:30pm

An industry showcase featuring Alberta and B.C. artists, produced and hosted by Dance West Network. To register for this industry event - during Festival TransAmerique in Montréal - click HERE

SOPHIE DOW

JUOLIN LEE

NASIV SALL

TEGVARAN SOOCH

WILD MINT ARTS

Funded by BC Arts Council

RE-CENTERING / MARGINS RESIDENCY, Northern BC

This project supports IBPOC early career dance artists from Vancouver and Surrey with opportunities to connect with Northern BC communities via residencies that includes rehearsal/development time, and public community engagement via workshops, performances, audience talkbacks, artist conversations.

January 22-26, 2025

Residency: Tegvaran Sooch, Punit Singh on Lheidli T’enneh Territory/Prince George BC with METHOD Dance Society. Mentor: Arash Khakpour.

May 23-29, 2025

Residency: Ysadora Dias, Mohammed Rashead, Ana Sosa meeting with Wet’suwet’en Territory/Northern BC residency artists: Katie Wertz, Natu Bearwolf, Miriam Colvin on Lheidli T’enneh Territory / Prince George BC with METHOD Dance Society’s Community Moves Festival.

May 30 & 31 2025

Residency: Ana Sosa on Ts’msyen La̱xyuup homelands / Prince Rupert with Fior Skye Saorsie.

Funded by BC Arts Council Arts Impact .

COMMUNITY DANCE CONNECTORS

Claudia Moore

Okanagan Nation Territory / Kelowna BC

DANCE SALONS:

In collaboration with the Rotary Centre for the Arts, Claudia organised a series of five Dance Salons.

The first Salon took place on April 13 with Isaac Gasangwa aka Izo Dreamchaser.“ It was a joy to bring a piece of Rwanda’s vibrant culture to this beautiful community. From the rhythms of the drum to the movements that tell our ancestors’ stories, every step was a celebration of resilience, unity, and pride…Seeing so many faces light up with curiosity and enthusiasm reminded me why cultural exchange matters so deeply.”

Erin Kennedy

Territory of the Okanagan Nation / Vernon BC

BABY RAVE

Calling all babies, caregivers and friends and come out to the Baby Rave: a Dance Party for Wee People and their Grown Ups!

In collaboration with the Vernon Public Library, participants, young and old alike, are invited to put on your old track pants and join in for a morning dance party that gives families a space to let loose and jump to the beat. Can’t wait to see the photos of this one!

BC YOUTH DANCE PROJECTS

NEW ESSAY AVAILABLE ONLINE

Written by Tin Gamboa, this essay a quiet delight: Facilitation and the Sharing of Practice documents Dance West Network’s BC Youth Dance Projects with artist interviews: Shion Skye Carter, Simran Sachar, Fíor Saoirse Skye, and Brenda Kent Colina aka “Bee.”

To read, click HERE.

BC Youth Dance Projects, 2022-24

Projects were researched and developed to centre IBPOC and LGBTQ2S+ youth and community members. Research was gathered in the booklet, ENCOMPASS, edited by Sarah Wong. To read, please click HERE. This research and booklet was supported by CCA Sector Innovation

From this year of research, Dance West Network produced and documented four community-engaged workshop and artist exchange projects, Summer 2023 & Fall 2024. These projects were supported by BC Arts Council Arts Impact.

For more info, click HERE

COMMUNITY NEWS

BECOMING: An Immersive Multi-Screen Video Installation

Roundhouse Performance Centre

FREE ADMISSION
Gallery Hours: June 4 & 5 · 3:00–6:00 PM
Special Events
• June 4 · 7:00 PM – Opening Reception + Artist Q&A
• June 5 · 6:30 PM – Dance Workshop

To learn more:

lucianaf.com/portfolio/becoming

Becoming is a multi-screen video installation exploring memory and impermanence, conceived by Luciana Freire D’Anunciação in collaboration with the Roundhouse Community Dancers. Through dance, poetry, and immersive soundscapes, the work fragments the self, time, and space, inviting visitors to slow down, linger, and experience at their own pace.

The Dance Centre presents

COMPANY 605 + THE HUMAN EXPRESSION DANCE COMPANY

SLOTH CANON (world premiere)

Thurs-Fri June 5-6, 2025 at 8pm

Sat June 7, 2025 at 2pm + 8pm

More info

World premiere of Sloth Canon, a thrilling new international creation by Vancouver’s Company 605 and Singapore’s The Human Expression (T.H.E) Dance Company which is inspired by the idea of building – and breaking apart. Sloth Canon brings together an exciting team of performers and collaborators from both cities to evoke a strange and vivid world propelled by extreme, unnatural momentum.

New Works

July 20 & August 17, 2025
Picnic Pavilion, Granville Island
FREE – All ages welcome

Join New Works this summer on Granville Island for All Over the Map—a free outdoor performance series celebrating dance and music spanning multiple cultures and styles. Featuring eight incredible artists and groups, performances run at 1pm & 3pm on July 20 and August 17 at the Picnic Pavilion. More info

Dance West Network gratefully acknowledges that our work is situated on the traditional, ancestral and unceded Coast Salish territory of the Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish), and Səl̓ílwətaʔ/Selilwitulh (Tsleil-Waututh) and xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam) Nations.

THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT OF DANCE WEST NETWORK

Individual donations happily accepted, click HERE