Society History — Dance West Network

2023 Update:

Now in our second year as Dance West Network, and our 17th year as a non-profit arts society, we revised our logo to better speak to our ongoing efforts to create and foster a supportive network able to facilitate more connections between artists and communities throughout the province.

Thank you to our collaborating partners, network theatres, dance artists, community dance connectors, and board members for your support as Dance West Network continues to grow.

Dance West Network

In 2021, Made in BC - Dance on Tour changed its name in its 15th anniversary year to better reflect the work of the organization, and develop and embrace new collaboration. For more information about the name change click here. As of Fall 2021, the organization is now called Dance West Network: connecting artists and communities in motion.

The roots of Dance West Network connect BC through dance. Our new name allows the work to reach even further by supporting our efforts to be more inclusive, to centre dance, to facilitate connections between communities and dance artists sharing vibrant practices and experience, and to create collaborations that work towards greater equity for historically excluded dance artists and audiences, offering opportunities for people from all over BC to learn about the arts, express themselves creatively and celebrate a shared humanity through dance.

*The Stir, Sept 3 2021 article***

For more info, click here for the full press release.

COMMUNITY SUPPORT

“Bravo! Dance West Network! Hy'ceep qa (TY) Sii'em for taking a giant leap and leading the way in decolonizing not only your name but also with genuine engagement with Indigenous artists from the grassroots to professional levels. Your leadership in this important work must be applauded.”

- Tsatassaya White, curator, event planner and community mobilizer of the Snuneymuxw (Nanaimo) & (Opetchesaht) Nuu-chah-nulth Nations.

Throughout the five years I have been involved with Made in BC, the name (which is based on Columbus) has made it really awkward to invite Indigenous and non-Indigenous artists to collaborate. Attending to colonialism and centering Indigenous sovereignty has been a core value for me for the past 15 years, and associating with the “Made in BC” name has been where I have most been out of integrity in my work. I think it is a fantastic idea to no longer have "Made in BC" in the name.

- Joanne Cuffe (they/them), Community Dance Connector in Lekwungen homelands / Victoria

The community of the Dance West Network has over the past several years made remarkable efforts to recognize our company’s distinct artistic practices. This name change is timely and a reflection of these core values. T’ooyaxs’ii ‘niin

- Margaret Grenier, Executive and Artistic Director, Dancers of Damelahamid

On behalf of the Board of Directors, we are grateful for the support and labour from members of the arts and culture communities including Indigenous artists, network presenters, and community outreach coordinators. All of their conversations with the organization on how to best align our name with the work of collaborating dance artists and communities resulted in this grassroots process of changing our name. We appreciate these efforts as part of our ongoing steps to be more inclusive and supportive to all communities.

- 20-21 Board of Directors: Melanie Hardy, Edmond Kilpatrick, Monique Laaper, Alice M. Murage, Barb Parker, Aina Yasué.

Society History:

Audio - Visual Tour

In preparation for this new name change, Made in BC - Dance on Tour created an audio-visual “tour” of the previous 15 years of dance projects produced via the presenter network, 2006-2021.

The Dance Current article Made in BC Celebrates 15 Years With an Interactive Virtual History

History Project: Dancing Stories from BC

DANCING STORIES FROM BC

Dancing Stories celebrates our 15th anniversary with an audiovisual trip through the personal stories of seven community engagement projects and 14 Vancouver-based dance artists who have toured throughout BC.

Created in collaboration with graphic recorder Adriana Contreras.

MINE - Bulkey Valley Concert Association

Presenters

Founders

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.

Dance West Network aimerait reconnaître que cet événement aura lieu sur les terres ancestrales et non cédés des peuples Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish), and Səl̓ílwətaʔ/Selilwitulh (Tsleil-Waututh) and xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam).