Give the Gift of Dance

--> Give the Gift of Dance Campaign


I am the newly appointed communications coordinator with Made in BC - Dance on Tour Society. Since I started work here I have been amazed and inspired by the work done across the province. My goal is to foster a much greater understanding and appreciation for dance artists across British Columbia. 

I've had the opportunity to witness a community engagement dance program at one of our community centres in Vancouver, British Columbia. This dance program invited people of all ages and abilities to come together united. It was such an inspiration to see the community joined as one. It is important to note that Made in BC funds these kind of activities across the province but does not receive any earned revenues from the community programs. 


Photo credit: Jennifer Ko

You'll find that there are many small towns across British Columbia don't get very much opportunities to see live performances. Made in BC exists to provide the BC touring program and artistic residencies in order to share the art of contemporary dances.

Recently, Made in BC partnered with The Dance Centre's Dance in Vancouver Festival to hold a national conference for dance artstis, managers, and community presenters. During our conference, we hosted an event called the "Democratization of Dance Party!" with Wii dance, a curate-your-own dance Youtube projection screen, and a community dance group performing site-specific work and getting non-dancers moving. There was a donation box set out for people to contribute to community dance programming in Stewart, BC a small community in the north. We raised about $30 but we need a lot more!

What We Need & What You Get:

Usually, it costs us well over $3,000 to send dance artists to small towns for our artistic residencies program. That includes the transportation, artistic fees, hospitality, studio rentals and management.

Made in BC receives limited funding towards these artistic residencies opportunities and it is very challenging to create quality work with limited resources. Your contribution will allow this program to happen in Stewart. 


In Stewart, a town of 500, we are working with the Bear Valley School, who are letting their students out early every day to participate in a community dance program. They are lending us the best room in town, which is the large community room over top of the hockey rink. They’re really hoping to engage the local boys in dance, as this project is scheduled for a slow moment in their hockey season. Last year, we got ½ the town (250 people) to participate in some way in a workshops project held there with Mascall Dance.

This year's project brings 2 dance artists up to Stewart for a week, as part of Joe Ink's Move It! Program.

We've also been working with the Stewart Art Council, which is a newly formed volunteer-run organization, founded 2 years ago.

Other Ways You Can Help:
Spread the word on social media, tell you friends, and "like" our Facebook page!


To submit your donation, please select the "Northern Remote Communities" tab:
https://www.canadahelps.org/dn/9657

Sincerely,

Landon Krentz
Communications Coordinator

Final Stop with Made in BC - Dance on Tour!

Fourth stop, Nanaimo
Here we are at our final stop on the MIBC network!

On Thursday evening Josh and I led a workshop with 12 adults, ranging in ability and experience but sharing a common willingness to take risk. The two-hour session took place at the Rotary Field House, and coincidentally, the floor had three rectangles in its design that worked as territories much like the yellow floor we have for the New Animal set. We spent some time exploring improvisations, as well as each participant creating some set material, and we used the combination of these ideas to stalk, protect, claim, surrender, fight over, and share the three territories in the space. Josh and I were blown away at how open, trusting, and enthusiastic all of the participants were! Thanks to all of you!

On Friday evening we visited a local dance studio called Vibe Dance, where we taught an enthusiastic group of about 18 teens. They were incredibly receptive to 605's movement techniques, as well as fearless improvisers! We can tell they receive a lot of great training (we may be a little biased because some of our friends are on the faculty at the studio).

Saturday November 9th was show day at the Port Theatre. The venue was absolutely gorgeous and there were even enough lighting fixtures to facilitate Rob Sondergaard's complete design, for the first time since New Animal's premiere at the Cultch in 2012! We had a post show artists' talk with some great questions and comments from audience members, and are glad to have finished off our Made-in-BC tour on a high note.

Next, the company is off to finish the New Animal tour in Toronto, Burnaby, Summerside, PEI, and Halifax!

Thanks for reading about the BC portion of the tour! We are so glad you came along for the ride.

About the Lemons:

Source: Thrifty's

Price: non-organic: 5 for $2.00

Origin: California

Size: PERFECT

BC on Tour - Second Stop!

Second Stop, Kitimat, BC

An interesting fact is that you can walk through security at YVR with two-dozen lemons in hand and no one will bat an eye.

We have arrived in Kitimat, which is one of the highlights on tour because of our fantastic accommodations at Minette Bay Lodge. 605 Collective stayed here on tour in 2010 and it is just as dreamy as we had remembered it. Our lovely hosts, Howard, Ruth, and their dog Frank, are making us comfortable during our stay here.

 

On Oct. 28 Josh and I taught 19 students ranging from 8 to 21 on the Mount Elizabeth stage. Their experienced ranged from first-timers to regular dance class attendees, but everyone was keen and eager to get their dance on!

Our performance at Mount Elizabeth Theatre was well attended at almost 3/4 full at 250 audience members, with a small meet and greet after the show where we spoke to some Kitimat locals, new members of the community, and young fans. One of the highlights for me was speaking to a couple from Quebec who had recently moved to Kitimat, and they expressed how grateful they were to see our performance, as they were accustomed to seeing lots of amazing dance in Quebec and were happily surprised to see contemporary performance in their new town.

We had a post-show reception at the lovely Anna-Marie Carstens' home, where we got to chat with board members and supporters, reflecting on changes in the community since 2010 when we toured here last. It is a privilege to have returned to Kitimat three years later, to see how it has changed, and for its audience to see what 605 has been up to since our last work. We hope to be back again sometime!

About the Lemons:

Source: Overwaitea

Price: Overwaitea non-organic: $0.79 each

Origin: USA

Size: PERFECT

Third Stop, Prince Rupert, BC

After a beautiful drive from Kitimat, we have arrived in Prince Rupert, comforted by the West Coast rain and familiar favorite coffee shops. It was Halloween on the day we got in, and we braved the rain to see the fireworks at the community centre. The town was out in full-force with creative costumes and smiles despite the rain that quickly turned to hail. We decided to watch the fireworks from the tour minivan, before heading back to our hotel to watch a scary movie, cozied up in Jeff's room (and dressed in Halloween attire sourced by Shay at the local Sally Anne).

On November 1, Josh and I taught three contemporary classes to students ranging from aged 7 to 17 at Prince Rupert Dance Academy. Everyone worked hard and tired their arms out, and wethank them for taking risks and going outside of their comfort zone to make new discoveries with us.

We performed at Lester Centre of the Arts on November 2, a beautiful venue where we had lots of space to stalk, attack, and throw lemons around. The show was attended by about 100 people, and at the post-show reception in the lobby, we were happy to see so many families in attendance. The general consensus was that people were very impressed by Dave's shaking scene, the climax of the lemon section.

Once again, it has been great to make a return trip to Prince Rupert after touring here in 2010. We had a great time, and owe a huge thanks to Crystal and Made-in-BC for making it possible.

About the Lemons:

Source: Safeway

Price: non-organic: $0.69 each

Origin: South Africa

Size: PERFECT

Photos by Jeff Harrison, Lisa Gelley, Heidi Quicke