2022 Summer Update 

Over the past few months, Dancemakers has been working to create and follow paths forward based on listening, community input, iterative decision making and collectivity. The Labatory for Artistic Intelligence has contributed to unearthing these processes with us and will be engaging with artists directly in the coming months with a series of Research Residencies.  

In early spring, we created an initial Expression of Interest and a Guest Curator Nomination process for both artists and curators which yielded a range of applications from independent dance artists. This nimble, exploratory application allowed us to learn about who was interested in Dancemakers’ new form and what it was they were working on. It also allowed us to see how far our reach was – who applied and who was missing from those applications – as well as refine the information we needed to move forward.  

Our selection committee, comprised of Ravyn Wngz, Leelee Oluwatoyosi Eko Davis and Jenn Goodwin, provided feedback on applicants as well as on the call itself. We will be announcing the upcoming Guest Curators in the coming months as they begin their varied processes to select, support, frame and share works with the public. Our Guest Curator call is still open with a rolling deadline in order to ‘fold in’ projects as they present themselves. Feel free to apply or share with others who might be interested.

In March, we moved out of our home in the Distillery District. This marked a moment of officially becoming a nomadic company without a permanent home. Working with local and provincial partners has allowed us to start dreaming about what supporting dance in other spaces, contexts and locations might look like.  

Aisha Sasha John (curated by Amelia Ehrhardt in 2019) completed her Residency with a development period and technical residency at Soulpepper Theatre and the Young Centre for the Performing Arts in late May. Finishing with a work-in-progress showing, Aisha and the dancers were able to experiment with technical agency, audience integration and Black togetherness in DIANA ROSS DREAM – which will premiere in Montréal this fall at La Chapelle with Danse-Cité.  

We want to encourage continued porousness and dialogue. If you have questions, comments, suggestions or feedback, feel free to get in touch with our staff and/or board of directors.  

Thank you to our partners, friends and supporters who continue to grow with us as we feel our way forward.