Dance&: A series of workshops based around dancemakers values
[Image Description: Three signs are collated to each other in periwinkle, green and bright pink. All say DANCE & in white font and leave a white blank line to be filled in. Each line has blank handwriting in it saying "solidarity", "abolition" and "care" alternately.]
Dance& Workshops
June 21, 28 & July 5
Multiple Facilitators including dancers, cultural experts, educational researchers, and healing artists
In 2023, the Laboratory for Artistic Intelligence concluded a research period on how to bring Dancemakers of the past, into right relationship with it's community of the present and imagine it into the future of art in Canada. This report yielded important community feedback that has now become a pillar of Dancemakers:
Beyond equity, diversity and inclusion, we value a Dancemakers that is decolonizing,
abolitionist, embodied, artistic, joyful, supportive, decentralizing and socially, ecologically and historically conscious.
To continue our committments to these values, we are introducing Dance&: a workshop series that invites different artists and thinkers to investigate these values and bring them into practice with our community.
WORKSHOP 1: DANCE&ABOLITION
Join Kosi and Furqan for their Dance& Abolition workshop “No Half Steppin, No Half Measures”: a freestyle dance and journalling workshop exploring the themes of Abolition & World Building in 2 parts
June 21
12:30-3:45
Venue: Society Clubhouse
967 College St, Toronto, ON M6H 1A6
Pay-what-you-can
What does a world without prisons, police, or carceral punishment look like—and how do we build it? This interactive workshop invites participants into an exploration of abolition, its roots and branches, first as a political framework, and then as creative and imaginative practice. Grounded in the belief that building a world rooted in care, accountability, community, and refusal to acquiesce to imperial, capitalist, and oppressive system of the (in)justice system(s) requires radical imagination— we turn and connect to Hip Hop through dance, which in its rhythms and improvisation, mirrors our movements towards abolition as a powerful tool for visioning and building new futures.
PART ONE, Facilitated by Furqan Mohamed:
Participants will engage in a mix of guided and group and reflective journaling. This part of the workshop will create space to unpack and outline core abolitionist ideas—drawing from the work of historic organizers, neighbours, thinkers, and artists—and explore how these concepts show up in our everyday lives. Through writing prompts and dialogue, we’ll reflect on questions like: What does safety mean to you? To your kin? What does “justice” really mean? How can we perform acts of abolition in our everyday? What would we need to give up, and make room for? What do we need to be healing from, and what are we moving toward, together?
PART TWO, Facilitated by Kosi C Ese:
Kosi's workshop titled ‘No Half-Steppin’ is a nod to the infamous Big Daddy Kane ‘Ain’t No Half Steppin’ which makes a case for playfulness in rhyme and adaptability in and around structure within hip-hop. The title also points to staying clear of hesitation informally. A closer reading of Hip-Hop freestyle dance presents the idea that "hip is to be in the know and hop is the movement we create with said knowledge".
Participants will engage in guided freestyle exercises to Hip-Hop music and use concepts of play and improvisation to generate conviction in the body. This portion will invite us to reflect on how we move forward and build the abolitionist futures we desire by going backwards to gain the necessary context.
WORKSHOP 2: DANCE&SOLIDARITY
[Image Description: A purple flyer reads DANCE & in white font and leaves a white blank line to be filled in. The blank is filled in with the word Solidarity in black handwriting-style font. Below it reads: "Featuring Ahmed & Wisam from Zaytouna Dabke. June 28, 12:30-2:45" followed by the Dancemakers logo.]
Join Ahmed and Wisam for their Dance&Solidarity workshop, covering the foundations of Dabke followed by a short conversation about Palestinian cultural identity!
June 28
12:30-2:45
Venue: Society Clubhouse
967 College St, Toronto, ON M6H 1A6
Pay-what-you-can
Join Ahmed and Wisam from Zaytouna Dabke as they teach an intro lesson in Dabke: a levantine folk dance practiced by communities in Palestine, Lebanon, Jordan & Syria. The lesson will be followed by a short conversation about the history of Dabke and Palestinian Cultural Identity.
In June 2024, Dancemakers and the Toronto Dance Love-In issued a joint statement in solidarity with the people of Palestine and Indigenous resistance worldwide. The statement ends by saying: "the learning of decoloniality requires embodied practice. With this we move forward in alignment with our declared values." We are grateful to be exploring this embodied practice with our TLI friends through the heartT.O.heart series (look out for volume 2 coming up soon!) and we can't wait to embody it once more in Dance&Solidarity!
[Image Description: Wisam is mid dance on what appears to be a stage with a backdrop slightly out of frame. He wears a black longsleeve shirt with white trim, black pants and tall leather black boots. He is hopping on one leg with one hand on hip and the other hand spinning a stick. His head is wrapped in a Keffiyeh and he looks to his right with a smiling expression.]
Dabke Workshop Facilitator Wisam Diefallah
I’m a 31-year-old Palestinian Canadian with a deep passion for Dabke. a passion that’s grown stronger with each passing year. For the past five years, I’ve dedicated myself to learning, performing, and teaching this vibrant and powerful traditional dance. I’m proud to be part of Zaytouna, a cultural dance group where I not only perform but also teach Dabke to others who want to connect with Palestinian heritage through movement.
I studied business in school, and while that gave me a solid foundation, it’s in the rhythm, energy, and spirit of Dabke that I truly found my calling. Sharing this dance is more than just performance, it’s storytelling, community-building, and keeping our culture alive here in Canada.
[Image Description: Ahmed dances performs in the centre with another younger dancer behind him. He wears all black with a Keffiyeh draped around his shoulders. He is mid hop with one foot in air in front of the other. Red curtains border the frame and there is a painted tree in the background.]
Dabke Workshop Facilitator Ahmed Islaih
My name is Ahmed Islaih, and I was born in Ramallah, Palestine. I moved to Canada when I was eight years old, but my heart has always remained connected to my roots. One of the strongest ways I’ve held onto that connection is through Dabke.
Dabke, to me, is more than just a traditional dance. It’s a celebration of resilience, unity, and culture. Every stomp, every rhythm, reminds me of who I am and where I come from. I’ve been part of Zaytuna Academy since 2019, where I’ve had the chance to perform and teach Dabke as a way of preserving and sharing our heritage.
WORKSHOP 3 TO BE ANNOUNCED!
Banner image credit: Fran Chudnoff
Banner Image description: Three Dancers face towards each other in a circle in an outdoors shopping promenade. THey all have their right leg bent and are tapping the outside of their heel. They wear variations of street clothes with bucket hats, shirts tied around their waists and bandanas respectively. There are lawn chairs and bystanders in the background.