Are you passionate about helping grow audiences for dance and live performance, audiences that include the Blind and Low Vision community?
Dancemakers Guest Curators Arts Assembly are hosting an introductory workshop for dancers and embodied performance artists to familiarize themselves with the foundations of audio descriptions for dance & movement practices.
This workshop will take place on August 8th (exact schedule to be determined), in downtown Toronto.
Participants will receive a $100 honorarium for their time, and the possible opportunity of practicing their new found skills as a whisper guide for a performance in August 2025.
Please note: registration is limited and submission of this form is not a guarantee of participation. Confirmation emails will be sent to selected participants prior to workshop dates.
Artists
acCessibilIty
Is the venue wheelchair accessible?
Yes, the venue is wheelchair accessible including ramps into the building, elevators and wheelchair accessible washrooms.
Will the event be ASL Interpreted?
All live events will offer ASL interpretation (upon request). Please contact us to request ASL Interpretation.
Will the event be described for Blind and low vision audiences?
This workshop will teach participants how to described dance for Blind and low vision audience members (but the workshop will not be audio described).
In partnership with
Exploring the personal and expansive intersections of race, madness, and choreography through the framework of reenactment.
Same As Sister completed a 4-day choreographic intensive, Reimagining Madness through Reenactment, part of Workman Arts’ 2024 Winter Course Catalogue.
The intensive was co-facilitated by interdisciplinary performance collective, Same As Sister (S.A.S.)/Briana Brown-Tipley + Hilary Brown-Istrefi and disability arts advisor, Rachel da Silveira Gorman to explore the personal and expansive intersections of race, madness, and choreography through the framework of reenactment.
Participants learnt material from S.A.S.’s larger body of work covering these themes, in addition to crafting their own movement phrases inspired by sources including popular television and cinema.
Artists
acCessibilIty
Is the venue wheelchair accessible?
Yes, the venue is wheelchair accessible including ramps into the building, elevators and wheelchair accessible washrooms.
Will the event be ASL Interpreted?
All live events will offer ASL interpretation (upon request). Please contact us to request ASL Interpretation.
Will the event be described for Blind and low vision audiences?
This performance does not include audio description.
IN PARTNERSHIP WITH
An annual symposium exploring the craft, practice and plurality of dance curation.
Thursday July 17 2025:
11:00 – Arrival
11:30-1:00 – Curation Under the Surface (with Celia Green & Rumi Jeraj)
1:00-1:30 – Break
1:30-3:00 – Curating in Unconventional Spaces (with Shani K. Parsons & Abel Hagos)
3:00-3:30 – Break
3:30-5:00 – Research as Curatorial Method (with Christina de la Cruz & Sanjukta Banarjee)
5:30-7:00 – Call for Curators Q&A and Info Sessions
Friday July 18 2025
11:00 – Arrival
11:30-1:00 – A Decade Since ACAQ (with Dena Devida)
1:00-1:30 – Break
1:30-3:00 – Collaborative Dance Curation (with Nomadic Curatorial Collective & Parks N Wreck)
3:00-3:30 – Break
3:30-5:00 – Access in Dance Curation (with Arts Assembly & Shay Erlich)
5:30-7:00 – Cinq a Sept hosted by members of the CDA-DanceWorks IBPOC Artist-Curators Inaugural Cohort
Inspiration for this event includes:
Artists
Celia Green
Celia Green’s practice spans choreography, writing, creation, and performance. Within their work they often consider gender, the fragility of identity, and freedom as guiding forces.
Rumi Jeraj
Rumi Jeraj is an Ismailli muslim hailing from Sherwood Park Alberta.
Shani K. Parsons
Shani Khoo Parsons (she/her) is an independent curator, designer, mother, and founding director of Critical Distance Centre for Curators.
Abel Hagos
As a Street Dance artist and community advocate, my work is rooted in the belief that dance is a powerful tool for expression, storytelling, and cultural preservation.
Christina de la Cruz
Christina de la Cruz is a Hip Hop dancer, artistic producer, curator of dance and performance and waitress.
Sanjukta Banerjee
Dr. Sanjukta Banerjee is an acclaimed Bharatanatyam, Mohiniyattam and Kathakali dance artist.
Dena Devida
Contemporary dance curator, anthropologist, educator, artist; also co-founder and managing editor of the TURBA Journal.
Cara Spooner
Cara Spooner is a choreographer, caregiver and caretaker as well as one of the Co-Artistic Producers at Dancemakers.
Erin McCurdy
Erin Joelle McCurdy is a writer, maker, and curator based in Toronto.
Emily Law
Emily Law is an artist, choreographer, producer, lifelong student, and mother.
Sarah Tumaliuan
Associate Curator, Public Programs and Learning at Museum of Toronto, co-producer of Parks N’Wreck and Dance artist with Mix Mix Dance and Holla Jazz.
Arts Assembly
Arts Assembly is a not-for-profit, community-centric arts organization that emphasizes artistic collaboration.
Shay Erlich
Shay Erlich (they/them) is a disability justice world builder living in Tkaronto.
Ibpoc Curators
The Canadian Dance Assembly, in partnership with DanceWorks, hosted a project that invited 10 Indigenous, Afro-descendant, and Person of Colour Artist-Curators in dance to gather in Toronto between May 12-17th, 2025.
acCessibilIty
Is the venue wheelchair accessible?
Yes, the venue is wheelchair accessible including ramps into the building, elevators and wheelchair accessible washrooms.
Will the event be ASL Interpreted?
All live events will offer ASL interpretation (upon request). Please contact us to request ASL Interpretation.
Will the event be described for Blind and low vision audiences?
Audio description will be available upon request.
IN PARTNERSHIP WITH
Step into the world of tap dance with Rumi Jeraj and Travis Knights as they take you on an engaging journey through the history, artistry, and innovation of tap shoes.
Step into the world of tap dance with Rumi Jeraj and Travis Knights as they take you on an engaging journey through the history, artistry, and innovation of tap shoes. From their origins as humble wooden-soled footwear to the vibrant designs and styles seen today, tap shoes tell a story about the evolution of the dance and the dancers who wear them.
Discover the creative process behind modern advancements in tap footwear, including insights from the duo’s recent work through Shoe Dreams, curated by Rumi Jeraj. Through lively conversation, rhythmic demonstrations, and personal anecdotes, Rumi and Travis will bring the world of tap to life in this presentation.
Learn, laugh, and listen to the mesmerizing sounds of tap dance and the shoes that help define the art form.
Inspiration for this work includes:
Artists
acCessibilIty
Is the venue wheelchair accessible?
Yes, the venue is wheelchair accessible including ramps into the building, elevators and wheelchair accessible washrooms.
Will the event be ASL Interpreted?
All live events will offer ASL interpretation (upon request). Please contact us to request ASL Interpretation.
Will the event be described for Blind and low vision audiences?
This performance does not include audio description.
IN PARTNERSHIP WITH
SUPPORTED BY