“Your Spirit Dance”
The Audience Participation Dance for Nuit Blanche
By Ariel Len of Zoey’s Projects
I have been selected by the 401 Richmond arts building, through Cynthia Mykytyshyn, as one of the Artists to run her own event for Nuit Blanche!
I am going to do an interactive, audience participation workshop/performance, in which I teach an all inclusive, all ages, and all abilities audience, how to translate their own body movements into their own unique Spirit Dances!
Everyone is welcome to come out and have some fun with us!
We will pretend that we are each painting on our own canvases, and we will each be using imaginary paint. Once an hour beginning at 7:30 p.m. (5 times in total) until the last group meets at 11:30 p.m., I will take a new group of people each time, and show them how to do this. Please note, that we will have limited space and limited chairs available for each group, on a first come first served basis. We will also have Sign Language Interpretation (ASL) available only for the first two groups at 7:30 and 8:30 pm. Watch my website zoeysprojects.com for all upcoming details!
I will explain what Dance-Painting is, and how and why I created it. I will show everyone the safety, and other equipment I use to do it.
Then I will do a workshop/audience participation demonstration by showing each group, how to dance and paint, first by using only their minds, hearts and spirits, and then through their faces and heads, for those in wheelchairs with restricted movement, and for all participants who wish to try it. I will next move through each key area of the body, arms, hands, legs, feet, back and bum, and show them ways to move to express their Spirits, through Dance-Painting.
I will also up the challenge and offer a new educational experience to 2 audience members per group, who do not know what it is like to be a Person of Diverse Abilities (my created term to replace DISabled).
For 2 adults per group, (I will select someone who is a dancer, or other professional or amateur athlete, or someone who works out on a regular basis) I will offer to loan one of them my rollator on wheels (named Athena), and another one my cane to move with, while also trying Dance-Painting. They will be placed at the back of the space so that they do not interfere with the other participants while trying these new skills. They will learn from this experience, and so will the others in the group who see them trying it.
Then we will all do Dance-Painting for about 10 minutes, to excerpts of music in many different genres, from the 1950’s to 2015, all cut together!
Each time I do this process with a new group, I will do what I call guerilla choreography, (new moves spontaneously created within the moment) adapted to be inclusive of the abilities of each member of the group, and to new music each time! I will select music which is all ages appropriate, and which celebrates many different diversities/cultures.
We can also offer the extra option of dividing the space in half with those who wish to be filmed and later shown on my website, going on the side of the space with the film camera. Those who do not wish to be filmed can go on the other side. People love the chance to be on websites!
I would like to thank my team for this event – J.P. Hunter of Zoey’s Projects, and Kerry-Lee Finkle who will be providing the ASL. I would also like to thank our Sponsor – Bloor Yorkville Eye Clinic. If you would like more information about this event, including barrier free access, etc. or if you would like to Sponsor us, then please go to “Contact us” at the top of the page at zoeysprojects.com.
We will continue posting new information as well.
We hope to see you all there!