International Dance Day 2020 - The Dance Current

"The living space inside of me is wrestling with the light- The living space inside of me is staggering in the night. The living space inside of me is cold and hot, and cold- The living space inside of me is trying to trust the fold," says Winnipeg-based dance artist and educator Tanja Faylene Woloshen about her photo.
> Emma June Huebner names this still from her dance film, dis(dance), "Exploring distancing on a frozen lake in the Laurentians." She is a multidisciplinary artist from Montréal. Watch her video here: https://vimeo.com/402617809
> "My all-time favourite space to dance in has been my kitchen for a while now. Something about improvising in a kitchen feels genuine to me and working in a constrained space breeds creativity -- I usually end up hanging off counters or leaning on the walls at some point in my sessions. From grooving to emotional release, the number of kitchen parties has increased greatly during this isolation period, and I have been documenting them with the hashtag #covidkitchenparty and encouraging others to do the same!" says Hilary James about her photo. James is a dance performer, choreographer and teacher currently living in Winnipeg, Manitoba.
> "It’s okay to dance; it’s okay to stop. It’s okay to be productive; it’s okay to breathe. It’s okay to be resilient; it’s okay to feel. It’s okay to be social; it’s okay to be distant," says Jose Miguel (Miggy) Esteban. He is a Toronto-based Filipino-Canadian contemporary dance/movement artist and educator.
> "De-colonizing my body is returning to land, to practices lost in self, to the histories of knowledge, medicines and ceremony that hold all spirits equal. From here I begin re-learning," writes Toronto-based dance artist, Nyda Kwasowsky, in her poetry about the importance of land-based practice during times of crisis and the land's role in healing.
> "Wearing a beautiful leotard while dancing at home is a great way to keep your spirits up! The biggest challenge? Finding enough space to move and film safely. Furniture and flooring are both of constant concern. I found myself leaping into educator mode while filming, hopefully saving some young dancer following along from injury," says Stephanie Bergeron. She is a dancer, choreographer, actor, singer, dance adjudicator and dance instructor living in Markham, Ontario.
> "I was stuck on Royal Caribbean’s Anthem of the Seas for eighteen days. I was finally able to come home on April 4th, 2020. In order to keep myself sane, I used my stateroom balcony as a dance studio to work on my craft. The breeze and the view was incredibly inspiring and distracted me from the situation while I was awaiting the day I could make it home," says Stephanie Paquet, a dancer, aerialist and singer from Ottawa.

Happy International Dance Day!

Dance has never been as important in bringing us together as it is today. Dancers across the country are adapting to physical distancing restrictions and finding new ways to practice their craft. We asked you to send us photos that show what dance looks like during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Check out the gallery to see how Canada is dancing from home.

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