Work up a sweat, build stamina & muscles dancing to the fast heartbeat of the drum.

This class gives an introduction to the different styles of pow-wow dance and the basic steps of traditional, jingle & fancy. Both girls and boys styles will be emphasized. Veteran Pow Wow dancer with 30 years of experience, Nyla Carpentier, will guide participants through a 2-hour class. The start of the class will be a warm-up to prepare the feet for some Pow Wow dance action, followed by the Pow Wow cardio portion of the class and then a cool down with stretching. Basic steps and formations will be shown and the history and origins of dance styles will be discussed.

NEXT POWWOW DATES:

Check back in the fall

Pakitinam: Choreographers Circle provides resources and mentorship to emerging Indigenous choreographers as they develop a work and spark of inspiration of their choice. The program first began as a pilot project in early 2021. After such a positive response from participants we decided to create a permanent program within RSD for emerging Indigenous choreographers called Pakitinam.  

The program embraces and celebrates RSD’s mission statement and values which are:

To create and produce contemporary dance that is rooted in Indigenous worldview and honours the communities and artists we work with.  We share stories through Indigenous perspectives and practices and create opportunities for others to do the same. We work from the following values: generosity, integrity, honouring and courage.

Pakitinam is an act of demonstrating the power of Indigenous artists coming together to share stories, knowledge and resources in a space of care and empowerment for all in the circle.

Join our artist sharing on May 25th, 2024 at the Evergreen Cultural Centre at 8PM. Book your seats

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We bring together an amazing faculty of Indigenous artists and guest speakers who will be sharing their experience and knowledge with a focus on creative process, choreography, and grounding artistic expression in a variety of Indigenous dance forms and practices.

IGT is a space created for Indigenous artists to come together to learn, discover and deepen their creative practice through a series of Master classes, creation-based workshops and circle conversations with mentors and peers. We centre an Indigenous worldview and celebrate Indigenous voices and creative expression. It is an opportunity to engage through movement and inspiration, to arrive deep into our own bodies and our lands, and to share this with one another. 

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IndigeDIV is a dance and conversation series held on Indigenous Creative Territory. Hosted by Raven Spirit Dance congruent with the Dance Centre’s biennial Dance in Vancouver (DIV), the series brings artists, presenters and audiences together to discuss, share and witness how Indigenous artistic expression is a vital part of our community and it’s deeply rooted values are the foundation that can hold us all up. There is a circle under all that colonization built, RSD invites you to sit in these circles to listen and share.

SEE DETAILS FROM IndigeDIV 2017

How are meaningful relationships built between presenters and Indigenous artists? What is the depth of these relationships and how can bone deep change shift the infrastructures we work in to better support Indigenous expression in the arts community? This discussion between attendees and panelists; Cole Alvis (Métis-Irish/English heritage from the Turtle Mountains in Manitobah), Lindsay Lachance (Anishinaabe ancestry), Joyce Rosario (PuSh Festival) and Donna Spencer (Firehall Arts Centre) will walk us through a consideration of our responsibilities as presenters with our curatorial visions and how this contributes to our evolving community and artistic landscape.

Moderator: Holly Bright, Crimson Coast Dance Society, Snuneymuxw Territory, Nanaimo, BC.

VALUE GUIDED PRACTICE
What values does one hold in the creative process and how does that shape the outer expression of the work created? Artists will share how their values (personal/collective/cultural) influences the way in which they work and shapes their performances.

Panelists: Yvette Nolan, Su-Feh Lee, Ulla Laidlaw, Yvonne Chartrand
Moderator: Michelle Olson

What values do our bodies carry into our art, what process’s do we employ to create and in what frameworks do we present our work? The artists from the works in development will be sharing their insight on these questions.

Panelists: Michelle Olson, Margaret Grenier, Jeanette Kotowich, Olivia C. Davies, Jessica McMann, Dynise Brisson