Sat June 10 EVERY BODY Can Dance Jam part of the Contact Dance Film Fest

IMAGE DESCRIPTION OF BANNER: Luke carries Kathleen as she leverages off his wheelchair. EVENT DESCRIPTION: A dance jam that is disability lead and welcoming dance jam with live music by Nilan Perera MASKS ARE REQUIRED due to vulnerable populations REGISTRATION: https://contactdancefilmfest.eventive.org/schedule/643edc4193721e0047789978 FACEBOOK EVENT: https://www.facebook.com/events/1244170799545669/1244170806212335/ FACILITATORS: Luke Anderson and Kathleen Rea DATE: Saturday, June 10 from 3:30 to 5:30 pm LOCATION - Beach United Church (140 Wineva Ave): As part of the Contact Dance International Film Festival DROP-INS WELCOME. GUIDELINES: You will need to read RDDP's Dance Jam Guidelines prior to your first time attending: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1VvM85pJ_2gE58dANWztFLy5N4KoAZ49U/view?usp=share_link BEGINNER POINTERS: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1fkmC2yTfJUUDSEIVls5UtqC0Ke1F_A3C/view?usp=share_link PRODUCED BY: REAson d'etre dance ACCESS: Wheelchair-accessible studio and washrooms. Please contact us at [email protected] if you require accommodation or if you have any questions about access. An AlSL interpretation team will be on standby if needed. Kathleen has experience teaching dance to those that have low vision, blindness, and are deaf an/or dance using wheelchairs or other assistive devices. Kathleen has autism and brings this sensibility to her teaching. Luke brings his lived experiences as a wheelchair user and being part of the disability community to his teaching. COST: Sliding scale - $1 to $20 WHAT YOU NEED TO BRING: Comfortable clothes. You might want knee pads and a bottle of water COVID POLICY : - All levels of vacations and non-vaccination are welcome - two industrial HEPA will be running in the studio. - Attendees and teachers will be masked - people should not attend if they are sick FUNDING This dance jam is supported by the Toronto Arts Council, Ontario Arts Council, Ontario Trillium Foundation, and Canada Heritage Foundation. BIOGRAPHIES Luke Anderson (he/him/his) has a background in civil engineering which helped him foster a respect for the importance of quantitative science in our external world and it's part in helping create an environmentally and socially healthy planet. In 2015 he left his structural engineering gig and took on the role of Executive Director of Toronto's StopGap Foundation, which he co-founded, working with communities across the country to raise awareness about the importance of accessibility, inclusion, and barrier-free spaces. That same year he was introduced to the world of Contact Improvisation and soon developed a deep respect and interest in the somatic realms of our qualitative human experience. Luke identifies as someone living with a profound physical disability and uses a wheelchair to aid his mobility. Luke's lived experience working with and gaining wisdom from his own physical and emotional pain, encounters with systemic inequity for people with disabilities, and personal suffering fuels his desire to contribute to the well being of various communities including the Toronto Contact Improvisation community. Finding joy, weirdness, mystery, and massive amounts of hilarity are some of Luke's personal and professional daily intentions. Luke's movement practice at home and at jams incorporates a playful mix of his passions for dance, nonviolent communication, focusing, harmonica, and didgeridoo virtuosic aspirations. Kathleen Rea danced with Canada’s Ballet Jorgen, National Ballet of Canada & Tiroler Landestheater (Austria). She fell in love with contact improvisation 22 years ago & has been involved in the community ever since. She has choreographed over 40 dance works and has been nominated for 5 DORA awards. Kathleen has a learning disability which means writing takes 6 times longer than average. It is one of life’s mysteries that despite this struggle she loves writing and is a published author (The Healing Dance). She has a Master’s in Expressive Arts with a minor in Psychology. She is a certified teacher of the Axis Syllabus and Buteyko Breathing. She is the director of REAson d’etre dance, a Toronto not-for-profit dance company that is contact improvisation based and produces a weekly jam, a Film Fest, and dance theatre productions. She has autism & works to educate the world about neurodiversity. She developed the well-read REAson d’etre - Dance Jam Guidelines (download here) which over the past 20 years have influenced consent culture in the contact improvisation worldwide community. She also is the founder of the Contact Improv Consent Culture Blog.