At dance Immersion, our mandate is fulfilled by programs that fall into three related streams: Presentation, Incubation, and Education. Presentation events are “curated”, while in general, incubation and education events are “programmed”. Curating and programming are different, but related practices. The difference between the two roles involves purpose, intent, and the guiding philosophy behind how dance content is presented. At our organization, both involve care and consideration for the artists, audiences, participants, and partners engaged.
PROGRAMMING
Within dance Immersion, programming considers what current dance community needs are based on regular feedback and research, and uses that information to determine what type of incubation and education events to produce, what an event schedule will be, what will fill an event schedule, and which artists will be suited to connect to the community based on an event’s purpose.
Current dance Immersion programming has been focused on:
- Strengthening the choreographic work of artists practicing Afro-diasporic forms
- Increasing musical and theatre training for emerging and established dance professionals
- Building opportunities for youth who dance, and
- Connecting youth dancers with established professional mentors.
This programming currently includes the Legacy Series events, Workshop Series, Immersion Mentorship Program, DTM Creation Lab, THRIVE online mentorship modules available to all dancers, and In-Studio Showcases to provide feedback on developing choreographies.
PRO TIP: We encourage dancers and choreographers interested in a professional dance career to invest in themselves and their art by participating in as many choreographic laboratories, residencies, and workshops as possible offered by any group that interests you locally or internationally. These can be searched online. Artists chosen for our programming opportunities come from different generations, dance forms, and philosophies, but one thing that unites them is their dedication to lifelong learning through participation in such opportunities, consistently seeking them out and expanding their skills and understanding.
CURATING
Curating is an artistic care practice that is heavily influenced by a curator’s background, education, ongoing research, personal taste, and goals for the project or, in this case, the organization. With each curated presentation, we aim to connect the work of artists with audiences and other presenters who may wish to engage the choreographers for future opportunities. While doing so, we collaborate with artists to build experiences that uplift, carefully hold, and move us forward. In practice, our curation focuses on why works are grouped together in a season or a festival or showcase, what kind of conversation or education the works collectively construct, and which artists the curator(s) believe can help bring that learning or conversation forward in healthy environments. Each season or event has different themes brought forward, influenced by what artists are investigating, artist and audience feedback, the success of previous events, and larger societal conversations/current events.
Our general Curatorial Statement that guides our philosophy can be found on our ABOUT page. If you would like further information on what we provide for the artists we are presenting, please see our video on “what we do”, which is also on the ABOUT page.
Type of Work Curated: dance Immersion was founded by Vivine Scarlett because work by Black, African, and Caribbean artists was not being featured on Canadian stages, especially works by local artists. Our focus continues to be on providing opportunities for such choreographers who have created, or are in the process of creating:
- Full-length/”evening-length” dance pieces that feature a single continuous narrative or concept. These are 50 minutes in length or longer and are presented on their own as a full show. These take months or longer to develop, require additional grants and sponsorships to support their creation, and require extensive resources for marketing and promotion over a two-month+ period.
OR
- “Festival-length” dance pieces. These are shorter 10- to 20-minute works or excerpts of longer works shown on stage with dance pieces by other artists together in one program.
Whatever the length of the choreography, we specialize in presenting dance pieces to the public that involve:
- Research (reading, writing, interviews, video review, etc.) into a particular theme or story
- Time in development with collaborators (dancers, musicians, theatre artists, designers as needed depending on the project).
We provide all artists we present with an artist fee and book and pay for the venue, production team, lighting designers, and marketing. Where resources allow, we further assist independent artists and small dance companies by providing additional financial support for musical, dramaturgical, and design collaborators, as it can be difficult for artists to know where to begin when they have an idea they want to develop. Whether or not we can provide the additional financial resources, dance Immersion staff provides mentorship, advice, and connection to additional collaborators for artists who need it.
Is a Specific Style of Dance Curated?
While there are events by other organizations that are designed to showcase choreography and performances by Black artists, our focus is specifically on dance pieces that communicate a theme or story to audiences with original music or new arrangements of existing music. There is no specific type of story or theme that we are looking for, unless specified in a particular artist call. There is no specific style or form of dance required to participate. We present street dances, contemporary dances from across the African Diaspora, traditional dances of Africa and the Caribbean, tap, jazz, and more forms coming from the diaspora.
We work to help Black, African, and Caribbean artists breathe and speak in their own voices. To that end, you do not have to be speaking about “Blackness” or “Black Trauma” to participate in a dance Immersion presentation. In fact, most of the artists we present do not.
Selection Process: Our Curator determines the season’s theme using the information above and may either open a call for artists to apply to have their work seen on stage at a specific event, or choose artists directly based on dance pieces we have seen at other events and/or conversations we are having with artists who are developing work.
Sometimes an artist is not selected for reasons of fit or subjectivity. For example, when there are two or more similar strong works to choose from but one is considered a better fit for the event based on how it flows with other pieces selected. This does not reflect on the quality of your work. Other times, work is not selected because the choreographer or company:
- Did not supply a video sample that gave us enough information. A heavily edited video with quick cuts and music overlay does not show us the way you connect movement phrases and how your choreography relates to the music you selected.
- Creates a different type of work than those being selected for the particular opportunity. For example, you might have a very strong dance piece with excellent dancers that fits well within a competitive showcase but does not have a deeply researched theme or the length needed for this specific opportunity. That does not reflect on the quality of your work, it’s more about the fit for the specific opportunity and its format.
- Didn’t provide enough information for those selecting the works.
- Doesn’t have a work that’s quite ready when compared to others. For example, you may have an idea and may have started the work, while other applicants have work that’s more developed, allowing those selecting the works to see more of how it can fit into the event.
- Has not yet thought through their concept or theme and what they want to explore for a residency opportunity.
PRO TIP: If you see a call to artists and apply to it, or ask a curator to have your work presented, ensure you are familiar with the goals and focus of the group. Go see the shows they put on, and those put on by others. Dance artists who want to be on stage but do not go see performances produced by those putting artists on stage are missing a key element of their professional development. They are not learning what types of stories or themes other artists are creating, how artists are working with collaborators to tell their stories, what performance possibilities there are, and what the focus of the presenting organization is at that time. Frustration can grow if you are applying to be part of presentations that your work does not fit into, even if it is strong work.
There are many types of dance artists who work in a variety of different contexts: full-length storytelling, showcase performance, teaching and education, competition and battle, community development, preservation of dance forms and cultures, expanding dance forms into the future, and more. Sometimes dancers cross into more than one context. At dance Immersion, we do not believe any one of these contexts is superior to the others. We focus on filling the artistic presentation gap noted above that still exists for Black artists in Canada. Focus is required because we cannot do it all. Resources are very tight for all of us in dance.
CLOSING TIPS
- Keep going and growing. Keep studying, researching, and practicing even when you do not have a performance lined up. This doesn’t have to cost anything. You can practice with peers and online resources, research topics you are interested in at the library or online, trade days with other dancers to teach one another or choreograph on one another for practice, and more. Your favourite dancers and musicians constantly practice.
- Remember that choreographers need practice too. This can come in the form of trading with peers as mentioned above, saving funds to participate in workshops, residencies, and laboratories, choreographing on students, and more.
- Attend. If you would like to be presented by an organization who puts artists on stage, attend some of the shows they put on to understand the type of work they do and determine if the work they do is something you are truly interested in. Many Canadian presenters offer discounted artist, student, and rush (last-minute) tickets to performances, or keep their main ticket prices low for greater accessibility. dance Immersion offers a mix of these depending on the event.
- Reach out. While it can feel difficult to email or message strangers who seem to be in a position of authority, it is essential for a professional at times. It is not realistic to expect curators, programmers, and presenters to know about and reach out to the hundreds or artists in their area to find out what they are working on. You can use whatever means you are most comfortable with. dance Immersion staff returns calls, emails, and DMs from artists – even those we have never met. We also put out artist calls, attend numerous dance and cultural events of all kinds, and message artists we haven’t heard from in a while to keep reaching our on our end. If you do reach out, we can provide you with free advice on how to further your creative practice, connect with expert collaborators who might help further your art, and find other potential opportunities.
- Invest $25 CAD in THRIVE to gain over 7 hours of expert advice from Toronto-based dance professionals on how to develop your career.
- Decide what is important to you in your career and invest time, energy, thought, and funds into it. If it is teaching, continue to teach and to study. If it is choreographing, continue to do as above and research opportunities for learning and showcasing your work regularly. If it is performing, research opportunities to perform independently or with companies regularly, and keep in shape between jobs.
- Reinforce your self-worth by learning and accepting that you are worthy, that your voice matters, that your art matters. Presenters work hard year-round to raise money and partnerships to invest in the work of artists and to connect the work of artists with communities. dance Immersion is an artist-run organization. We have been there, and are there, and we keep going because we believe in the power of dance, just like you. We do not have enough resources to provide support for all of the wonderful artists out there, so not being selected is not a statement of your worth or value. Even if we cannot present your work now, perhaps we can later, or perhaps another presenter or company can.
Keep going!
Contact dance Immersion at:
416-203-0666
@danceimmersion on social
