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Join the Canadian Dance Assembly today and make sure your voice is heard! REPORT ON : the Canadian Dance Assembly’s member networking meetings, annual general meeting and 2006 conference [r]evolution: designing strategies for developing an art form by Shannon Litzenberger This past June, the Canadian dance community converged at the National Arts Centre in Ottawa for the celebrated Canada Dance Festival. Attendees were offered a plethora of inspiring dance performances, discussion forums, networking meetings, receptions, workshops and conferences held as part of and surrounding the festival. Nestled within the flurry of activities were the Canadian Dance Assembly’s second annual AGM, member networking meetings, and conference entitled [r]evolution: designing strategies for developing an art form. AGM documents are now available as one complete PDF package. The AGM PDF package includes updated membership lists, reports from the President, Management & Treasurer, financial statements for 2005 and 2006, and reports from the advocacy, governance and nominating committees. Also available are the 2006 AGM Minutes. At this time, these minutes are only available in English. While it took some clever time management skills for delegates to
negotiate attendance between the many concurrent events, there was
certainly no shortage of energy or dialogue from CDA conference
participants, who remained motivated and engaged by the
thought-provoking sessions that unfolded over the four days. The CDA events began with two days of Standing Council networking
meetings when members discussed issues around International Dance Day,
best practices in arts management, contract negotiations, touring dance,
reciprocal programming initiatives and the contribution of dance writers
to audience development, among others. The CDA conference itself opened with an engaging session hosted by
Keith Kelly and James Missen of the Canadian Conference of the Arts (CCA).
Kelly and Missen provided an overview of the current political climate,
including a look at the newly proposed Federal Accountability Act and
its effect on arts advocacy and lobbying. Delegates also engaged in
a general discussion
about advocacy, based on the overview outlined in the CCA’s ‘An
Advocacy Primer’, available on their website at
www.ccarts.ca. Kelly
reinforced that “A clear message is so important. Keep these three
things in mind: simplicity, tenacity and consistency…never start by
talking about your needs, talk about what you can offer”. Following the Advocacy workshop, Jocelyn Harvey moderated a funding panel during which representatives from the Canada Council for the Arts, the Department of Canadian Heritage, le Conseil des Arts et des Lettres du Québec, and the Ontario Arts Council addressed and discussed prepared questions about how policies and programs are developed and reviewed in their respective agencies. All funders explained how their policies reflect a corporate or strategic plan, based on government priorities, though stated a focused interest in the development of the art form, or in the case of the Department of Canadian Heritage, in supporting the environment where artists work and contribute to Canadian society. Funders also expressed the importance they place on maintaining strong relationships and open lines of communication with members of the communities they support. Anne Valois of the Canada Council encouraged the community to be openly consultative. “To affect change, let your voice be heard, you can approach the Canada Council”. With conference delegates better informed about advocacy and arts policy, day two of the conference created opportunities for critical discussion in order to develop strategies related to four broad issues, including: investing in quality dance-making, engaging media and the public, examining funding assessment criteria, and developing a vision for the future. In Session A - Raising the Barre: Investing in quality dance-making, Kathy Casey and Jim Smith led a discussion around the needs of artists and companies in the creation of quality work. A summary of their discussion was presented as three key areas for consideration. The first being the need for SPACE: to develop work and to host residencies for choreographic exploration. The second was the need for MENTORS and COLLABORATORS: to foster artistic exchange, to provide choreographic training and career development. Lastly was the need for TIME: to better research and develop ideas for new work, to test work in development, to take risks and to allow for critical discourse to evolve. Session B: Creating a
Canadian Dance Culture: Engaging Media and the Public, Barbara Clausen facilitated breakout Session C: Funding Strategies: Assessing the Assessment which was attended by the funding panelists from the previous day, along with other funders who were present at the conference. This session allowed participants to gather more detailed information, ask specific questions, and most importantly, continue the dialogue that keeps both funders and the community informed and connected. In the final Session D: Looking ahead: A vision for the future, Jane Marsland led participants through a series of questions that provoked discussion about our future direction as a community and as an art form. While specific strategies were not developed, the exercise of establishing a shared vision for dance was a valuable undertaking, which fostered a sense of common purpose for the group. The following statement was drafted after participants explored a more comprehensive vision:
A small committee has volunteered to distil this statement further as a kind of motto for the dance community moving forward.
Harvey – June 8, 2006 (Ottawa, ON) As I’ve been listening to the conversations you have had as a national community of dance professionals over the last few days, I’ve been reminded of a remarkable proverb, originally Chinese, I believe, that says: Vision without action is a daydream - That saying reminds us that idealism is essential but leads nowhere unless it is grounded in practical plans; and, even more important, that action is dangerous unless it is guided by a clear and dedicated purpose. Not only over the last few days, but also over the last year or more, what you have been doing as a dance community through CDA is building both a national vision and an action plan for the future. What has impressed me is the degree to which this historically fragile and sometimes fractious community is working together collaboratively for a better shared future for dance in Canada. This is obvious in the thoughtful and well-documented manifesto that CDA and the Regroupement québécois de la danse jointly prepared for the Canada Council. This work is hugely important for the future of dance in this country and I hope there will be other manifestations of it in the future. It was also obvious in the way in which this conference opened – with Shannon Litzenberger [CDA Manager of Operations], on behalf of the CDA, inviting member and sister organizations like CADA, DTRC, the CanDance network, regional dance service organizations, the Endangered Dance group working on legacy and preservation issues, and other activist groups to speak about their initiatives and achievements over the past year. This is all part of what Gerard Roxburgh [CDA National Council member] referred to as “internal” advocacy but successful internal advocacy is crucially necessary if we are to be effective as “external” advocates – because those decision-makers you want to reach, whether they are politicians, government officials, arts councils, media representatives or private sector leaders – want to know what a united dance community believes and needs. They want to hear a shared and committed vision and action plan. They are only confused if they hear from a single voice, a single company, or a single type of dance, especially if that single voice is in competition with the rest of the dance sector. Public policy can’t be made on the basis of single points of view… it must reflect broader community values. That is why the integrated presentations of this morning – a kind of “network of networks” approach that galvanizes the resources of the community, informing parts of the community about the work of others, and providing a platform for united and effective action, is so essential. I think that other national arts service organizations could learn from this approach and more directly involve their regional counterparts and other colleague-organizations in their work. The role of CDA is to provide a national voice for all the components of the dance community, in the mutual service of a stronger and healthier dance sector in Canada. In doing so, it needs your support, and it needs you to go back to your own communities and encourage the participation of all the dance professionals you know in this organization. For the organization, it means continuing to take part, representing the voice of dance, in national advocacy efforts such as those of the CCA and the Canadian Arts Coalition. It means, as Keith [Kelly] and James [Missen] of the CCA suggested, continuing to make dance’s voice heard with clear, simple, consistent and tenacious messages. The point they made about the enormous benefits of dance to the public of all ages was especially heartening – over a million Canadian adults take dance classes or perform in their communities; the number of children and young people in dance is probably equally large if not larger. These experiences are happening daily in thousands of Canadian communities, large and small. These are success stories – make them known! It was also highly commendable for CDA to bring together some of the leading dance funding bodies in Canada and to ask them such penetrating questions. I encourage CDA to follow-up with each of the funders, bringing the outcomes of this conference to their attention, particularly as they concern the vision for dance’s future. I was also very impressed by the funders, who each gave you a great deal of honest information about the way in which they work and the constraints under which they sometimes operate. It is also clear that the arts councils rely to a great extent on input and advice from the dance community, which can take several forms. I think you should make use of their need and desire to hear from CDA and ensure that you inform them about the needs of the community. For those of you in Ontario, don’t forget Myles [Warrens’] comment that as the OAC dance officer he has not yet been visited by a service organization! Again, congratulations on how far CDA has come in such a brief period of time. Let’s give special thanks to Shannon and the CDA National Council, including Richard Stoker, the outgoing president, and Jim Smith, the incoming president. Thanks also to conference presenters and facilitators, to the CDA staff including Judy Harquail, Ellen Busby and Sion Irwin-Childs, and to the many volunteers and members for their invaluable assistance and support over the last few days. It’s been an honour and a pleasure to be with you!
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