Propeller Dance
P.O. Box 67115 Westboro, 421 Richmond Road K2A 0G2 Ottawa, ON, Canada

As an organization we are heartbroken and enraged by the senseless recent deaths of Regis Korchinski-Paquet, George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, and too many others. In light of the current instances of anti-black racist violence, we would like to communicate our support of Black Lives Matter, and towards all who are suffering from anti-Black racism. Propeller Dance is an organization that is rooted in inclusion and equality, and this stands true in the face of the c...ontinued painful inequities within the Canadian landscape. Propeller Dance wholeheartedly and unreservedly stands with the Black community now, and moving forward. In a racist society, it is not enough to be non-racist, we must be anti-racist - Angela Davis Here is what we commit to doing, or continuing to do, at Propeller Dance: - Work towards representation on all levels of the organization to ensure our team is diverse. - Acknowledge Canada’s part in this; anti-Black racism and other forms of oppression against Indigenous, and people of colour exist in Canada. - Work to better our understanding, and help dismantle the intersectional barriers at play for disabled Black folks and people of colour. - Share helpful resources for action, such as: https://blacklivesmatters.carrd.co/ , AfroBizworld.com , ByBlacks.com We acknowledge that racism affects many other communities in devastating ways. We commit to understanding and bettering our position as it relates to all forms of inequity. In solidarity with Black communities today and every day, Propeller Dance Co-Directors, Board, staff, and Company #blacklivesmatter

The winter season of recreational classes (January to March 2021) are now available for registration. Note that classes will remain online until at least April 2021. While digital, the classes are available to students from outside of the city, and our out-of-city student numbers are rising. If you know of budding dancers beyond Ottawa, who would be interested in participating, please do share the class information with them. Details on the Propeller website here: propellerda...nce.com/classes/ [Image Description: A graphic including six photographs of folks of a variety of ages wearing Propeller T-shirts and dancing. The photographs are arranged to look like the grid of a Zoom video conference. Text reads: "Propeller Dance digital classes for children, youth and adults, winter 2021. Inclusive, fun and interactive! Sign up now at propellerdance.com/classes".]

Throwback to 2012! This clip is a little different than the others. Rather than showcasing the performance company, this video features students from Propeller's recreational program performing a choreography by Shara Weaver. The piece is called Pulse and was presented among others in a show called Attitude. If you enjoy this trip down memory lane, check out the Retrospective Evening of Past Recreational Productions as a part of Community Week 2020. [Video Description: A large group of dancers perform on stage. Three of them in the back hold their arms open with fabric wings. Two dancers hold a long white sheet across the stage at knee hight. In front of the sheet. Eight dancers sit on the stage and sway and spin.]

Propeller Dance is pleased to announce that closed captioning will be available for all Community Week 2020 events. All recorded videos will come complete with a CC option, and live events will have volunteer generated CC available through Zoom. If you require any additional accessibility support for these events, please email [email protected] by November 27. [Image description: A simple graphic of two white letter C's inside of a black rectangle with rounded edges.]

BEING Studio is running an online pop-up shop until December 13. Watch this video for an explanation of the project by some of the studio's artists (including company dancer, Jessie Huggett).

Throwback to 2014. This clip is from a choreography on the Propeller performance company by Frank Hull. It is called Moves and Shape Shifts and was created thanks to Propeller's emerging choreographer's program. This was presented alongside the very first iteration of Spasticus by Elizabeth Winkelaar and Behind the Mask by Moni Hoffman (which will be screened as a part of Community Week 2020). Our 2020-21 season will feature new creations by Emerging Choreographers with Disab...ility. This pioneer program is funded by the RBC Foundation, and in partnership with the Ottawa Dance Directive / Centre de danse contemporaine, Club Saw and the Great Canadian Theatre Company. [Video Description: Two dancers in the foreground, and five in the background are on stage. All are dressed in black. One of the dancers in front spins on a stool with wheels and the other spins in her power wheelchair.]

Join Propeller Dance as we celebrate our dance community and International Day of Persons with Disability with a week of online events including: -Company repertoire screening & talk-back -A retrospective film of recreational productions -"Intertwined" digital creation presentation & talk-back... -Glitter Ball Dance Party Suggested: $10 per event, $30 for full access Facebook event link: Community Week 2020 Eventbrite event link: https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/community-week-2020-tickets-126 Photo by Andrew Balfour [Image Description: A graphic in black and purple. The main image is a photograph of a group of 10 dancers surrounding one seated dancer in an outdoor setting. A green line winds its way across the image. Green and white text reads: "Community Week 2020 Dec 1-7 propellerdance Ottawa Danbe Foundation.]