COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT
Karen Jamieson Dance has long been deeply engaged in dance collaborations with communities and community groups, with a long history of creating and producing work that engages in dialogue with First Nations, Asian and European artists and cultural practitioners. Her work in this art form is nationally recognized as ground-breaking.
Work in the arena of community engaged dance began in 1990 with a commission from the National Gallery of Canada to create a site-specific work that led to the creation of Passage, concerned with the spirit of place. Passage augured a major shift in the focus of Karen’s work.
Writing on Karen Jamieson Dance & COMMUNITY ENGAGEment
Choreographing Community - Vancouver's community engaged dance momentum - by Brittany Duggan for The Dance Current
Dance for Every Body: Engaging communities and making Vancouver move - by Hilary Maxwell for Dance International
Leading from Beside - Community Engaged Art in Recreation - by Cyndy Chwelos and Marie Lopes April 2016
Karen & Margaret Grenier @ Tracks May 2015 - Tracks: 7th Canadian Community Play and Arts Symposium
A History of Community Engaged and Cross Cultural Work at KJD
For a more in-depth discussion of the history of community engaged and cross cultural dance at KJD click here, or, navigate to the individual works below to read about the various site-specific and community-engaged pieces and programs that KJD has undertaken over the years and into
The Skidegate Project (2002 – 2005)
Percy Gladstone Memorial Dance – (2005)
The Carnegie/Firehall Community Project, Stand Your Ground – (2005 – 2008)
Dance in Vancouver's Downtown Eastside:
An ongoing program of dance in Vancouver's Downtown Eastside that started as The Carnegie/Firehall Community Project and the creation of Stand Your Ground and Stand Your Ground II. The community dancers have developed into The Carnegie Dance Troupe.
Procession of Performing Circles
Techno Carnegie
Listen,
CONNECT (In-Progress)
CONNECT
HERE (Showing)
HERE (In-Progress)
Metamorphose - (2016)
Recollect (2018) - Work in Progress (2017-2018)
Recollect (2019) - Work in Progress (2019-2020)
Community as Mentor (2022) - Unnamed Showing
Grounded in Community: Carrying it Forward (2023) - Unnamed Showing