Accessibility
Photo credit: Jess Sung A photo of 12 dancers in a gymnasium gathered in a circle, dancing around a person in the middle. One dancer is in their motorized wheelchair and another is standing beside their walker. Everyone is reaching their arms up into the air. The photo is full of their energy. On the wall above the dancers is an artwork made by an Indigenous artist in black and red of two salmon jumping over a sun design in the middle and the word: Helákasla.
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All Bodies Dance Project celebrates and uplifts all bodies and their access needs. We're committed to being as accessible as possible to the most people, and welcome your feedback, questions or concerns. If you have a specific access request, please contact us and we will do our best to meet it.
Physical Accessibility
All our classes are offered in wheelchair accessible buildings, including washrooms.
We welcome seated and standing dancers, and anyone who uses a mobility device.
ASL Interpretation
ASL interpretation is available upon request for our classes, and we welcome d/Deaf and hard of hearing persons.
Interpreters generally book 2 to 3 weeks in advance, so please give us lots of notice. We will also try and find an interpreter for you at the last minute, but cannot guarantee one will be available in that case.
If you wish to communicate with an ASL user, simply speak to them as you typically would, and the interpreter will step in. We ask that people try and speak one at a time (and not over top of one another) to make the interpreter’s job easier.
Trans Inclusive Washrooms
Whenever possible we choose locations that offer "gender diverse people welcome" signage on their bathroom doors, and/or single stall bathrooms. Trans inclusive bathrooms are confirmed at Trout Lake and Roundhouse Community Centres.
Pronouns
In the opening circle of each class, we invite everyone to state their name and their pronouns. Common pronouns are she/her, he/him, and they/them. Some people may want to be referred to only by their name. No one will be required to provide pronouns.
We ask that participants in All Bodies Dance Project classes try not to assume anyone’s gender pronoun, and use gender neutral language whenever possible.
Scent-Reduction
Every ABDP class, performance and event is intentionally scent-reduced. Many of our dancers, choreographers, audiences, and workers have chemical sensitivities/MCS, so please come to ABDP classes and events scent-free.
Scents include but are not limited to things like: cologne, perfume, hair spray, deodorant, dryer sheets, scented laundry detergent, fabric softener, cigarette smoke, freshly painted nails (please do them at least 24 hours before the show), essential oils, things marked with "fragrance" and "natural fragrance," and so on. If you come scented, you may be asked to leave for others' safety.
Consider this: Every scent that is added to a space contributes to what’s known as chemical load. People with disabilities / disabled people can have lowered immunity which makes us more susceptible to the negative effects of the chemical load caused by scents, especially when circulating through the space and exerting ourselves with dancing. If you come scented, you may be asked to leave for others' safety.
Thank you so much for helping make this a more accessible creative space!
If you'd like more information, here's some info to get you started:
Fragrance Free Femme of Colour Genius
by Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha
How to be Fully Scent/Fragrance Free
by Peggy Munson
Myths and Facts about Chemical Sensitivities
COVID-19 Precautions
While we are not able to mandate masks at public facilities, we do ask that people who are able to wear masks during class please do so. We want to help stop the spread of Covid-19, and we want to help keep each other and our communities safe.
