The Welcome Project : Sharing Stories is produced by Dreamwalker Dance Company and Guelph Dance in collaboration with Ontario Culture Days.
The Welcome Project : Sharing Stories, brings together individuals from diverse populations to participate in an empowering creative process through movement — awakening bodies, hearts, voices, imaginations, and perceptions — to co-create deeply personal stories while promoting mental health and wellbeing, social inclusion and positive inter-group communication. The Sharing Stories edition of The Welcome Project takes place in a virtual setting to inspire individuals from already isolated populations to meet, connect, and experience inclusivity, creativity and self-expression during a time when other arts based activities have been suspended and physical distance must be upheld.
The Sharing Stories video collection is a glimpse into each individual’s practice within the experienced-based movement and memory process that connects to the theme of “home.”
STELLA
MANU
CHENISE
MERYEM
JORDAN
NAISHI
ABIGAIL
JAIR
BEE
ARIA
SHANNON
GABRIELA
CLAIRE
KINNERY
NEELMA
AKRAM
NATALIA
SANDRA
TAHEREH
CLASSIC ROOTS
AURA
ALI
MASOUMEH
SABA
Facilitators: Meryem Alaoui, Aria Evans, Shannon Kitchings, Claire Tacon
Ambassadors: Jaqueline Dubon, Manuel Garcia, Maria Gabriela Gómez, Stella Lim, Chenise Mitchell, Foufou Nazer, Naishi Wang, Abigail Whitney
Participants: Ali Abdel Ali, Jair Calva, Aura Carcueva, Natalia Garcia, Donat Ghebretensae, Jordan Isaac, Akram Koshesh, Tahereh Mirbabaei, Cynthia Mora, Sandra Olaya, Neelma Siddiqui, Bee Lee Soh, Kinnery Thompson, Priyamvada Tiwari, Masoumeh Zamanipoor, Saba Zhian
Project partners: Ontario Culture Days, City of Toronto, Newcomer Office, Guelph Youth Dance Training Program, Immigrant Services Guelph-Wellington, KidsAbility
Project funders: Canada Council for the Arts, Ontario Arts Council, Toronto Arts Council
Project Instigator: Andrea Nann
Project Manager: Annie Katsura Rollins
Mixed Abilities Consultant: Michelle Silagy
Indigenous Liaison: Phil Davis
Researcher: Danielle Denichaud
Dreamwalker General Manager: Adina Herling
Dreamwalker Social Media Manager: Hayley Goldenberg
Guelph Dance Outreach and Development Manager: Leslie Fisher
About Dreamwalker Dance Company
Incorporated in 2005 Dreamwalker Dance Company is a charitable non-profit organization that facilitates the creation, production, and sharing of art that explores and interprets the human experience so that artists and audiences alike can connect, awaken and be empowered. Their projects and activities strengthen connections between culturally diverse and multigenerational artists and audiences, with artistic excellence at the core of our practices, activities, and repertoire. Dreamwalker Dance Company fosters and celebrates inclusivity and is a bridge between how we live and how we feel.