"Fourteen years ago, when I first moved to Portland, I created DanceWatch out of frustration because I couldn't easily find information on dance performances or dance events happening in the Portland area. The ads I did see were from larger companies with big budgets, who could afford them; this replicated a hierarchy and visibility issue that permeated the dance world, which I was sick of, and didn't think was fair."
"For me, democracy in dance means creating spaces that are truly accessible, inclusive, and equitable, inviting all bodies and identities, embracing dancers of every background and experience level, and treating people with respect and integrity. It means ensuring that resources, training, and visibility are distributed fairly and that opportunities are open to everyone, regardless of age, ability, background, economic status, or social connections."
DanceWatch began to address the difficulty in finding local dance information and the disproportionate visibility given to larger, well-funded companies. Democracy in dance is defined as creating accessible, inclusive, and equitable spaces that invite all bodies and identities, embrace diverse backgrounds and experience levels, and treat people with respect and integrity. It requires fair distribution of resources, training, and visibility, open opportunities regardless of age, ability, background, economic status, or social connections, and practices of collective creation, shared authorship, empathy, dialogue, social consciousness, and freedom of expression. Transparent decision-making and community input shape programming, and diversity of styles and heritage is honored alongside innovation.
Read at Oregon ArtsWatch * Arts & Culture News
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