Event | Community Programs
International Dance Day 2026
Join us to celebrate International Dance Day, with an outdoor Vogue workshop, a boundary‑pushing choreography walk, and studio showings of exciting new works in development.
Initiated in 1982 by UNESCO, International Dance Day is marked annually on April 29 with events across Canada and around the world. The date commemorates the birthday of Jean-Georges Noverre (1727-1810), regarded as the founder of modern ballet.
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We are also running Power of Dance workshops in partner schools across Vancouver, Burnaby, Richmond, and Coquitlam, engaging elementary and secondary students – as well as immigrant and refugee youth – in the transformative experience of dance.
Schedule of Events
Choreography Walk | Justine A. Chambers and Alana Gerecke with Lee Su-Feh, Simran Sachar and Jill Jarin
12 noon-1pm
Starting at The Dance Centre, 677 Davie St
The Choreography Walk invites the public to engage with the social choreographies of the everyday in a specially created guided walk through the neighbourhood. Participants will encounter unexpected choreographic happenings along the way. They will be prompted to consider their own bodies and how they move in relationship with other bodies and structures around them. This unique project decentralizes the choreographer and places emphasis on the gaze and somatic experience of the participant.
Concept by Justine A. Chambers; created in collaboration with Alana Gerecke, with choreography by Lee Su Feh, Simran Sachar and Jill Jarin.
Tickets: $30 | Very limited capacity | BUY TICKETS
Justine A. Chambers is an Associate Artist with The Dance Centre
Vogue Femme Workshop with Posh Gvasalia Basquiat | Vancouver Ballroom Arts
1-1.30pm
800 Robson Plaza (Vancouver Art Gallery south plaza)
Vancouver Ballroom Arts (formerly Van Vogue Jam) founder Ralph Escamillan, AKA Vancouver Legend and Founding Kiki Mother Posh Gvasalia/Canadian Mother Posh Basquiat, leads an introduction to elements of Vogue Femme. Participants are encouraged to wear comfortable clothing, pants that cover the knees, and sneakers or heeled boots. All welcome.
Free
Ralph Escamillan is an Associate Artist with The Dance Centre
Studio Showing | Reverence for the Rebels | soma anima arts
3-4pm
The Dance Centre, 677 Davie St
Reverence for the Rebels is an interdisciplinary dance research project choreographed by soma anima Artistic Director Rachel Helten, in collaboration with dance artists Alyssa Amarshi, Kelly McIness, and Carla Alcántara; musicians and composers Ben Helten and Kofi Obiri-Yeboah; digital artist Ezequiel Peralta; and poet Tawahum Bige.
It honours ancestral and contemporary rebels, souls who have resisted oppression, spoken truth to power, and inspired transformation. Through contemporary dance, spoken word, music, and digital projection, the work challenges conformity while revering the legacies of those who reckon with injustice. In this informal studio showing, the artists will share and discuss work in progress.
Free
Supported through The Dance Centre’s DanceLab interdisciplinary research program
MO 2026 Showing | Modus Operandi
4-5pm
The Dance Centre, 677 Davie St
This showing offers a sneak peek at excerpts from the upcoming year-end performances by the students of Modus Operandi – a unique contemporary dance training program renowned for nurturing some of Vancouver’s most exciting emerging artists.
Tickets: Sliding scale $0/$15/$25 BUY TICKETS
Studio Salon Series | Co.ERASGA
5-6pm
What Lab, 1814 Pandora St
Co.ERASGA’s Studio Salon Series features works in progress by Kay Huang, Simran Sachar and Helen Walkley.
Free | Limited capacity | BOOK TICKETS
Presented by Co.ERASGA
Exhibit | MY HOUSE: Vancouver Ballroom | FakeKnot
April 15-June 30
The Dance Centre, 677 Davie St – main lobby
Free
Leading up to the world premiere of FakeKnot’s new contemporary-Ballroom work MY HOUSE in June, and curated by Artistic Director Ralph Escamillan, this exhibit features costumes/effects, awards, and video archives, showcasing the last nine years of the Vancouver Ballroom Scene.
Photos: Chris Randle; Rachel Helten/You-Wei Chen; Choreography Walk/Yvonne Chew; Vancouver Ballroom Arts/joy quillinan; Modus Operandi/David Raymond
Power of Dance program partner schools
Vancouver: Bayview Elementary School, Eric Hamber Secondary School, Lord Roberts Elementary School
Burnaby: Burnaby Central Secondary School
Richmond: Quilchena Elementary School, SWIS program with various secondary schools in the Richmond School District
Coquitlam: SWIS program with various secondary schools in the Coquitlam School District
International Dance Day and the Power of Dance programs are presented with the support of:
Metro Vancouver’s Regional Cultural Projects Grants Program
The Government of Canada
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Sponsors and Partners
Presented with:
