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About CanAsian Dance
CanAsian Dance strives to create a supportive and inclusive environment that centres, amplifies and celebrates the creativity of Asian diasporic dance artists by facilitating dialogue and cultural exchange, nurturing creativity, diversity and community solidarity.
We centre the Asian diaspora dance community. The Asian diaspora encompasses the whole continent of Asia, including South, East, Southeast, West, and Central Asian countries, as well as the surrounding Pacific Islands.
Our work remains centred on dance, with four pillars of development:
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Programming that supports artists, builds community and strengthens ties between different dance forms practiced within Asian diasporic dance communities.
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Creating programming and presentation contexts that foster criticality and knowledge-sharing, and recenter the dance sector to a more representative one.
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Developing reciprocal relationships with organizations (within and outside of Ontario) that share our curiosities and values in amplifying Asian diasporic dance activity.
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Public programming that focuses on audience and community development to continue developing diverse conversations and familiarization with and appreciation of artists of the Asian diaspora and their work and processes.
CanAsian Dance is situated in Tkaronto, a Mohawk word meaning “the place in the water where the trees are standing.” It is the traditional territory of many nations including the Mississaugas of the Credit, the Anishinaabeg, the Chippewa, the Haudenosaunee, and the Wendat peoples, and it continues to be the home to many diverse First Nations, Inuit, and Métis peoples. This land is covered by Treaty 13 signed with the Mississaugas of the Credit, and the Williams Treaties signed with multiple Mississauga and Chippewa bands. We also acknowledge that this land is under the Dish with One Spoon covenant, an agreement between the Anishinaabeg and the Haudenosaunee Confederacy. This land is a dish to be shared and cared for and we all share one spoon; the spoon is to be used to take only what is needed and to leave enough for others, thus ensuring a viable and abundant future. We recognize the enduring resilience of Indigenous peoples and we acknowledge that we are accountable to these relationships and these agreements.Today, Tkaronto is home to many peoples: Indigenous, settlers, immigrants, and newcomers. We acknowledge and pay respects to our ancestors of Asian origin and descent, who have been systemically devalued and exploited in the history of this land. We also acknowledge those who came to Canada forcibly, particularly as a result of the TransAtlantic Slave trade and accordingly, we honour and pay tribute to ancestors of African origin and descent.
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