Training Society of Vancouver

Who are we

We are a not-for profit organization providing professional and pre-professional dance technique training to the TSV community of dancers, movers, performers and folks with physical practices. TSV was created and is organized by a team of dance artists who make up the board and are volunteer administrators. TSV’s programming takes place on the traditional, ancestral and unceded Coast Salish territory of the Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish), and Səl̓ílwətaʔ/Selilwitulh (Tsleil-Waututh) and xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam) Nations, known as Vancouver, BC.

*Our class offerings are held at the professional level at the discretion of individual instructors. Please don’t hesitate to reach out to trainingsocietyofvancouver@gmail.com, to inquire if the class level is right for you.

What we do

In partnership with The Dance Centre, TSV offers morning dance technique classes, taught by local and visiting dance artists with teaching practices. We program our instructors in the spirit of celebrating the diverse and often hybrid practices of our instructors who are working in contemporary "of the now" dance forms. We provide an opportunity for dancing artists to maintain their practice AND diversify their training.

What we stand for / mandate

We use a broad definition of the term contemporary and as a board are in conversation together to unsettle the notion of “contemporary” dance equalling western contemporary/neo-classical dance forms. One of our board members had the offering of "contemporary practices, equal contemporary techniques", so it is with this that we embrace a definition of the techniques shared through TSV as contemporary techniques reflecting the contemporary practices/forms/ideologies/approaches of each individual instructor. We honour and acknowledge all of the lineages and embodied knowledge, shared and passed on to our instructors and shared with our community.

It has always been at the core of our organization’s motivation, to provide affordable, low-barrier pricing for our classes. We do everything we can to foster a space where people feel safe and welcomed. We work to grow with the ever growing ecology of our local dance community and have our practices and class offerings grounded in dynamic exchange of embodied knowledge. We are working together as a board to develop equity, diversity and accessibility practices to create a space where folks can show up, learn new skills, fail, be challenged and have fun moving together in time and space!

Teachers

TSV welcomes inquiries from experienced teachers interested in teaching professional-level classes. Our programming is generally booked several months in advance, so we encourage prospective teachers to get in touch with us well before the dates they’re interested in teaching.

Contact us HERE
Fill out this teacher application form HERE

The Training Society of Vancouver is a charitable, not-for-profit organization:

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

From left to right (top): Antonio Jr. Somera, Rachel Helten, Kaia Shukin, Hana Rutka, Danielle Mackenzie Long
From left to right (bottom): Carla Alcántara, Kaili Che, Kayla De Vos, Rachel Maddock, Samantha Krystal

Interested in becoming involved with TSV? Drop us a Line!