UPCOMING WORKSHOPS

Leading up to HYDRA 2023, we’ll be hosting two workshops: One with Jill Glatt and Emberly Doherty to create a community art piece, and another with Norah Greatrix who will lead community in a somatic sound ceremony to create a song for the waters, which will be performed on June 16th and 17th as part of HYDRA. We’ll also be a part of the activities at the Marine Museum in June – stay tuned for details.

Save the dates:

Song for the Waters with Embodied Sacred Space – May 27, 3:30 pm (rain date May 28) – Newlands Pavilion

Led by Norah Greatrix, Embodied Sacred Space with Eartha and Mariah Horner

Come sing to the waters together and explore the magic of our body and its interconnectedness with the natural world.

Join us in sacred circle to explore how connecting with water can be a powerful step towards positive change, leading to a spiritual and environmental shift on our planet. We invite you to be part of the creative process of developing a water song to be performed live at HYDRA: The Spirit of Water.

The workshop will open with a short Somatic Movement Ritual led by somatic therapist Norah Greatrix. Norah will guide a group movement meditation that uses sound, movement, and breath to deepen your connection to your freedom, joy, and the spirit of water. There are many water songs from different cultures, and they all have deep meaning and beauty. In this workshop, participants will have an opportunity to reflect on their relationship with water and explore, through movement, meditation, sound, and song, ways to connect with this sacred element and Mother Nature’s greatest gift.

We will close the circle with an Algonquin Water Song that carries the vision of millions of women around the world singing to the Waters together. Created for the 2002 Circle of All Nations Gathering by Algonquin elders Irene Wawatie Jerome (Anishinaabe/Cree) and supported by Grandfather William Commanda, Grandmother Louise Wawatie, and Grandmother Nancy Andry in hopes that it would be shared globally to raise our connection and awareness of the water and how we interact with it daily. Elders are asking women to join them for one minute a day to sing the water Participants will learn the words to the song together; the song has been designed to be easy to learn and not take long to sing.

Drum, sing, breathe, or hold sacred space for this women’s water song that translates as ‘the Water that I carry is the blood of Mother Earth.’ Leave feeling rejuvenated, more attuned to your body, and open to new possibilities for inhabiting your body. Dress in comfortable, non-restrictive clothing, bring water, and a yoga mat or rug to create your sacred space in the circle.

Performing at HYDRA: The Spirit of Water is not a requirement for workshop participation. This sacred circle is open to all ages, including children who are accompanied by an adult and are open to participating from a place of love.

This event is free, but registration in advance is required due to a limited number of available spaces.

Book your space at: songforthewaters.eventbrite.ca

Enquiries please email: connect@embodiedsacredspace.com

Facilitators, Collaborators and Bios:

Indigo Dyeing with Jill Glatt – June 3, 1-4pm, at McBurney (Skeleton) Park

Join artists Jill Glatt and Emberly Doherty in exploring the ancient tradition of clay resist painting , after the Rajhastani ‘dabu’ style of dyeing with indigo. Participants will learn how to use prepared clay paste to paint on textiles, and integrate these prepared textiles into the indigo dyeing process. Using their patterned and dyed fabrics, participants will explore the basics of weaving. They will take home the beginnings of a unique piece of art and have the opportunity to add to a collaborative art installation to be used in Hydra: the Spirit of Water at the Kingston Mills Locks on June 16 and 17 at 7 pm.

Calliope with Swim Drink Fish – June 10 at Marine Museum

More details coming soon!

PAST WORKSHOPS

BACK TO LIFE – PERFORMANCE WORKSHOP, VOICE OF THE POEM

Location: Tett Centre for Creativity and Learning, 370 King St. W, Kingston, ON
Tickets: By donation on-site if you feel compelled to do so – free for community collaborative art project

Please reserve your seat as space is limited. Your donation can be $0 – we do not turn anyone away for lack of funds! Our final session in the Back to Life Poetry Project is a Spoken Word, Performance Workshop on May 7 at 1 pm in the Theatre Kingston space at the Tett Centre for Creativity and Learning. Award-winning Poet, Writer, and Dancer, Abena Beloved Green returns as Calliope Collective continues an exploration of healing through the pandemic by connecting to nature and expressing it with the Spoken Word.

The previous workshops focused on writing for the spoken word with an introduction to the performance. In this class, Abena will expand on the performance element process for the first half, and the second will be open to recording those who would like to be part of the audio aspect of the project.

Free for any participants who attended the first two installments, sliding scale for those who are just joining us. All levels of experience and performing disciplines are welcome! Many thanks to the City of Kingston Arts Fund and Kingston Arts Council, Ontario Arts Council, Canada Council for the Arts and Canadian Heritage for supporting Calliope’s celebrations in Kingston ON.

PUPPETRY: GIANT LANTERNS/PUPPET HEADS

Location: Tett Centre for Creativity and Learning, 370 King St. W, Kingston, ON
Tickets: By donation, materials fee – free for community collaborative art project

Our Puppetry Workshop Series continues with the creation of GIANT lantern puppet heads! We’re excited to take the theories from the large scale lantern making and apply it to puppetry! In this workshop, you will have opportunity to work on the piece with facilitator Krista Dalby (Dept. of Illumination, Picton), learning structural methods, preferred materials, and more while contributing to a collective creation!

PAPER LANTERNS

Location: Tett Centre for Creativity and Learning, 370 King St. W, Kingston, ON
Tickets: $10-$25 per person pwyc sliding scale

Calliope Collective is giving you a chance to make your very own paper and bamboo lantern to bring to The Longest Night – A Midwinter Celebration Event at Doug Fluhrer Park in the evening of Saturday, December 18th in celebration of the #WinterSolstice! We will provide the materials & instruction. You bring your friends, family, and creativity! No experience required, and all ages are welcome, although children under 10 will require assistance and we suggest buying a lantern making kit in order to be able to take your time at home.

FLOW ARTS: POI, STAFF & FANS

Location: Tett Centre for Creativity and Learning
Tickets: $15-25 per person (pwyc sliding scale to help cover cost of venue rental)

We are so thrilled to have NorthFIRE Circus coming to Kingston for a workshop on Sunday, December 12. Our Midwinter Celebration continues with the opportunity to learn a variety of tools with focus on hoop and poi, and preparing to spin fire! Flow Arts include a variety of harmonized skill-based techniques with creative expression to achieve a state of present-moment awareness known as Flow. New props and expressions are emerging all the time as flow artists cross-pollinate with martial arts, yoga, circus, belly dance, and beyond. This workshop — our third in the series — will continue exploring poi techniques and will focus on hooping instruction from world renowned performer Isabella Hoops (Kingstonians may have experience her busking in past years as Kiki the Clown!) Explore the basics, or enhance skills you already have! There may be opportunities for some fire following the workshop if the wind is kind outside – but only for experienced spinners.

TELLING STORIES WITH MOVEMENT

Location: The Isabel Bader Centre for the Performing Arts, 390 King St. W, Kingston, ON

Study movement and workshop choreo for Calliope’s Midwinter Celebration with the formidable Kay Kenney (Movement Market/Kingston School of Dance)! In this workshop series you will learn the elements of contemporary dance and create a choreography under Kay’s direction which will then be rehearsed and performed during The Longest Night – A Midwinter Celebration Event on Friday, Dec. 20, 2019! The first workshop on Thursday, Dec. 5 at 6:30pm-8:30pm is open to the public. You are not obligated to participate in The Longest Night – A Midwinter Celebration Event with Calliope if you attend the first workshop only. However, if you would like a role in The Longest Night, then just come to the following rehearsal-style workshops — commitment is just three weeks!

About the facilitator:

Originally from Kingston, Kay Kenney is a graduate of the The School of Dance’s Professional Contemporary Dance Programme in Ottawa. Professionally Kay has performed work for Caroline Barrière, Cathy Kyle-Fenton, Sylvie Desrosiers/Dorsale Danse, Melanie Dermers/Mayday Danse and Peggy Baker Dance Projects. She has been a company member of Ottawa Dance Directive for the past seven seasons, collaborating with artists such as Tedd Robinson, Chick Snipper, Andrew Turner, Mélanie Dermers, Harold Rhéaume, Jocelyn Todd/Lawless Dance Co, Jesse Stewart and artistic director Yvonne Coutts. Kenney has also been a company dancer for Social Growl Dance(Toronto) for the past 6 years and she is the rehearsal director for the company. Catch Kay and her dance happenings around Kingston and the area by following Movement Market, a group of dance artists coming together through classes, workshops, performances and more!!!

THEATRE & IMPROV FOR FAMILIES

Location: Rideau Heights Community Centre, 85 MacCauley St., Kingston, ON
Cost: FREE

Specializing in theatre arts based learning with an emphasis on collaboration and creative play for all ages and abilities, artist-educator and Calliope member Emberly Doherty will explore self-expression, group improv and how to inspire ourselves and those around us with this workshop aimed at releasing that which no longer serves us, in order to make room for the returning light that comes with the Winter Solstice. This workshop isn’t just for youth and kids – big kids are also welcome if you want to make it a family affair!

About the facilitator:

An actor and teaching artist, Emberly Doherty spent more than ten years in Toronto activating community-based creativity projects. She has performed and taught with such companies as The Canadian Stage Company, ShakespeareWorks, and Project Humanity, and with InForma Theatre, is the co-creator of the theatre and creative play program for pre- and school-aged children called ImagineIF. Emberly’s family agreed to go on an adventure to Kingston for her to earn her Artist in Community Education, Bachelor of Education degree from Queen’s University. Once they got here, there was no turning back! She’s worked with the Tett Centre, The Limestone Players, The Juvenis Festival, ALCDSB, the Limestone DSB, and is Calliope’s newest member.

ALL THINGS PUPPETS

Location: The Isabel Bader Centre for the Performing Arts, 390 King St. W, Kingston, ON
Tickets: $35 per person.

Calliope Collective is proud to bring you a 3-part puppetry workshop facilitated by Aleks Bragoszewska of Birdbone Theatre and Krista Dalby of Small Pond Arts. The first part of this puppetry workshop will focus on the animation of large-scale pageantry puppetry – how to move in, and in relation to, wearable puppets. The second will be an exploration of shadow puppetry – how to create and operate the puppets to achieve desired effects. The day will conclude with participants workshopping a scene, which will combine the two disciplines, to be used on Friday, Dec. 20 during The Longest Night – A Midwinter Celebration Event.

MARBLING & CYMATICS: AUDIOVISUAL INTERFACING WORKSHOP

Location: Tett Centre for Creativity and Learning, 370 King St. West, Kingston, ON.
Tickets: $35 per person. $25 students* (see note below).

VERSA will be sharing the techniques that they use in their live performance to create live audio-responsive visuals that react to music. Learn about their method of harnessing sound using cymatics – the physical vibrations/manifestation of sound. Using liquid and ink you’ll also learn about paper marbling techniques to create your very own one-of-a-kind prints generating using sound.

This workshop will combine ancient printmaking techniques with a modern twist for making interactive art. We’ll try to create some great papers for our lantern making workshop during this time, but you are encouraged to play around to make your own creation. Admissionto the live VERSA performance at Stone City Ales later in the evening is complimentary with registration to this workshop.

FLOW ARTS: POI, STAFF & FANS

Location: The Isabel Bader Centre for the Performing Arts, 390 King St. W, Kingston, ON. Venue may change.
Tickets: $15 per person. FREE for those performing in The Longest Night. Register now!

Calliope presents a Flow Workshop with IlluminAir Entertainment on Sunday, December 15. Our Midwinter Celebration continues with the opportunity to learn a variety of tools (Poi, Staff & Fans) which can later be incorporated into fire spinning.

IlluminAir Entertainment is a team of professional multi-disciplinary performing artists based out of Toronto. They have been featured on local and international stages, performing for corporate functions, private parties, festivals, and cabarets. Their unique and memorable spectacle specializes in original and customizable fire and aerial performances.

Flow Arts include a variety of harmonized skill-based techniques with creative expression to achieve a state of present-moment awareness known as Flow. New props and expressions are emerging all the time as flow artists cross-pollinate with martial arts, yoga, circus, belly dance, and beyond. This workshop — our second in what we hope will become a series — will focus on poi, staff, and fans if there is interest! Explore the basics, or enhance skills you already have! There may be opportunities for some fire following the workshop – but only for experienced spinners – SORRY!

BAMBOO & PAPER LANTERNS

Location: Tett Centre for Creativity and Learning, 370 King St. W, Kingston, ON
Tickets: $15 per person.

No experience required, and all ages are welcome, although children under 10 will require assistance. We will provide the materials & instruction. You bring your friends, family, and creativity! It’s a good idea to allow yourself an hour for a basic design and the duration of the evening for more complex creations! We would like to thank the Tett Centre for its support of Calliope’s Midwinter Celebration. Please note that these workshops serve as a fundraiser for the main event, which provides paid performance fees to its professional artists.

MIDSUMMER 2019 WORKSHOPS
June 1 – Choreography/Dance Workshop (performers) – Isabel Bader Centre
June 4 – Movement/Acro Workshop : People Stacking – Isabel Bader Centre
June 8 – Mask Making – 12 Cat, NGB Building Cataraqui Street (not accessible however mask kits will be made available to take home)
June 12 – Creating headpieces – TBA
June 19 – Wearable Art Workshop at Minotaur Gifts and Games