Matriarchs Uprising: Caregiver and Child Workshop with Olivia C. Davies
About this Event
As part of Matriarchs Uprising, a three-day festival of contemporary Indigenous women’s dance presented by Dance Victoria in partnership with O.Dela Arts, Olivia C. Davies invites participants into a playful caregiver-and-child dance workshop exploring four of the Seven Sacred Teachings of the Anishinaabe people.
Through movement and imagination, participants will discover the animal totems connected to the teachings: Eagle (Love), Bear (Courage), Wolf (Humility), and Turtle (Truth).
Together, caregivers and children will soar like eagles, roar like bears, howl like wolves, and move with the steady wisdom of the turtle, bringing each teaching to life through creative movement and storytelling. The workshop will conclude with a collaborative dance-story created together, connecting bodies, minds, hearts, and spirits to the teachings in a joyful and meaningful way.
This workshop is designed for young children and their caregiver(s), and caregivers can participate alongside their child(ren). Capacity is limited to 20 total participants, including both children and adults.
Workshop Details
Class level: No dance experience required. All levels welcome.
Arrival time: Please arrive by 9:45 am for check-in.
Location: Dance Victoria Studios, Milne Studio - 111-2750 Quadra Street (1st floor)
Attire: Comfortable clothing you can move in. Barefoot is best!
Accessibility
Venue Information
Dance Victoria Studios has two gendered washrooms and one wheelchair accessible, gender-neutral washroom.
Parking & Transit
There are two free parking lots: one in front of Dance Victoria's main entrance and one beside the side entrance in the upper parking lot. Some of the BC transit bus routes that run near Dance Victoria are: #6 along Quadra St, #4 along Hillside Ave, and others along Douglas St.
About Olivia C. Davies
Olivia C. Davies creates and collaborates across multiple platforms including choreography, creative writing, film, improvisation, and sound design. Davies’ body of work explores the emotional and political relationships between people and places, often investigating the body’s dynamic ability to transmit narrative, seeking to traverse boundaries and challenge social prejudice by conveying concepts and impressions that open different ways to experience the world. Her work has been presented in BC, Alberta, Ontario, Quebec and broadcast online since 2011. After attending York University’s dance program, Davies built her early career in Toronto before transplanting to Vancouver where she mentored under Michelle Olson, Starr Muranko, and Margaret Grenier, and founded her company, O.Dela Arts, in 2018.
Davies is the Managing Artistic Director of O.Dela Arts, and creator and curator of Matriarchs Uprising, a platform she started in 2019 to centre Indigenous women nurturing the art of Contemporary Dance.
Recent choreographic works by Davies include Maamawi: Together Through the Fire, a virtual reality immersive experience and live performance retelling the Anishinaabe 7 Fires Prophecy through the lens of Indigenous Futurism, created in collaboration with Peppers Ghost New Media Collective; Where You Go, a duet on love, loss and the afterlife and created in collaboration with the vocal ensemble Musica Intima; and Straight, No Chaser, Davies’ first full-length solo set to premiere September 2026 that recounts the choreographer’s memories of home and the lessons passed down to her by her mother. Davies honours her mixed Anishinaabe, French-Canadian, Finnish and Welsh heritage. She is the mother of Daisy and Aurora May.
Dance Victoria’s presentation of Matriarchs Uprising is generously funded by TD Bank Group through the TD Ready Commitment.
Consider making a charitable donation. Your gift ensures that we can continue to offer meaningful support to independent dance artists, including community workshops. Donate here.
Photo Credit: Olivia C. Davies by Miguel Fernandez
Where is it happening?
Event Location & Nearby Stays:
CAD 0.00
