When I began this project, one of my first challenges was to define dance animation. As a starting point, I referred to Deborah Meyers' report, Animating Dance in Communities, presented at the login:dance/se conference during the 2000 Canada Dance Festival. Animation is defined as being "about developing new relationships between dance artists and diverse members of a community, and animateurs are people who make this happen." (2) But just as Meyers did during her own research, I found the term slippery and elusive, with many meanings for different people, and no clear consensus around its definition. As Ken Bartlett, Director of the UK's Foundation for Community Dance once said to me, "I'm really not bothered by what it's called, so long as it happens!"

Previous research and conversations with artists and programmers confirmed that the many models and approaches to dance animation were equally valid. The use of one rather than another depends on a project's goals, its setting or target group. The experiential nature of some animation projects distinguishes them. An informative pre-show chat in a theatre lobby or detailed program note is also part of the animateur's repertoire, and just as appropriate for presenting new perspectives and facilitating a deeper understanding of the art form. While we might focus on the benefits that animation projects offer to participants or audiences, it is also critical to appreciate their intrinsic value to artists for discovering new pathways into creativity.

The stories have been organized under four broad themes that are based on previous research documented in the login:dance/se report, as well as a structure introduced in Deborah Meyers' report. They are: animation for social change and community development; animation as fuel for creativity; animation as a tool to build and develop audiences; and animation that promotes inclusion and diversity. The themes are meant to provide some contextualization without being overly restrictive. They may not be truly reflective of the complex nature of dance animation. In essence, the themes relate to the influence that animation has on artists, participants, and the communities in which they take place.

Animation for Social Change and Community Development
The diversity of participants in some dance animation projects can often represent a microcosm of the wider community. Active involvement stimulates social contact and encourages participation in wider community activities. It can lead to the development of supportive networks. These projects can also offer neutral and safe spaces where issues can be explored. Experiences in these contexts can positively impact on a person's confidence and self-esteem, enhance organisational skills, and encourage self-determination. Dance animation projects can offer new perspectives for dealing with community issues, leading to common understanding and co-operation.

Animation as Fuel for Creativity
For both artists and participants, animation can serve as fuel for creativity. Participants are encouraged to discover and express their capacity for creativity in a non-competitive and supportive environment. Artists are challenged to take artistic risks, and benefit from the experience of having to extend their ideas and methodology to accommodate new or different working environments. For artists, these situations can blur the distinction between community work and that done for concert or stage presentations, exposing a dynamic tension between animation/creation. Many artists committed to working in community or educational contexts see this work as an integral element of their artistic practice. The art form continues to evolve when engaging with community because access and artistic excellence are not mutually exclusive; neither is innovation the sole purview of the professional milieu.

Animation as a Tool to Build and Develop Audiences
Through either active participation or other kinds of engagement, animation activities can promote dance literacy and increase the public's appreciation of the art form. Pre-show or post-performance chats and lecture-demonstrations can offer insights into the creative process and dance's relationship to other art forms, encouraging an intellectual comprehension. Artists' statements and critical notes, which are specifically designed to increase access, can reduce the intimidation factor of contemporary dance or provide a cultural context for considering an unfamiliar form or genre. Participatory workshops connect a person on an intuitive level to appreciate the dancers' skills and abilities or what is involved in creating a piece of choreography. Participants in community dance projects know this, because they have experienced it.

Animation that Promotes Inclusion and Diversity
Promoting inclusiveness and diversity can be another hallmark of animation. It can extend opportunities and accessibility to dance experiences, pushing the boundaries of where dance can take place and who can do it. Animation can encourage interaction between generations and cultures, promoting an understanding and appreciation of difference. It can point to democratic ideals, giving equal value to the roles of artists and participants, opening a dialogue between them and inviting input regarding content, process and evaluation of a project. Animation work based on culturally diverse dance practice can act as a tool for cross-cultural education. What is more, culturally diverse dance draws attention to how the arts can be integrated into society and the position of dance artists as influential community leaders and role models.

I began this project in early 2003, soon after I returned from the UK, where I had worked as a dance officer with the Arts Council of England. Anne Valois at the Dance Section of the Canada Council for the Arts asked me to continue the research carried out by Deborah Meyers on Canadian dance animation practice and follow up on her report.

My research involved seeking out dance animation projects, observing and making personal connections with the artists, participants and producers, and conducting interviews. These interviews were conducted between August 2003 and July 2004.

In documenting and retelling the personal narratives, I felt an unease with the responsibility entrusted to me. As Katherine Borland points out in her essay, "'That's Not What I Said': Interpretative Conflict in Oral Narrative Research", "...our aims in pointing out certain features, or in making connections between the narrative and larger cultural formations, may at times differ from the original narrator's intentions. This is where issues of our responsibility to our living sources become the most acute." I have been conscious of this and believe that the resulting stories represent a respectful process of collaboration amongst many parties, while capturing the integrity of the original conversations.

Why use stories to describe dance animation? Storytelling is a tradition that is inherent in all cultures. Its power rests in its ability to create empathy and build relationships among storytellers and their audiences within a common narrative of experience and potential understanding. The "snapshot" approach to the stories captures a moment in time, in a way echoing the ephemeral nature of dance.

The stories will be posted on the Web site of the Society for Canadian Dance Studies. This partner site is designed as a virtual place for additional stories to be told and shared. The dance community can contribute to this site and participate in its virtual forum for dialogue. The site will exploit the Internet's ability to create community, pulling activity from the margins into the centre, developing this field of practice, and reinforcing the existing network of dance animation practitioners.

Just as any truly worthy endeavour should be, this project has been about discovery and learning. During the few years I was out of the country, much progress had been made in the field of dance animation. I was surprised by what I didn't know but quickly began to appreciate the range and extent of animation work happening across Canada.

Borland, Katherine, "'That's Not What I Said': Interpretative Conflict in Oral Narrative Research", in Gluck, Sherna Berger and Daphne Patai, 1991, Women's Words: The Feminist Practice of Oral History. London: Routledge, pp. 63 to 75.

Carpenter, Evelyn, The Arts and Inclusion. London: London Arts Board, 1999

Matarosso, Francois, Use or Ornament? The Social Impact of Participation in the Arts. London: Comedia, 1997

Meyers, Deborah, Animating Dance in Communities. Ottawa: The Canada Council for the Arts, 2000

Pacific, Robin C., Initiatives in Cultural Democracy. Toronto: The Laidlaw Foundation, 1999