ABOUT THE WIKIDATA IN DANCE PROJECT

The Canadian Dance Assembly (CDA), Canadian Alliance of Dance Artists - West Chapter (CADA-West), Dance Umbrella of Ontario (DUO), and Canadian Alliance of Dance Artists - East Chapter (CADA/East) are asking members, clients and affiliates to consent to this data project.

The Wikidata in Dance project is inspired by the Linked Digital Future Initiative (LDFI) which was a multi-year project led by the Canadian Association for the Performing Arts (CAPACOA). https://linkeddigitalfuture.ca/

WHAT IS WIKIDATA IN DANCE?

WHY ARE CDA, CADA-WEST, DUO AND CADA/EAST TAKING ON THIS PROJECT?

Currently, much of the information about the performing arts sector (including dancers, choreographers, and dance organizations) is not properly formatted to be found, read, and processed by search engines and other discovery technologies. As a result, it’s too often being ignored or underutilized. The Wikidata in Dance Project aims to make performing arts information findable to help build better connections in our sector – between arts workers and audiences – in the digital age.

This can be achieved by converting publicly available text information dispersed all over the web into data accessible for reuse in open databases such as Wikidata and the Artsdata knowledge graph. The CDA, CADA-West, DUO and CADA/East are working to interconnect member or client data with the Artsdata knowledge graph and Wikidata.


CADA/East is currently inviting professional members to give their consent – or not – to participating in this linked open data project by opting in or opting out by Friday, March 1st 2024.


If you consent to allow CADA/East to include your basic information, it will be added to Wikidata and the Artsdata knowledge graph so that dance artists can be more easily accessed online.

BENEFITS OF MAKING INFORMATION LINKED AND OPEN

There are many benefits to making your information linked and open by adding it to the Artsdata knowledge graph and Wikidata. 


Exercise ownership and control over what information and data circulate about you in the web of open data. We want you to be able to control what information about you is made available as open data. This can be achieved by your consenting to allow CADA/EAST to share your basic data. 


Make information about you and your work findable and accessible. Linked open data is like a jigsaw puzzle that self-assembles. When you allow your information to be published as linked open data, it can be automatically assembled with other open data about the productions that you created or the upcoming performance that you are performing in.

BENEFITS ASSOCIATED WITH THE REALITIES OF THE DIGITAL ECONOMY

When information about the performing arts is turned into linked open data, it can more easily be found and processed by applications such as search engines. This means people who look you up on a search engine (i.e., google) will receive more accurate and detailed results (also known as rich results), highlighting your latest work, and inviting users to check your streaming platform or social media accounts. 


This linked open data can be reused by other performing arts sector stakeholders. For example, it could be automatically populated into event listings to provide full production credits including your name and a link to your website. This is a great way to promote your work, your brand and any other information you want easily searchable.

WHAT KIND OF INFORMATION WILL WE RELEASE AS OPEN DATA?

The scope of Wikidata in Dance includes any information describing dance artists, dance professionals, or dance organizations as it relates to their professional activities. We will only release information of a public nature, such as one would expect to find in a public biography. No personal information – other than the first name and last name of dance professionals – will ever be released.

EXAMPLES OF TYPES OF INFORMATION TO BE PUBLISHED AS LINKED OPEN DATA

INDIVIDUAL MEMBERS:
First name, Last name 
Occupation (based on membership category)
Current work location (city, province)
Official website link (if applicable)
Links to external databases: Wikidata, Wikipedia

ORGANIZATION MEMBERS:
Company Name
Organization type (for example, dance company, performing arts organization, etc.)
Location (city, province)
Official website link

With your consent (see below), we will publish this information as linked open data under a Creative Commons CC0 License. CC0 is a “no rights reserved” license. This means the data can be read and used by anyone, for any purpose, including in event listings and performing arts archives.

WHAT WILL IT LOOK LIKE?

Here are examples of Wikidata entries that were created as a result of open data publications by other associations:

Canadian Dance Assembly

CAPACOA

RUBBERBANDance GROUP

Quebec Dance Association

Election Day in Tkaronto/Toronto is on June 26th 2023!

If you are unable to vote on this day, there are a few other options available:

1. Mail-In Ballot - If you have already applied to vote by mail, please remember that the return deadline for your completed mail-in voting packages is June 15, 2023 at 12pm. Click Here for more information on this process. 
   
   
2. Advance Vote - Between June 8 - June 13, 2023 from 10:00am - 7:00pm, you can vote at any of the 50 voting sites across the city.
   
   
   
   Are you eligible to vote? Find out HERE
   
   

Remember: On Election day, you will need to vote in person at your designated location between 10am and 8pm. If you need some guidance, use the MyVote app to get all of the information you need to make the voting process a breeze.

Prior to casting your vote, read up on all candidate's arts and culture platforms. You can link to some below:

Ana Bailão - Arts & Culture Plan
Chloe Brown - The 3C Policy
Olivia Chow - Real Progress Now
Mitzie Hunter - Five Point Plan
Josh Matlow - Culture, Creativity and Community

Toronto Arts Council - Toronto Arts Foundation (TAC-TAF) have put together a document outlining background and statistics on arts in the city. You can link to it HERE. CBC News put together a comparison of promises made by some of the candidates about key issues in the city, if interested, you can read about that HERE.

Finally, take a moment to check in with your colleagues and friends to see if they have made a plan to vote, and if not, consider making one together!

Happy International Dance Day!

This year, at CADA/East, we asked some of our board members to respond to the question: 

What did you love about dancing when you were a child, and what do you love about dancing now?

Here is a reflection from Neena Jayarajan:

As a child, I was less critical or concerned about my dancing, pre-full time career, pre-adult life responsibilities, pre-harsh learnings of the industry.  I simply got to dance for fun, to see my parents smile and wave back at me. 

Now, I'm the parent on stage, with a long shopping list of insecurities but also the privilege of giving my kids the opportunity to see their Mama dance.  I don't take that responsibility lightly, and I will strive to always make them proud.  The only critics that matter now are Sayjen (8) and Jayven (3), my two boys.

Here is a reflection from Eleanor van Veen:

As a hyper and active child, I think I have always loved being physical and learning new skills in dance. I often practiced at home or wherever I could take up space. I loved performing, and any opportunity to share my skills brought me pure joy! Today, I remain a goal-oriented dancer that loves being physical, learning new skills, taking up space in my movement, and connecting/sharing with people.

My love for dance is in the practice over the performance. I love improvising, training, sweating, and teaching. I love analyzing, questioning, refining, and naming physical qualities. I love being in spaces that allow me the freedom to be present, aware, and connected to a deeper part of myself and others.

To give myself confidence when performing, I often think about little Eleanor and how proud she would be of her future self.

International Dance Day is celebrated every year on the birthday of Jean-Georges Noverre's. Noverre, who is considered to be the creator of modern ballet, with many theories about pedagogy and performance that were considered revolutionary. If you want to read about Noverre's theories you can do so in Letters on Dancing and Ballet.

On this International Dance Day, we hope you will take some time to reflect on your earliest memories of and relationship to dance. What did you love about dance when you were a child, and what do you love about dancing now?

CADA/East board member, Eleanor van Veen is travelling to Kjipuktuk/Halifax this week to show a work in progress at Kinetic's Open Studio Series. Kinetic is an organization that provides a platform for both leading and new generation artists to share excerpts of in-progress and completed works (and learn more about their practices through performance).

We caught up with Eleanor to hear about the work in progress being shared, how she heard about Kinetic, and what the process of working with them has been like so far.

"I first heard about Kinetic's Open Studio Series when I participated in Festival of Dance Annapolis Royal's (FODAR) 2021 Artist Residency with Nostos Collectives and Naishi Wang in Annapolis Royal, NS.

For a couple of years I've been wanting to apply, but had not yet developed a choreographic practice. Now, after a year of a lot of solo studio time, I've refined a movement practice and shared it through my teaching. I'm still figuring out how to translate my movement practice into a choreographic practice.

My partner, Luke Gruntz, and I were selected for Woodland Farm's Artist Residency in 2022. In our month-long research we shared, collaborated between music and dance, felt deeply, and created a work titled "IN WITH". It was during this time that we applied for Kinetic's Open Studio Series Showing. I think the support of our residency and our unique collaboration strengthened the application. Over 6 months later, I'm re-visiting and re-learning this solo in a different body. I've adapted and changed the solo to honour my different body and different interests. 

The process of corresponding with Liliona and presenting at Kinetic's showing has been wonderful! We are extremely honoured and grateful for this opportunity - they are covering our flights, accommodations, and per diem. I think we are 1 out of 2 artist groups that are travelling from out-of-province. All others are local. They have been organized, transparent, thoughtful, and caring."


"IN WITH" is a work in progress that was created in collaboration between Eleanor and Luke during an artist residency at Woodland Farm on Salt Spring Island in September 2022. This piece explores inner-conflict; an encounter between inner voices and outer perceptions, explored through physical manipulations, rigorous movement, emotional states, flows, and interruptions.

Movement by Eleanor van Veen (IG @eleanorvanveen)
Music by  Luke Gruntz (IG @lukegruntz)

Click Here for more information on how you can see this and other works on Friday April 21 + Saturday April 22* at 8:00 p.m at DANSpace, 3rd Floor, 1800 Argyle Street (Kjipuktuk/Halifax). *ASL Interpretation & Livestream.