Join writer ma̱lidi / məlidi / Mercedes Webb for an online writing workshop in which we will speculate on what a dance may be. ma̱lidi will ask guiding questions, with the hope that a written form of dance may be conceived outside of the confines of Western thought, and ableist and formalist understandings of dance. What seemingly mundane functions, both micro and macro, can dance encompass? What does dancing look like in resistance to colonial borders? What dances happen unseen inside and on our individual bodies, between microbiomes? What does dancing look like when living with chronic pain? Or in our minds? Can ideas dance? And what occurs when bodies meet?

This workshop is for all writers and dancers. No “formal” experience is needed. If this call resonates with you, please send an expression of interest of no more than 250 words to nosingledancer@gmail.com. Places are limited, and preference will be given to BIPOC and people who identify as disabled. Please include accessibility needs where applicable in your expression of interest. The workshop is formatted to include breaks throughout.

This workshop is part of the project No Single Dancer curated by Jasmine Hynes, a candidate for the MA in Critical and Curatorial Studies at the University of British Columbia. The project responds to a performance event, Dances for Everybody, presented by Deborah Hay and the Box 80 Theatre Society at Western Front in 1974. No Single Dancer features work by Justine A. Chambers, Anna Firth, and Mercedes Webb.

The project is presented with support from the Killy Foundation and the Audain Endowment for Curatorial Studies through the Department of Art History, Visual Art and Theory in collaboration with the Morris and Helen Belkin Art Gallery at the University of British Columbia.

Artist Biography

ma̱lidi / məlidi / Mercedes Webb (they/she) is a writer of mixed ancestry, including Haida (Kunn Janaas) and Kwakwa̱ka̱ʼwakw (Mama̱liliḵa̱la), living as a guest on Treaty 7 territory. Their writing aims to inform readers and generate interest in the ways art and writing are intrinsically intertwined with the social contexts we are living through and how that informs the futures we may create. Webb’s vocals were included on the vinyl record within the monograph Rita McKeough: Works (2018), and they were the recipient of the 2019 Canadian Art Writing Prize. They hold a BA in Art History and Communications with Distinction from the University of Calgary. Currently they are learning two of their ancestral languages, Kwak̓wala and X̱aad Kil.