Toronto Dance Collective Off Course Footing Uses Public Spaces in the City to Their Advantage
Music by Toronto artist:
”Wait” by Roosevelth
https://SoundCloud.com/roosevelth
““If they’re interested, they can watch. If they’re not interested, they can keep going.””
Born out of a desire to promote artistic practices and make art accessible, Off Course Footing is a Toronto-based dance collective creating and performing work in public spaces in the city. Founded by Dawson Lloyd, Sadie Segriff, and Barbara Simms - all students of Ryerson University’s Performance Dance Program - Off Course Footing was started this summer with the idea that you can perform and create anywhere.
Fitting with the collective’s foundation, we sat down with Sadie and Barbara in Toronto’s Grange Park to learn more about how this initiative began. Using free, outdoor spaces in the community was not only a practical decision for Off Course Footing, it being often challenging and costly finding rehearsal space in the city, but also a creative one. Living in such a a culturally and artistically rich city, you’re constantly surrounded by movement and action. There’s so much always happening, and in this, one can draw inspiration, says Off Course Footing founders.
When discussing the collective, the idea of accessibility kept coming up. Dancing in outdoor spaces makes creation and inspiration not only accessible to the artist, but of course also accessible to the public. There is a sense of inclusion and freedom found in public art; it invites people wandering by, who normally wouldn’t seek out a dance show, to stop and watch. As Barbara says, “If they’re interested, they can watch. If they’re not interested, they can keep going”.
How does the relationship between artist and audience then change? It opens up the creative process to the audience, allowing the process to become somewhat of a product as it is performed and viewed. Dancing in a space with no boundaries, compared to a conventional stage with wings, also forces Off Course Footing members to consider how their works will be viewed from all angles. This new environment challenges them to not perform to a ‘front audience’, but to an all-encompassing 360° view.
As Off Course Footing grows, their hope is to become more of a multi faceted operation. Their goal is to work with artists of other disciplines in the city, from musicians and actors, to learn from their creative processes and enrich their own. Off Course Footing is devoted to taking advantage of the spaces and talent already here in Toronto, while at the same time shifting our notion of what a performance space is.
Catch Off Course Footing at Trinity Bellwood’s Park August 27th-September 1st at 5 PM for their Park Dances and follow them on Instagram to stay up to date on where in the park they’ll be performing!