The RQD: A Tightly Woven Community

At the Regroupement québécois de la danse, each member participates in building a strong community, united and welded by a common passion : dance.

Today, the RQD launched its Membership Campaign for 2022-2023.

Enrich your professional network, exchange with your peers.
Participate in the development of the sector.
Nourish our actions with the plurality of your profiles.
Refer to the RQD, the number one source of information.
Wherever you are in Qc, the RQD represents you with public authorities.

The advantages of being a member:

Expand your network
Benefit from financial support and save money
Develop your skills
Get more visibility
Be informed and represented

Join the RQD today to benefit from these advantages!

A successful first immersion in the world of Wikidata

The RQD completes the first phase of its partnership with the Canadian Association for the Performing Arts (CAPACOA). The RQD member directory data is now collected and visible in the Wikidata database. 600 Wikidata records have been created and each RQD member has a Wikidata ID. This first step represents a significant step for the dance community and contributes to the creation of an ecosystem of linked and structured data. By participating in this project, the RQD participates in the promotion and valorization of Quebec dance and increases its presence on the web.

A quick reminder: what is Wikidata?

Wikidata is a powerful tool to increase your visibility and that of dance on the Web. It allows your cultural content to stand out in search engines using metadata.

Wikidata workshops: a successful immersion

To learn how to use Wikidata and contribute to this database, 8 tutorial workshops were held from December 2021 to April 2022. Animated by Simon Villeneuve and Miguel Tremblay, experts of the Wikimedia universe, these workshops allowed participants from the performing arts to discover the universe of this database. During these monthly meetings, participants had the opportunity to create their profile on Wikidata and to take their first step as a user and contributor of the database. The participants from the dance world were able to discover the basics of Wikidata and understand the different functionalities. This immersion in the world of Wikidata is promising.

Two new Wikidata events in preparation

Starting in September 2022, the RQD will offer two new Wikidata events during which members will have the opportunity to improve their Wikidata records. We count on your participation! The recordings of the eight workshops (in French and English) are also available on the CAPACOA website. Start your immersion by discovering the basics of Wikidata.

The main benefits of integrating dance data into Wikidata:

Promote RQD member artists and organizations on search engines;
Increase the effectiveness, relevance and reach of dance content searched for on the web by the general public;
Provide a sustainable way to be visible and findable on the web;
respond to the trend of one-click search;
feed the artificial intelligence (web robots) that organize the results of search engines and voice assistants.

For any questions related to the project, please contact our digital cultural development officer, Aurélie Lauret.

Meeting with Dance Ireland

In order to expand our partnerships and members’ networks, the RQD is initiating meetings with dance organizations around the world. As a first meeting, the RQD met with Dance Ireland, the professional dance organization in Ireland, which works with the same issues and opportunities as our community. Both organizations work tirelessly to put dance artists and organizations first, understanding their needs and promoting an environment that allows them to reach their full potential.

We have shared our methods in training, consultation and advocacy. Dance Ireland has a team like RQD’s and is constantly working, as we are, to advance the professional dance sector. With the help of Dance Ireland, Ireland has launched a pilot project for a Guaranteed Income for artists and the RQD is keeping a close eye on this project to advocate for the same in Quebec. The new project aims to support the arts and creative practice by paying artists and arts workers 325 euros per week. The main objective of this program is to address the financial instability faced by many arts workers.

In the future, Dance Ireland aims to prioritize advocacy for dance artists, develop connections by building and strengthening relationships with its members, guide dance artists as they progress through their careers, and ensure a sustainable arts and cultural sector for future generations of artists. With similar plans, the RQD applauds the hard work of Dance Ireland and wishes them all the best, hoping to cross paths one day soon to continue working to promote the wonderful art of dance, which knows no boundaries.

RQD represents dance at CAM’s cultural real estate funding conference

On May 18, at the Atrium of the Maison du Conseil des arts de Montréal, the RQD represented dance before a panel of representatives of the city of Montreal at a conference on the financing of cultural real estate projects of the Conseil des arts de Montréal (CAM).

The purpose of the event was to benefit from the sharing of experiences of actors of different profiles who have set up such projects, the challenges they have faced and the levers inherent to these approaches, but also from the funders of cultural capital.

During the panel, the RQD advocated for a tool to be created by the city of Montreal that would make available to our community vacant spaces in the city that our artists and companies could use until they are rented. The city was interested in the idea and invited us to meetings to follow the discussion.

On the same day, CAM launched its brand new guide entitled Financing a Cultural Real Estate Project: A Guide for the Montreal Arts Community, (French only), which aims to respond to the needs of the arts community based on the Council’s consultations. The guide is intended for cultural real estate project holders: cultural organizations, artists’ collectives, technical resource groups, and any other organization wishing to develop this type of project in Montreal.

Emergency Funds for Artists and Cultural Workers

On May 2, at the National Summit on Culture in Ottawa, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and the Minister of Canadian Heritage, Pablo Rodriguez, announced nearly $10.7 million in funding to the Fondation des artistes to support artists and cultural workers in need of financial assistance. This assistance will provide direct financial support to workers in the live performance sector across Quebec.

As the Foundation selects the applicants who will receive this support, the RQD has scheduled a meeting next week to ensure that the Foundation’s assessment process is equitable across disciplines and marginalized communities. The RQD also wants to ensure that the selection process is more transparent and that the funds are accessible to all artists and workers who may not be able to apply as quickly or efficiently as those who are accustomed to applying.

The RQD has already met twice with Canadian Heritage to express its concerns and priorities and has asked Canadian Heritage to follow up with the Foundation on this issue. The RQD will continue to pursue its mission of inclusion, integration and valorization of the dance community in Quebec.

A Look Back at International Dance Day 2022

On April 29th, the Regroupement québécois de la danse (RQD) and the dance community gathered at the Atrium of Les Grands Ballets Canadiens to celebrate International Dance Day 2022. After two years of online-only gatherings, the atmosphere was filled with joy and hope, especially after the Québec message was relayed.

This year, the RQD invited Luca “Lazylegz” Patuelli to share the Québec message, which was unveiled that evening during a video projection and shared on the RQD’s social networks. In this video directed by Kayla Jeanson, Luca delivers a unifying speech paying tribute to dance, “this art that resides in each of us, from the simplest expression of movement to more complex choreography”. He celebrates its many facets: “dance as a universal activity, dance as self-expression, and dance as a vehicle for change”.

For the first time, the RQD held a Facebook Live to allow guests to meet with the artist, who was in Norway at the time. Luca was on hand to answer questions and participate in the festivities.

The RQD also recognized its long-standing members with a gift basket full of treats to thank them for their continued involvement.

Launch of our vast campaign to promote dance in Québec

The Regroupement québécois de la danse is pleased to announce that it will be launching the inclusive project Ici, on danse: A Campaign to Promote Professional Dance that will run for almost a year and will cover the entire province of Québec, all levels of the sector’s ecosystem, and all types of dance.

“The Regroupement québécois de la danse and the dance sector are very pleased to be able to count on the support of the Ministère de la Culture et des Communications for this major revival project. This campaign to promote dance in Québec will not only encourage the public to consume more dance and integrate it into their daily lives, but will also involve dance artists and organizations throughout the province, thereby contributing to the sector’s employability and increased revenue.”-Nadine Medawar, Executive Director of the Regroupement québécois de la danse.

> Read the press release from the Ministère de la Culture et des Communications.