Our commitment to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion requires ongoing learning and work. We are committed to equitable processes and respectful relationships as we engage artists and stakeholders and be as inclusive as possible in our programming and initiatives. We aspire to work with international artists of all backgrounds in a respectful environment and to celebrate Indigenous artists, who are the original people of this land.
It is part of our mandate to create and share dance to a broad inclusive audience. We strive to support and represent the diversity of dance practitioners, cognizant of the fact that many did not, and do not, have support, platforms, or recognition for their practices. We strive to work with artists who are Indigenous, Black, Racialized, Living with Disabilities, Seniors over 65 and those who identify as one or more of the identities with in the 2SLGBTQQIA+ community. We are committed to working actively towards a future of reconciliation and social justice.
Inverso is committed to integrating the following principles in our work:
Diversity, a principle of respecting the differences between all people, valuing the lived experience of minoritized people and fostering a plurality of perspectives and voices in life and in dance. We acknowledge that many people have and continue to experience systemic discrimination in Canada. We will take purposeful steps to create equal opportunities for those who are Indigenous, Black, People of Colour, 2SLGBTQQIA+, Nonbinary, Gender Non-conforming, Deaf, and Living with Disabilities.
Equity, a principle and a process of ensuring that all can participate meaningfully in our work and our programming. Conscious that not all people have or experience comparable access to resources and opportunities, we will adapt processes and adopt appropriate practices and tools to do our best to ensure that individuals with different requirements have equal access to opportunities and programming. In this, we also recognize socio-economic disadvantage and the role it plays in creating barriers to opportunities for many artists and communities.
Inclusion, a principle of welcoming everyone to participate in our programming by adapting our behaviours, communication, and environment to create a respectful space to fully embrace diversity. In order to achieve inclusion, we recognize different world views, behaviours, customs, and ways of interacting. We are committed to building our individual and collective cultural competencies and creating avenues for authentic engagement. We acknowledge that inclusion requires honouring different perspectives and addressing power imbalances in order to foster a sense of belonging.
These are some of Inverso's initiatives:
Collaborations: We are developing collaborations with artists and partners, to reflect the diverse community of dance artists involving cross-platform conversations between interdisciplinary practitioners.
OPEN workshops (Digital and In-Person): Our programming is committed to presenting the work of a diverse and inclusive range of dance artists locally and internationally that expands upon the traditional canon of contemporary dance. Some guest artists have included award-winning Indigenous artist Margaret Grenier, and BIPOC artists: Khoudia Toure (Senagalese house dance artist), Clyde Emmanuel Archer (setting the work of Sharon Eyal) and Jermaine Spivey of Kidd Pivot. We recognize that it is essential that dance artists of all backgrounds see themselves reflected in our programming. In planning our workshops, we are committed to highlighting and sharing the work of diverse guest artists that are open to the community
Scholarships and Accessibility We strive for accessible rates and have offered many BIPOC scholarships to artists from marginalized communities who wish to participate in our workshops and classes.
In our quarterly newslettersand on our social media platforms, we share our work, highlight the diverse artists we are working with and acknowledge the changing the conversation around dance and art making. We are committed to using language that is respectful and we aspire to be as inclusive as possible (for instance, by using genderneutral terms).
Governance and Personnel: Inverso Productions is committed to placing Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion at the centre of our practices concerning personnel and governance.
We believe that Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion must be lived, day to day, in our interactions with each other and in the community. We are dedicated to working toward being a a safe and inclusive organization that is barrier-free.