About the Open Call:

Toronto Dance Love-In invites d/Deaf and Hard of Hearing artists with a dedicated and established movement practice to apply to Collective Practice Project (CPP). A curated group of 4-5 artists will gather to participate both in-person and remotely. Working periods will occur from the end of October to mid December 2025, with a performance opportunity March 2026. Artists will engage in group discussions and embodied research without a defined end result. Individuals will share methods of creation, processes, values, and desires while expanding community connections. 

Collective Practice Project originated with the idea of sharing individual practices in a collective setting while receiving support from a dedicated facilitator. CPP represents the need for urgent, thematic, and funded residencies for local artists to share space. This iteration of CPP will be open to d/Deaf and Hard of Hearing movement artists. This program is co-facilitated by Juan Jaramillo & Cai Glover with program guests both local and from outside of Tsi Tkaronto. Ideally applicants are already living/located in the GTA as the CPP budget cannot support additional travel or accommodation fees.

Interested applicants would have a willingness to:

• Committing to attend 32 hours of engagement from end of October to mid December 2025

• Collaborating to collectively choose session time slots that best work for all

• Peer-to-peer engagement and self-led experience

• Participating collectively, working solo, in duos, and as a whole group

• Committing to 20 hours of independently engaged process within our Residency Program, in-studio booked by Love-In or remotely in a personal working space

• Communicating to any additional information that will support you to feel seen and held within a collaborative process

• Adhering to community guidelines, values, abolition policies, and conflict resolution terms as agreed on by the group

• Articulating access needs and desires, and engaging in conversation to imagine what ideal access would look like for yourself and your lived experience as a practicing artist

• Nurturing a process of questioning and reflecting as related to your creative process

• Potentially performing excerpts of your work/works in progress, and/or participating in a panel

• A desire for increased representation for yourself, your work, professional development, and relationship building

What can I expect from participating in Collective Practice Project?

• A self contained group of d/Deaf & Hard of Hearing movement artist-practitioners 

• Deaf-led program with mentorship, independent practice, and a supportive performance environment

• Autonomy and self determination within the proposed framework

• Working alongside/engaging with the Toronto Dance Love-In team

• Connecting with and learning from other d/Deaf & HoH movement artists

• Access to shared studio space in Tkaronto

• 20 dedicated residency hours to nurture independent work within CPP and beyond

• 1-1 mentorship hours & professional development with CPP facilitators

• Administrative support and guidance from Love-In’s team as desired who engage anti-oppression practices and disability justice frameworks

• A performance slot to share an excerpt of a work, or works-in-progress in March 2026 (exact dates to be determined)

• Scholarship to participate in all of Love-In’s programming in 2025/26

Time Commitment & Fee Breakdown

• Engaged artists will commit to 32 hours in session with the group throughout the working period of end of October 2025 to March 2026 and receive 20 self-directed residency hours at a rate of $35CAD per hour is paid for a total of 52 hours of participation

• All studio space is paid for by Toronto Dance Love-In

• Artists are invited to perform a 10-15 minute excerpt of a completed work or a work-in-progress, with paid rehearsal hours and a CADA (Canadian Alliance Of Dance Artists) standard performance fee of $655CAD

• Participate in our heartT.O.heart 90 minute panel program and be paid $150CAD for that engagement

• Receive an artist fee of up to $2625CAD depending on desired levels of engagement

Access Notes & Values Agreements
If emergent needs arise during the CPP, the Toronto Dance Love-In staff will act as dedicated listeners. In the case that any changes to access need to be made, in real time, they will be attended to within the reasonable means and resources of the organization. 

Access Notes
Love-In is committed to support the below outlined access guidelines:

• Providing meeting spaces that are equipped with ground level all genders, wheelchair accessible washrooms, and studios. Exact details will be provided to participants as locations are confirmed

• Auto-Captioning and Live Transcription by Zoom will be available at all of our remote sessions

• Discussing communications needs and to commit to those needs in any given space

• Acknowledging that access needs for some people are inaccessible to others; assuming people’s best intent

• Avoid using ableist language or working processes

• Avoid talking over each other. If we do interrupt, space will be given to course correct

• ASL interpreter best practices are being used when ASL interpreters are present

• Have breaks that are honoured, frequent, and at consistent times

• Send documents for review in advance of session where and when possible

• Acknowledging that the team leads (Love-In hosts and CPP Facilitators) are imperfect and also managing their access needs and boundaries to best ensure the success of the project and the group at large

Values Agreement
Toronto Dance Love-In strives to create equitable, inclusive environments in all of our programming. We celebrate the diverse intersections represented in our communities, artists and participants.  

We work to integrate anti-oppressive, liberatory practices into all levels of engagement. Love-In urges staff, facilitators, artists, and participants to unpack and consider their complicity in supremacy, coloniality, xenophobia, ableism, patriarchy, racism, cis-sexism, power, and capitalistic structures. 

Love-In is committed to our continual education, and to having a real impact on social justice and radical change. Our organization can be counted on to continuously elevate, engage, be accountable to, and take the lead from the voices of Black, Indigenous, People of Colour, Melanated, Trans, Deaf, and Disabled community members we collaborate with. By participating in this offering, you acknowledge this sentiment and agree to uphold these values and the environment created at Love-In. Discriminatory acts, language, gestures, behaviour, racism, transphobia, homophobia,  microaggressions, xenophobia, antisemitism, Islamophobia, ableism, audism, sexism, misogyny, and harassment of any form will not be tolerated.

Who can apply?
Toronto Dance Love-In is prioritizing applications from local emerging, mid-career, and established d/Deaf and Hard of Hearing artists with a movement-based and/or dance practice.

Location
Remote and in-person gatherings based on the cohorts availability.

Schedule
Flexible virtual and in-person team meetings determined by selected cohort artists on a weekly basis in November into December 2025.

Project Timeline
Call opens September 26, 2025
Call closes October 24, 2025
All applicants notified by week of October 28, 2025
Project onboarding/administrative tasks week of October 29, 2025
12 Cohort Meetings over November and early December
1 Closing Meeting towards end of December
Optional performance opportunity March 2026
Project commences March 2026

Application and Selection Process
All applications will be reviewed by Love-In’s Artistic Directors/Lovers and CPP program facilitators.

How to learn more about the project
Toronto Dance Love-In Co-Artistic Directors Lauren Runions & Leelee Oluwatoyosi Eko Davis, are available for 1-1 information sessions via zoom in 15-30 minute time slots, at your request. You can contact them at info@tolovein.com.

Application Prompts
Toronto Dance Love-In acknowledges that we are a predominantly non-Deaf team and as an active allyship we want to create space for Deaf artists to engage in dance context. We also acknowledge that the written language is the first language and that ASL is, and if possible we ask applicants to apply to their best ability in the written form in this application. No one will be penalized for grammar, spelling mistakes.

Please provide a video response (max 5 minutes) in it share:

• Your name, and pronouns if desired

• Tell us about your movement practice 

• What are your current interests?

• What topics are interesting/emergent for you, right now?

In the form you will be asked to provide:
Name
Email
Bio
Headshot/Image
2 page CV
Availability
Link to video response

To apply, please fill out THIS FORM.

Once completed, send a follow-up email with your CV, headshot and video response (if needed) to info@tolovein.com with the subject “CPP Application - FULL NAME”

Applications are due October 24, 2025 at 11:59pm ET

If any part of our call raises questions or concerns for you, please don’t hesitate to get in touch. We are committed to providing support and fulfilling access requests as needed. We have provided a google form for uploading applications, and are happy to accept applications in a variety of formats, including written applications. If you require an alternative method for your submission, please contact our team at info@tolovein.com.