Ysabelle Vautour hopes to spread her passion for swing dancing during this week’s residency with the Fredericton Arts Alliance.
Fredericton Arts Alliance
Ysabelle Vautour wants to bring the dance community together through swing dancing, after two years of pandemic restrictions.
In her art residency for the Fredericton Arts Alliance, Aug. 22–28, Vautour plans to paint swing dancers in mixed media. She wants to illustrate on a 3 by 4-foot canvas the community and emotions that this art can make her feel.
“I love swing dance; there’s something special when two people connect and move together in sync as one,” she said. “It’s so fun and playful that you can immediately understand why they call it swing.”
Vautour joined the group Harm to Harmony to find ways to make her artistic practice more accessible and sustainable. She enjoys telling her own story and constructing her own ways of working as a person with a disability.
“Art can be a great space to talk about topics that do not seem to fit anywhere else,” she said.
“I love having a platform to discuss issues like ableism, or the prejudice of individuals with disabilities, and pride in disability.”
During her residency she wants to share the connection she feels between her body and soul when she dances. Here, language is never a barrier. The steps are the same everywhere there is a swing dance community.
“There is beauty in the fact that two people who have just met can have an amazing dance, connecting together with the common language of swing,” she said.
Vautour is a member of the Fredericton Swing Dance Club, which frequently hosts social dances where guests can dance or simply observe, usually at the Charlotte Street Arts Centre. On Aug. 22, weather permitting, she intends to hold her pop-up event at Wilmot Park. Details will be provided later.
“Visit us and get to know us. Join us in the dance if you like. We are a welcoming group.”
The Fredericton Arts Alliance is grateful for the support of the City of Fredericton and Downtown Fredericton in making these residencies possible.
