I have a heart condition / knee injury / wheelchair. Can I still participate?
Absolutely. We try to make the competition as inclusive as possible and we never ask you to push yourself more than you’re physically able to. If you have more questions about your particular situation, feel free to ask us.

Do I have to come with a partner?
No. If you come alone, we will find a partner for you to dance with.

Will I be forced to dance with the same partner all night?
No. There will be opportunities to switch partners.

Will I always be dancing with a partner?
No. There will be opportunities for you to move independently.

What if I don’t know how to dance?
You’ll learn. We will be teaching you several dances over the course of the evening.

Do I have to dance?
No. You just need to keep moving. If you stop moving, you will be eliminated from the dance floor.

Will I be able to watch the rest of the piece?
Yes. Once you’re been eliminated from the competition you will be asked to leave the dance floor and may watch the rest of the contest unfold as a spectator.

Will I be forced to dance the whole time?
No. There will be frequent rest periods where you will be given a break. There will also be a couple of optional eliminations, where you’ll have the opportunity to rest.

Do I have to be a good dancer to win?
No. There will be several categories of eliminations, only some of which will require physical skills, definitely not all.

What if I can’t tell the performers from the other audience members?
That’s kind of the point, but you’ll figure it out eventually.

It is recommended that you take the brand new Canada Line to the “Yaletown-Roundhouse” station. From there it is only one block to the Roundhouse Arts and Recreation Centre…. and Dance Marathon!

For more information on 2010 Olympics Road Closures, refer here:
http://olympichostcity.vancouver.ca/gettingaround/road-parking-restrictions/venue-area-road-closures.htm

BIKE

Biking to the Roundhouse is a fun and easy way to beat Olympic traffic and road closures.  For your convenience, a FREE monitored bike parking area is provided by The Bicycle Valet just off Drake Street, behind the Roundhouse Community Centre.  A map showing the location of this Bicycle Valet location, as well as other locations around Vancouver can be found here.

The Bicycle Valet works just like a coat check – simply sign an claim check and leave your bike.  At the end of the event, bring back your claim stub and ride away!  No lock necessary.

The valet at the David Lamb Park / Roundhouse location is available from Feb 11-28 so keep in mind that it won’t be available for all of the Dance Marathon performances.  Also please be advised, the Bicycle Valet closes at 11:30pm each night and you will be required to retrieve your bike before midnight.

More information on the Bicycle Valet in Vancouver can be found at: www.thebicyclevalet.ca

TRANSIT

Google Map [Yaletown-Roundhouse Station to Roundhouse Community Centre]

For more information on how to get to the Yaletown-Roundhouse Station using Vancouver’s transit system, visit the Translink Website:
www.translink.ca or www.travelsmart2010.ca

PARK & RIDE Transit

If you’re interested in parking you car close to a transit route, we’ve got a few locations that may be an option for you.

*Please keep in mind that your travel time is expected to be longer than usual due to the high volume of passengers around the Olympic dates.

from North Vancouver

1. Park at Lonsdale Quay
2. Take the seabus to Waterfront Station.
3. At Waterfront Station, connect to the Canada Line light rail system.  Continue on the Canada Line Southbound towards Richmond/YVR.
4. Exit at the “Yaletown/Roundhouse” station.

from West Vancouver

1. Park at Park Royal Mall.
2. Take bus #250 VANCOUVER, or #257 VANCOUVER towards downtown. [PDF Translink Park Royal map]
3. Get off at the intersection of Granville Street and Georgia Street and transfer to the Canada Line light rail system (the “Vancouver City Centre” entrance is directly in front of the bus stop at Georgia and Granville.)
4. Continue on the Canada Line Southbound towards Richmond/YVR.
5. Exit at the “Yaletown/Roundhouse” station.
   

from University of British Columbia

1. The 99 B-Line Bus runs regularly Westbound from UBC on Broadway Street.
2. Take the 99 B-Line to Cambie Street, and connect to the Canada Line light rail system (entrance is directly in front of bus stop at Cambie and Broadway).
3. Exit at the “Yaletown/Roundhouse” station.

* Parking is available at the Impark Parking Lot located behind the Cactus Club restaurant at 575 West Broadway.

from East Vancouver / South Burnaby / New Westminster

1. Expo Line Skytrain runs from East Vancouver, South Burnaby, and New Westminster direct to downtown.
2. From the “Broadway/Commercial” station, take the Expo line in the direction of “Waterfront”.
3. Exit at Waterfront Station, and transfer to the Canada Line light rain system.  Continue on the Canada Line Southbound towards Richmond/YVR.
4. Exit at the “Yaletown/Roundhouse” station.

* Parking is available at Vancouver Community College, located at 1155 East Broadway, Vancouver.
* Parking is available at Metropolis at Metrotown mall, located at 4700 Kingsway, Burnaby.
* Parking is available in New Westminster at the Park & Ride located at “New Westminster” station.

from Richmond / South Vancouver

1. The Canada Line light rail system runs from Richmond direct to downtown.
2. From your location, take the Canada Line Northbound towards “Waterfront”.
3. Exit at the “Yaletown/Roundhouse” station.
   

* In Richmond, parking is available at the Park & Ride located at the “Bridgeport” stop
* In South Vancouver, parking is available at the Oakridge Shopping Centre located at the “Oakridge/41st” stop.

from Surrey

1. The Expo Line Skytrain runs from the “King George” station direct to downtown Vancouver.
2. From your location, take the Expo Line Westbound towards “Waterfront”.
3. Exit at Waterfront Station, and transfer to the Canada Line light rain system.  Continue on the Canada Line Southbound towards Richmond/YVR.
4. Exit at the “Yaletown/Roundhouse” station.

* Parking is available at the King George Skytrain station.

from North Burnaby / Coquitlam

1. The Millennium Skytrain Line runs from Coquitlam through Burnaby into Vancouver.
2. From your location, take the Millennium Line Westbound towards “Waterfront”.
3. Exit at the “Commercial/Broadway” station, and transfer to the Expo Skytrain line.
4. Continue on the Expo line Westbound towards “Waterfront”.
5. Exit at “Granville” Station.  Walk South on Granville Street ½ block until Georgia Street.  Directly in front of you will be the entrance to the Canada Line “Vancouver City Centre” Station.
6. Continue on the Canada Line Southbound towards Richmond/YVR.
7. Exit at the “Yaletown/Roundhouse” station.

* Parking is available in Coquitlam at the Impark Park & Ride located at Lougheed Town Centre.

On February 12th, the Board of Directors of Boca del Lupo is hosting a fundraiser in the iconic “train room” at the Roundhouse.

Join Boca del Lupo at the Roundhouse Community Centre for a special evening of theatre, sport and culture. Enjoy wines, cold beer, delicious pizza and snacks and the best view of the Opening Ceremonies outside of being in the stadium itself.

Watch the Opening Ceremonies on big screens with great sound and catch all the action through the high glass walls that will look out towards the thousands upon thousands of Olympic enthusiasts gathering to celebrate the Opening of the 2010 Olympic Winter Games.

Then, immediately following the ceremonies participate in the BC premiere of DANCE MARATHON, an immersive and competitive theatrical experience that is taking the world by storm.

Your $99 ticket will include:

A ticket to Dance Marathon ($25 value)

3 drink tickets and all the delicious pizza, fresh veggies and snacks you can eat ($24 value)

A charitable tax receipt from Boca del Lupo (for $50)

Tickets available through Brown Paper Tickets

“Don’t expect to sit back and watch Dance Marathon”

Jon Kaplan, NOW Magazine

Dance Marathon is the participatory dance show that is taking the world by storm! Dance Marathon is inspired by the physically grueling phenomena from the Great Depression where destitute couples would try to win prizes by outlasting everyone else.

Members and supporters of the arts community gathered today (September 9) at the grounds of the Vancouver Art Gallery to protest cuts made to arts funding by the B.C. Liberal government.

Alliance for Arts and Culture’s Amir Ali Alibhai leads a protest against Campbell’s arts cuts at the Vancouver Art Gallery on September 9, 2009.

“Culture matters!” proclaimed a huge banner that overlooked at least 300 participants who braved the noontime late summer rain to attend the rally. For a time, a male protester lay motionless on the wet ground, his body outlined by chalk, petal-like material coming out of his mouth as if it was blood—all suggesting that the funding cuts were akin to murder.

Not much has changed since the budget update was unveiled on September 1, according to NDP MLA and arts critic Spencer Herbert in an interview before he addressed the rally.

Although the government, faced with a massive uproar over the cuts, announced the next day that it was restoring $20 million in gambling-revenue, Herbert told the Straight that this doesn’t represent much.

“Gaming [grants] was $20 million a year for arts and culture alone,” Herbert explained. “This was last year, [20]08-[20]09.”

Now, Herbert noted, the $20 million will be spread not just for the arts but for other sectors like sports, public safety, and environment, as well, over a period of two years starting 2009.

At most, according to the NDP MLA, the restoration of some of the gaming funds will bump up the estimated total funding for the arts for this budget year 2009-2010 from the previous level of $23.075 million to about $25 million. This means that he anticipates that the arts community may be able to get only a share of $2 million from the gaming money.

In budget year 2008-2009, the arts got a total of $47.8 million from all sources including gaming, the B.C. Arts and Culture Special Endowment, and provincial funding to the B.C. Arts Council.

In the 2009-2010 budget laid out by the B.C. Liberals in February this year, total arts funding was downgraded to about $42 million because of projected cuts in endowment funding, Herbert recalled.

When Finance Minister Colin Hansen made his budget update in September, arts funding for 2009-2010 was trimmed to $23.075 million, representing the loss altogether of the gaming grants.

Arts funding for budget years 2010-2011 and 2011-2012 is projected to be $3.7 million and $3.6 million, both not including gaming funds.

Amir Ali Alibhai, executive director, was the first of a line-up of speakers in the rally that included Herbert, arts supporter Yolanda Faris, Vancouver councillor Ellen Woodsworth, and multicultural arts promoter Mo Dhaliwal.

In a media interview at the sidelines of the protest, Alibhai said that his group has formed a research committee to figure out in exact numbers how different arts and cultural groups will bleed from the cuts.

However, Alibhai also noted that there are “hybrid” organizations that have a core mission other than the arts but still do arts programming or collaborate with arts groups to reach out to their clientele. These too will be affected, he said.

“There’s quite a network and connection between a lot of social mission-based organizations and arts organizations,” he said.

Boca del Lupo Artistic Producer and Belfry Playwright in Residence, Jay Dodge reflects on the development of An Imaginary Look at the Uncompromising Life of Thomas Smith:

Renowned war photographer James Nachtwey describes his monastic mission to bear witness to the horrors of war as an act of love.  When we last came to The Belfry, Boca del Lupo’s artistic director Sherry J Yoon and I had just returned from a remarkable week in New York City where we interviewed four award winning conflict photographers working in the field today.  Before we went to New York I didn’t really understand what Nachtwey was getting at but now, after hearing first hand accounts and seeing the enormous personal sacrifice that is part of this profession, I think that I do.

An Imaginary Look at the Uncompromising Life of Thomas Smith is a project focusing on the idea that here we view most of the world through the lens of someone else’s camera.  It was truly eye opening to speak with the individuals that stand behind those cameras making pictures and realizing how intensely and completely they are a part of the action.  It was also remarkable to hear how those experiences affect who they are and how profoundly it influences their worldview.

These interviews left me in a palpable state of shock followed by a battery of disturbing questions:  Where has my personal sense of urgency gone in relation to these global tragedies?  Have I lost some fundamental human connection within the paradoxical context of globalization?  Is there a correlation between the exponential increase in information and my growing sense of alienation?

In An Imaginary Look… I doubt that we will find answers to these questions but I hope we will be able to take steps towards creating a deeper connection between our own lives and the lives of those we see in the news every day, not only when it comes to war and tragedy but also in sharing triumph, celebration and beauty.

by Sandra Chamberlain

Paul created a career that combined both the professional and the personal in the Vancouver arts community. Originally from Toronto, Paul was recruited by Arts Umbrella, a visual and performing arts school for children, in 1996 where he filled a number of roles until he settled in as senior director of programming. There he remained until 2005 when he moved to the Vancouver Art Gallery as Associate Director.

Paul’s love of the performing arts started at an early age, especially piano and singing, and with the support of a loving family that encouraged his interest in arts and culture, studied musical theatre in his early 20’s. This passion for music is embedded in his personal life as he has sung baritone for years with Vancouver’s Chor Leoni.

As well as being a member of Boca del Lupo’s board for the past 3 years, he previously sat on the board of the Jessie Richardson Theatre Award Society.
This balance of music, work and volunteering within Vancouver’s artistic community, Paul describes as a “best case scenario” for his life.

Paul enjoys supporting Boca del Lupo as a board member. He admires Jay’s and Sherry’s professional commitment to their creative vision and looks forward to new innovative work from Boca.

At this year’s PACT conference, Jay Dodge and Sherry J Yoon step up and take leadership in two important areas within the membership and activities of the organization:

Sherry J Yoon,

Chair of the Affiliates Caucus

Jay Dodge

Committee Chair, Freedom of Practice Committee

Jay Dodge works with World Press Photo award winner, Tim Hetherington

“groundbreaking Sleeping Soldiers triptych multimedia presentation on the war in Afghanistan was a highlight of the 2009 New York Photo Festival.” – New York Times

This interactive installation was one important piece of the puzzle that will feed into Boca del Lupo’s production of An Imaginary Look at the Uncompromising Life of Thomas Smith.  The production is set to premiere as part of World Stage at the Harbourfront Centre in the fall of 2010.