JAMS

 

Before coming to a jam, please review the Important Info below, including what to wear/bring, FAQ’s, and accessibility info.

Building Entry: Buzz ‘02’ ONLY for entry. Please arrive 5 to 10 min before class to change and settle. Entry to the building is only granted 15 min before and 15 min after a jam starts.

For more information about our jams, please contact us at info@edamdance.org.

If cost is a barrier and you are interested in attending activities, please reach out to us at: info@edamdance.org.


photo: Arash, Antonio, and Anne by Chris Randle, 2023

OPEN JAM
FIRST AND THIRD SUNDAY OF THE MONTH
7 - 9PM
with Anne Cooper

Drop-In: $15
5-Jam Card: $10/jam

Open to all. No instruction. Anne Cooper holds the space.

Drop-ins and Jam Cards welcome.


photo: Sierra, Natalie, Kay by Sierra, 2024

BIPOC JAM HOSTS: GUEST ARTISTS — WINTER 2026

February 22 — Noelle Lee + RCHRDY

Noelle Lee 李茵諾 (lei yan lok) is an interdisciplinary, process-based artist, working predominantly with dance, performance, and visual arts. Her work is rooted in an exploration of the intersections between artistic practice, therapeutic modalities, human psyche, and relational & intergenerational threads. She was born and raised in Hong Kong, and has ancestral lineages in China (Guangdong, Fujian), Hong Kong, and Indonesia (Makassar), currently residing in Vancouver, on the unceded territories of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish), and səlilwətaɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) Nations.

RCHRDY (pronounced 'richārdy'), Ricardo Hardy, are an emerging interdisciplinary artist, and a good floor mopper, committed to remind themselves that the divine is always small.

Their constellation has revealed through non-traditional artistic training, which has allowed them to create their own connections between Life and art making, beyond the canonic standards of cultural institutions.

Starting their career in performing Arts, they've explored all kinds of creative endeavors such as installation making, music, collage, poetry, etc. Every material, any idea, possesses aesthetic qualities; An intrinsic excuse to play.

Born in Mexico currently based in the (stolen) territories of the Musqueam, Squamish, and Tsleil-Waututh Nations (Vancouver, Canada). hoto credit: @pintorphotographer

BIPOC JAM
with Natalie Tin Yin Gan (顏婷妍) and Guest Artists

Drop-In: $15
5-Jam Card: $10/jam

Winter 2026 Schedule:

  • Sunday, Jan 11th, 3:30 - 5:30pm with Natalie Tin Yin Gan

  • Sunday, Jan 25th, 3:30 - 5:30pm with Regalito and live music by RCHRDY

  • Sunday, Feb 8th, 3:30 - 5:30pm with Natalie Tin Yin Gan

  • Sunday, Feb 22nd, 3:30 - 5:30pm with Noelle Lee + RCHRDY

  • Sunday, Mar 8th, 3:30 - 5:30pm with Sierra Megas and live music by RCHRDY

  • Sunday, Mar 22nd, 3:30 - 5:30pm with K Takano Budworth

Jam Format: Natalie and guest artists hold a welcoming space for this CI practice. This jam typically begins with an opening circle followed by a lightly-facilitated, optional, warm-up to bring us into our arriving bodies. We then move into open jam time. Sometimes, we experiment with scores for our jam. We end together with a closing circle. Some familiarity with Contact is required. Guest artists will be announced soon.

Newcomers: If you have never done Contact before and are curious about trying out a jam, please email us before registering so that we may check-in beforehand.

Cost: Please email us at info@edamdance.org if you are interested in attending and cost is a barrier.

Email List: Please email us if you are interested in receiving updates about upcoming BIPOC classes and jams.

BIPOC: This class is an affinity group space for those who self-identify as BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, Person of Colour).


 

JAM HOSTS

Anne Cooper by Jane Ellison

Anne Cooper has danced with EDAM since 1994, studying Contact Improvisation with Peter Bingham and performing in EDAM's work, both structured improvisations and choreography. She has researched and performed with Nancy Stark Smith through Nancy's 'Glimpse Performance Installations' in the U.S.A. Anne has taught/facillitated CI since 2001 in Vancouver and other locales through classes, Jams and workshops. She has created and performed her own work and has danced with many Canadian companies/choreographers. Anne has trained in contemporary dance and CI; her CI teachers include Peter Bingham, Nancy Stark Smith, Jaci Metivier, Andrew Harwood, Chris Aiken, Ray Chung and others and some study with Steve Paxton (Material For the Spine) and recently, Nora Hajos (Material For the Spine). Anne is grateful to live and work in Vancouver, BC, on the ancestral and unceded lands of the Musqueam, Squamish and Tsliel-Waututh First Nations.

Natalie Tin Yin Gan by Dayna Szyndrowski

Natalie Tin Yin Gan (顏婷妍) is an independent dance artist, writer, and teacher based in so-called Vancouver, on the unceded ancestral lands of the Musqueam, Squamish, and Tsleil-Waututh First Nations. Her practice squats (120 lb) at the intersection of spirit, somatics, and technology-induced melancholy. Natalie is the Co-Artistic Director of company Hong Kong Exile that explores the historical and contemporary politic of the Chinese diaspora. She is also the smaller half of vulva clown duo, Pulsive Party. She is a graduate of The Writer’s Studio and a certified teacher of Fitzmaurice Voicework®. Natalie is a late sleeper, a late riser, a late bloomer, a latecomer, and a late-night snacker. nataliegan.com


 

IMPORTANT INFO

Membership

  • To participate in jams at EDAM, you must be a member.

  • If you are new to EDAM, please purchase a membership when you register.

  • EDAM Membership is a lifetime membership (one-time $5 membership fee).

Waivers

Refund & Cancellation Policy

  • Drop-in purchases are non-refundable — we do not issue refunds for jams unless EDAM cancels the jam.

  • EDAM reserves the right to cancel jams for any reason. Refunds will be issued and the registered participants will be contacted.

  • EDAM reserves the right to change the jam host if the scheduled jam host can no longer attend.

What to Bring/Wear

  • Wear comfortable clothes that you can move and slide in (we recommend long sleeves and full-length pants, as they are helpful for sliding on the floor), wear minimal jewellery, and bring knee-pads (optional/personal preference).

  • We sell knee-pads for CI practice ($35) at the studio. Ask your jam host or email us at: info@edamdance.org.

  • Bring a bottle of water.

  • EDAM is a scent-reduced space, please help us keep our studio odour-free.

Frequently Asked Questions

  • What is a difference between a class and a workshop? A class is a short focused session. A workshop is a longer session (with small breaks at the teacher’s discretion). Both are facilitated around the teacher’s interests and knowledge.

  • What is a Contact Jam? Jams are leaderless practice environments in which dancers practice CI with whoever gathers — friends, strangers, experienced dancers, newcomers. In our Open Jams, an EDAM teacher will hold the space, however, there is no instruction.

  • I have never done Contact Improvisation. Can I join any class or workshop? If you have never done Contact Improvisation, please sign up to a Thursday evening class our our Fundamentals Workshop, to acquire some skills and tools. Depending on your experience and previous training, you may request to join our advanced Morning Classes. Our teachers can support you in this journey.

Accessibility Info

  • Read our accessibility info here.


EDAM gratefully acknowledges the Coast Salish peoples; the xʷməθkwəy̓əm (Musqueam), Skwxwú7mesh (Squamish), and Səl̓ílwətaɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) Nations, on whose traditional, stolen and occupied territories we live and work.