Founded in 2009, KSAMB Dance Company, of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada, is co-directed by Kyle Syverson and Miki Mappin. Our work is site-specific, often performed outdoors for diverse audiences and events—it is generated from our practice of Contact Improvisation (CI).
We offer training and dance events to people with both dance and non-dance backgrounds, of varying ages and abilities. We practice for a joyful, sustainable life. Our vision is that dance will engage the senses and the imagination and free us from disconnect and complacency — creating a more present, loving and resilient society. In this society, to dance is a radical act. We value authenticity, sustainability and accessibility. To conceive of a future after capitalism is to have hope. For KSAMB, dance is both the answer and the question.
We offer training and dance events to people with both dance and non-dance backgrounds, of varying ages and abilities. We practice for a joyful, sustainable life. Our vision is that dance will engage the senses and the imagination and free us from disconnect and complacency — creating a more present, loving and resilient society. In this society, to dance is a radical act. We value authenticity, sustainability and accessibility. To conceive of a future after capitalism is to have hope. For KSAMB, dance is both the answer and the question.
Our home is on land stolen from indigenous people. We live and work in Treaty Six territory in a core Saskatoon neighbourhood, Pleasant Hill. We acknowledge that treaties are being violated, and that our Indigenous neighbours suffer and continue to live under oppression. We also acknowledge the racism and poverty inflicted on many oppressed groups in Canada, in Palestine, and where Canadian mining companies operate, and we work for reconciliation and redress.
We strive to make our dance events accessible in as many ways as imagination and funds permit. Our art is activist, and we bring our techniques to our activism.
We perform ensemble improvisation, often site-specific and durational; a type of "dance survival." It requires us to be fully present and attuned to our bodies, the environment, and each other. The physical and emotional risk-taking of our ensemble improvisation is grounded in attention to sensation and a deep connection with the environment, and community. Our practice of CI teaches us the physiology, psychology and physics of human beings moving through time and space, falling and flying, together.
Our classes and training include CI, ensemble improvisation, ballet, modern, and somatic practices. We host regular community dance events where people can dance for recreation, health and training in a non-judgemental environment. We aim to create safer and braver spaces for learning, performing and sharing through the use of consent-based approaches.
We strive to make our dance events accessible in as many ways as imagination and funds permit. Our art is activist, and we bring our techniques to our activism.
We perform ensemble improvisation, often site-specific and durational; a type of "dance survival." It requires us to be fully present and attuned to our bodies, the environment, and each other. The physical and emotional risk-taking of our ensemble improvisation is grounded in attention to sensation and a deep connection with the environment, and community. Our practice of CI teaches us the physiology, psychology and physics of human beings moving through time and space, falling and flying, together.
Our classes and training include CI, ensemble improvisation, ballet, modern, and somatic practices. We host regular community dance events where people can dance for recreation, health and training in a non-judgemental environment. We aim to create safer and braver spaces for learning, performing and sharing through the use of consent-based approaches.