CODiEs gathered in Kitchener, ON for three days of collegiality, laughter, inspiration, venting, and collective imagining about the future. 70 educators as well as high school students and undergraduate students engaged in thoughtful sessions about the integration of technological tools and the ways that drama and dance connect us more deeply to another in a time of disconnection.
Friday began with a Master Class facilitated by Catalina Morgana, assisted by Carmelina Martin, in the practice of Fighting Monkey. This Master Class explored the ways that engaging in movement through independent and connected play is an inclusive way of staying on your growing edge; challenging yourself to solve physical problems introduces new embodied vocabulary that has applications for dance and physical theatre. The research Catalina shared deepened participants understanding of the connections between science and movement.
Friday evening, Master Class attendees and early arrivers for Saturday's events gathered for resource sharing in the foyer involving balloons, script from Anne of Green Gables, and simple eye contact.
During breakfast, the CODE Conference Co-Chairs, Cheri-Anne Byrne and Matthew Sheahan launched the conference and CODE President, Tessa Lofthouse, made opening remarks (the text for these remarks can be found here).
A day full of incredible workshops...
... and incredible vendor interactions ...
... was followed by an incredible Heels class led by Jose Miguel 'Miggy' Esteban. The session reflected Miggy's praxis of creating invitational spaces that anyone can access and was just so much fun.
Following the optional heels class and a social where many marketplace prizes were claimed, we gathered for dinner and the Keynote by David Connolly. It was insightful and delightful, touching on all of themes proposed by the conference committee in ways that felt very connected to the region with applications for all of us who dare to ask "what if".
After a full day, only a few stragglers made it to our evening social activities, but those that did tore up the dance floor to an incredible playlist created by Alan Faigal of the conference committee.
Sunday morning meant hot breakfast and another slate of incredible workshops...
It was hard to say goodbye to the many connections we made over the weekend and we hope it's just goodbye for now! We're excited to be coming to Ottawa for CODE on the Road in 2026, with other stops yet to be announced.
A huge thank you to the CODE Conference Committee and our volunteers, without whom this event would not have been possible, and to all of the educators who gave themselves the gift of connecting with a community that cares deeply about them and about offering high quality arts education in our public education system.
CODE's Conference Committee:
- Co-Chairs - Cheri-Anne Byrne and Matthew Sheahan
- Connie Walz
- Michelle Gram Giesen
- Joanna Perlus
- Alan Faigal
- Daniel Lalonde
- Kerri-Lee Funk
- Laurel Brown