Early Bird Registration for the CODE Conference 2025 is open now! Join CODE in Kitchener for "Full steAm Ahead - Drama and Dance for the Future" October 17th to 19th.
“Using STEAM education results in students who take thoughtful risks, engage in experiential learning, persist in problem-solving, embrace collaboration, and work through the creative process. These are the innovators, educators, leaders, and learners of the 21st century!”
- The Institute for Arts Integration
In a world that urgently needs critical thinkers, creative problem-solvers, and bold innovators, Drama and Dance are more vital than ever. Yet, these essential disciplines are often overlooked in education systems dominated by STEM. This conference calls for a shift to steAm—where the Arts play a central role in shaping the future.
At this conference, we invite educators and artists to explore how Drama and Dance can lead the way in imagining and building inclusive, creative futures that are not dystopic, that remove barriers and create space for everyone, and how critical these arts are to making sense of our world.
Our logo design reflects the heart of our conference in several meaningful ways:
- The sense of forward motion symbolizes our focus on preparing for and envisioning the future. It also highlights the essential role of embodiment—our connection to movement, our bodies, and nature—as a foundation for responsible and innovative progress.
- The logo centers the Arts in steAm, emphasizing their critical role in shaping a future where innovation includes and uplifts everyone, as they have always done.
- The use of the two-person drama/dance imagery represents the educators and students whose futures we aim to support and imagine together.
Keynote & Master Class
Keynote: David Connolly - Former Broadway Actor and Drayton Entertainment Artistic Director
Connolly describes himself as a “theatre artist who also happens to be a double amputee” and has directed and choreographed more than 30 productions with Drayton Entertainment. Connolly grew up in Waterloo and went to Forest Heights Collegiate Institute.
“[Theatre] is a craft that allows everyone to be equal. No matter where you come from, no matter what you’re going through, you sit down in the dark and you go through an experience that has everybody on an equal playing field,” he said. “Theatre has an opportunity to help people. It is healing in many ways.” - CTV
Learn more about David here.
Master Class: Movement, Communication & the Power of Play
The 3-hour Master Class presented by Carmelina Martin & Catalina Moraga is free for all CODE Members. Non-member registrants will receive a CODE Membership.
Broaden your movement repertoire and explore the joy of challenging yourself in new, playful and creative ways.
This Masterclass explores movement through the lens of Fighting Monkey (FM), a practice rooted in arts, athletics and movement research. It is an exploratory practice that values creativity, empathy, speculation and adaptability. It is a communication practice that explores how we communicate with ourselves, with others, and with the world at large.
Through curated movement situations, we investigate strategies of observation, communication, problem-solving and learning. These situations include solo and partnered movement tasks. We’ll also explore our creative relationship to tools/objects to investigate how we shape and are shaped by the material world.
This masterclass is all levels, open to dance and drama educators. The only pre-requisite is curiosity.
Workshops
Find detailed workshop descriptions of the 28 workshops on offer at our conference website: CODE Conference 2025
The sessions range in topic and focus from the use of Generative AI to exploring barrier-free futures, providing students with the a critical lens when engaging with science and math to the use of technology (e.g., lighting) and physics (e.g., lifts) to expand student performances.
Marketplace
A marketplace featuring organizations from the drama and dance industries and who work in arts education will be easily accessed throughout the conference.
As always, watch our socials for highlights and to get excited for the 2025 CODE Conference, Full steAm Ahead!