Discover Dance, Digging Deeper: Raoul Wilke

Company Member, Rachana Joshi has written about her experience of the July edition of Discover Dance, with special guest Raoul Wilke.

Rachana’s experience

Raoul spoke of dance with such a palpable sense of joy. While sharing his journey, he mentioned how dance was what helped him find community and gave him a sense of being. He described coming to Toronto from Zimbabwe and what a cultural shock that was for him. Rather than getting acclimatized to the city through its traditional attractions like the CN Tower, Raoul familiarized himself with Toronto through its dancers. He would go to different parties and clubs around Toronto and observed how elders and other bodies moved and exuded joy. He saw bodies being true to themselves but also allowing themselves to be playful.

“...dance is a genuine celebration of yourself and the dancers that come before and after you.”

Using these experiences as an anchor, he described inventing ways of learning in dance that prioritized joy and encouraged a child-like curiosity and play. He soon realized that these methods could also have applications beyond dance and serve as a great approach to life overall. His approach to dance highlights the inherent connection between the body and mind in simple and joyful way. Raoul encouraged us to remember two phrases, 1) catching the ghost and 2) see the music, hear the dance. Watching Raoul share his journey reminded me of how much dance is a genuine celebration of yourself and the dancers that come before and after you.