History of the Organization

In 2006, after two years of operating as a collective, Young Lungs Dance Exchange was incorporated as a not-for-profit arts service organization. YLDE’s goal was to create opportunities for dance artists that were not readily available at the time in Manitoba. Today, YLDE continues to focus on choreographic research & development opportunities and alternative training techniques. Successfully operating now for 15 years, YLDE continues to make a significant contribution to the dance community and public through this programming.

To date, YLDE has supported over four hundred emerging to established artists in paid research, practice, and presentation opportunities. As well, the workshops, movement classes, and community discussions and writing platforms that YLDE offers has provided over a thousand artists and community members with professional development and opportunities for learning and engagement.

YLDE has worked to broaden the scope of who dance is for, and who can access it. Participants in YLDE’s programming are not just dance professionals – they represent a number of different groups, including the broader arts community (theatre, visual arts), the general public, educators, and pre-professional students. With inclusion and collaboration as two of YLDE’s guiding principles, the organization strives to be an accessible platform for all those interested in engaging with dance. In this way, YLDE strengthens the performing arts community in Manitoba by supporting and bolstering both the artist and the audience.

Currently, YLDE’s programming has three streams: 1) Research Series 2) Workshop Series 3) Outreach Events. These streams of activity have been carefully considered and deemed to be programming priorities, as they fill gaps that exist in the growth of the field in this province, and respond to the expressed needs of the dance community. In this way, YLDE positions itself as a vital service organization for dance in Manitoba.

In July 2019, YLDE signed the Winnipeg Indigenous Accord, which calls upon the federal government to prioritize aboriginal languages and calls upon the Canada Council for the Arts to establish as a funding priority, Indigenous and non-Indigenous collaboration toward the reconciliation process.