One of our city's best kept secrets, Robson Square (ice rink and surrounding spaces) is Vancouver's unofficial dance underground. There are officially sanctioned events, of course. Anyone can find Salsa Sundays and Ballroom Fridays here in the summer. But there's more, beyond even the unofficial breakdance groups and random open practices.
Robson Square is quite simply the heartbeat of the city's dance and movement-arts underground. Dance troupes, circus arts performers from hoopers to jugglers to staff spinners, cultural folk groups, medeival sword enthusasts, capoeiristas, freestyle basketball artists, martial artists... the list of movement enthusiasts who regularly use this space goes on and on.
It is a legacy spanning decades, the story goes, to when security chased free-movement practitioners away. Over time, an uneasy truce and eventually a grudging respect developed organically between the organisations that oversee the space and the many groups who use it now. And now the streets of Vancouver are more colourful and vibrant with movement and character thanks in no small part to the presence of this vital community space that attracts movers and shakers, dancers and breakers from all walks of life and of all ages.
Don't take my word for it, see for yourself. Just don't be surprised if it's hard at first to see. The diverse peoples who use this space are not organised into any single group or entity... different folks will be present at any given time. But if you spend enough time there, especially when the weather is fine, you will see it clearly. And once you see, it will be impossible to unsee how vital Robson Square is to the vibrant cultural fabric of this city. read more