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Main >> News Listing >> June 2004 >> Article ID 5209
 Kids, adults take centre stage | Type: Internet Article |
| | Kids, adults take centre stage | Jun 18, 2004 |
Summary:
The young dancer was referring to the six ladies, most of whom have children of their own, stepping in front of the dance mirrors to shake things up with Christina Aguilera music during the pre-recital rehearsal.
Read on for the whole article. |
When you think of end-of-the-year dance recitals, visions of parents and grandparents cheering on their little ones in tutus come to mind.
The Whistler Dance Academy’s end-of-year recital entitled The Past, Present and Future, scheduled this Sunday (June 20) at MY Place, definitely promises cute tikes who will tap their way into audiences’ hearts. However, the show promises to move beyond the stereotypical performance, with parents taking the stage and their kids cheering them on from the sidelines.
“Mom can we wait until we’ve seen the next group dance,” begged a little girl after rehearsing her Austin Powers dance routine. “They are so good.”
The young dancer was referring to the six ladies, most of whom have children of their own, stepping in front of the dance mirrors to shake things up with Christina Aguilera music during the pre-recital rehearsal.
There were no box steps, no chassé, no cheesy jazz hands for this troupe, only the cutting-edge of street hip-hop funked up with fast hand mo vements and pulsating hips.
“It is fun. It is great exercise. It is social and I love to dance,” said Eva Lazorek, who has been taking dance classes in Whistler for five years. Hip hop is only one of the adult classes available through Whistler Dance.
Four months of hard work from the ladies have been poured into the one-and-a-half-minute routine. The adults share the same jitters as their younger counterparts, but their nerves are amplified by the special attention the adult-class performances receive.
“We get an amazing response because we know a lot of the adults in the crowd and they’ll yell out to us. It definitely makes us nervous, but everyone is feeling that way and it is great being a part of that,” Lazorek said.
The title, The Past, Present and Future, not only embodies the broad spectrum of dancers involved, ranging from two years old to adult, but also the new direction in which the studio is going.
After operating through the Resort Municipality of Whistler and the Meadow Park Sp orts Centre over the past three years, Whistler Dance has finally reached a turning point and is opening its own studio in Function Junction later this summer.
“The problem is that we’ve grown too large for their space availability,” general manager Codi Dalen said of her 120-student studio. “Now that dance has become more serious for children, they need studio space, especially with proper dance floors, bars and mirrors.”
The academy’s competitive team has doubled in number over the past year. Each year, students’ skills progress and the likelihood of eventually turning out professional dancers increases.
“That is definitely my goal, to see them through to give them the opportunity to be good enough to be professional dancers,” Dalen said. “It is not on their minds at this point, but I can see that drive, especially in my intermediate dancers.”
Students are slowly building their skills, raising the bar on their performances every year. This year the competitive team, consisting of an advan ced and intermediate crew, attended two competitions, one at Sun Peaks and the other in New Westminster. The groups also attend a two-day dance intensive in Seattle to expose themselves to new choreographers and different dance styles.
“They placed above average in their levels,” Dalen said, noting that the girls did exceptionally well despite many of them only having danced three years.
“They are well on their way to developing a strong competitive team.”
With so many dance styles to master, tap, ballet, jazz, tap, lyrical, modern and hip hop, it takes decades to master the constantly evolving craft. But it all begins at the ballet bar, with the simplicity of a plié and tendu, laying the critical foundations of a solid dancer — whatever style they pursue.
Dalen said Whistler Dance will offer seasoned dancers who have paid their dues at the bar the opportunity to explore different dance styles and new dancers the chance to discover movement at the academy’s upcoming summer school. For two weeks, dancers will be exposed to instructors from different parts of North America. Dalen is especially excited about an instructor from Toronto who will teach modern African dancing.
“For dancers that now understand dance they will be able to enjoy the different styles of dance and have a chance to walk in it,” she said.
The Past, Present and Future takes place June 20 at 3 and 7 p.m. at MY Place. Admission is by donation. For more information about the performance or summer school, contact Dalen at (604) 902-0990. |
 Source: Whistler Question | |
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