Popularity of community dance event soaring
Everyone is a dancer inside, some of us just need a chance to let loose.
However you shake it up, or down, Dance Victoria’s on a mission this week to make it happen.
For the second straight year the dance centre has organized Dance Days, 10 days of free classes, workshops, demonstrations and shows in and around Victoria from Jan. 28 to Feb. 6.
“Pretty much everything in our Dance Days workshops are set at a beginning level because we know there’s that bit of apprehension with newcomers,” said Dance Victoria’s community relations manager Elise Wren.
Dance Days has jumped to 85 events from 50 last year, encompassing 37 studios and other venues around the city, Wren said.
All within 15 minutes of downtown are 45 classes, 14 workshops and nine demonstrations, all of it free.
Dance classes range from African, ballet and hip hop to Bollywood, tap and the trendy new Zumba Fitness.
“The same break-dancing crew who who organized the Victoria’s extremely popular Royal City Rumble in 2007 are putting on a b-boy, b-girl workshop,” Wren said.
“This is all designed to get the community interacting in the dance community in workshops and with demos, to see dance in creation,” Wren said.
The brochure maps out a full calendar with three events on the bill for Friday (Jan. 28), jumping to 11 on Monday.
Dancers interacted with the public in the lobby of the Atrium (Blanshard and Yates streets) on Saturday during a site specific improvisation to help get the word out.
A highlight of Dance Days is the premier of the LOLA Projects on Sunday.
“Since August a group of Dance Victoria residents have designed their own performances under the mentorship of (renowned) Vancouver choreographer Wen Wei Wang,” Wren said of the projects.
LOLA performances are choreographed by locals Constance Cooke, Lori Hamar and Leah Wickes. Entrance to the LOLA Projects is by donation, 7:30 p.m. at the Metro Studio, 1411 Quadra St. (below the Alix Goolden Performance Hall).
The full schedule and calendar for Dance Days is online at www.dancevictoria.com.
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