just dance! | Summer 2017 | Vol 5 | Issue 4

DISCOVER HOW JUST DANCE! READERS OVERCOME CHALLENGES pp. 16-17

Summer 2017 | Vol. 5 | Issue 4

IN THE SPOTLIGHT & ON THE COVER

BROTHER DANCE DUO FLOWXS

THE SUCCESS STORIES OF

CANADIAN DANCERS, CHOREOGRAPHERS, & ARTISTIC DIRECTORS ABROAD p. 18 MEET CANADIAN DANCE ICON

EVELYN HART

plus!

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Ballet I Ballet II Ballet III Youth America Grand Prix Seattle 2017: Winner of the Outstanding School Award 1st in Ensemble 3rd in Senior Classical Ballet

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Summer 2017 | just dance! 3

FROMTHEPUBLISHER

I

t certainly has been a long, grey, and rainy spring here in Vancouver; luckily, we always have dance to brighten our days, and summer to look forward to.

Since we first launched just dance! in the fall of 2012 it has become abundantly clear that dance is exploding! We knew when we conceptualized the magazine that dance was popping up everywhere. Every month there seemed to be new television shows and movies about or including dancing.

Even vacuum and car commercials featured ballerinas. This has obviously led to growth in the entire industry.

Over the last four and a half years, new dance studios have opened in cities across Canada, and existing studios have increased in size. There are a lot more dance competitions, and many competition organizers have introduced national finals to their events. And dancers and teachers no longer must travel out of town to attend topnotch workshops and conventions because most major Canadian cities now host them.

To learn how just one Canadian organization continues to grow, turn to page 23 and read our Q&A with Dance Attack founder Kent

McCord; find out why he launched Dance Attack, as well as the Toronto and Calgary Dance Teacher Expos.

Also in this issue, as always, we are committed to informing, inspiring and celebrating young Canadian dancers. On page 29 we inform you about the benefits of meditation. Lori Straus had the opportunity to interview

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Canadian icon Evelyn Hart; turn to page 12 to get inspired by her 40-year career. And In the Spotlight this month we celebrate the developing dance careers of FlowXS brothers Kevin and Michael Scheitzbach.

This year Canada celebrates its 150 birthday. th

In keeping with this celebration, Heidi Turner introduces you to some Canadian dancers and choreographers who have made names for themselves abroad and who are putting Canadian talent on the map. And, on page 25 Andrea Loewen shares the important history of Aboriginal dances and the work of those trying to preserve them.

Also, to help keep you entertained over the long summer months, on page 27 we have our first dance word search, and of course our reader responses to this issue’s just dance! wants to know can be found in the centre of the magazine Summer is just around the corner and we know that many of our readers will be keeping busy at camps and intensives;

Art Director (Ad production, layout, & image submission guidelines) Laura Bellis laura@justdancemagazine.com Advertising Sales info@justdancemagazine.com Contributing Writers Racquel Foran | Andrea Loewen Lori Straus | Heidi Turner Contributing Photographers David Cooper | E.S. Chea Vince Pahkala | Chris Randle Michael Slobodian

just dance! magazine is available for $14 per year (4 issues) To subscribe visit justdancemagazine.com

fall. We are always keen

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to hear from all of you.

Send us your photos and stories. Share with us the amazing experiences you have had, or the new challenges you are taking on – info@justdance magazine.com.

Wishing you all a great summer.

Keep dancing!

Paul Destrooper - Artistic Director - www.balletvictoria.ca

General Inquiries info@justdancemagazine.com

new beginnings in the

packing up to move for

Dates July 3rd to July 28th Junior and Senior programs.

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INTHISISSUE

FEATURES: CANADIANS FIND INTERNATIONAL SUCCESS........................................ 19

by Heidi Turner just dance! Q&A with Dance Attack & Toronto Dance Teacher Expo founder Kent McCord............................................................................. 23

by Racquel Foran

IN EVERY ISSUE: PUBLISHER'S LETTER...................................................................................... 4 IN THE SPOTLIGHT: Flow XS Brothers Kevin & Michael Scheitzbach...... 9

by Lori Straus MEET THE PRO: Evelyn Hart....................................................................... 12

by Lori Straus just DANCE! WANTS TO KNOW..

How do you overcome challenges?..................................................... 16 HISTORY OF DANCE Preserving Aboriginal Dance in Canada........... 25

by Andrea Loewen DANCING DIVERSIONS............................................................................. 27 BALANCE: Benefits of Meditation........................................................... 29

by Racquel Foran just dance! DIRECTORY............................................................................ 30 Cover Photo: FlowXS Brothers Kevin and Michael Scheitzbach, photo by E.S.Cheah.

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{

INTHESPOTLIGHT INTHESPOTLIGHT

S

iblings often have the reputation of wanting to tear each other’s head off. But brothers Kevin (17) and Michael (21) Scheitzbach, of Brampton, Ontario, found ways to turn heads instead through dance and by making their differences their strengths.

Michael started dancing at eight years old when his mother signed up him and his father for a dropin parent-child hip-hop class.

At the mini-recital, Kevin started dancing along. The choreographer encouraged Kevin to join, even though he was too young. “And we’ve been dancing together all over ever since,” says Michael.

Kevin really likes dancing with his older brother. “He always gives me a push up and he inspired me to work harder and do better to keep up with him,” he says.

E.S.Cheah

Both attended a performing arts high school (Kevin graduates in June), dance hip hop, and are apprentice members with ACTRA. They also teach, and perform often together. When I asked them to name some of the choreographers they’ve worked with, the brothers needed a moment to run through the list in their heads and filter it down to just a few names including George Jones Jr., Derick Robinson, Rhapsody James, Misha Gabriel, and Mark Samuels.

F low X S Brothers Kevin & Michael Scheitzbach

Their ability to work as a team wasn’t always there: In their younger years, they would try and outdo each other. “We’d try to beat each other and see who got the better score at competition. But now, working together,

Already Turning Heads in L A & T O

BY LORI STRAUS

Summer 2017 | just dance! 9

}

{INTHESPOTLIGHT} it’s been really good. We spend a lot of time dancing and training together and now choreographing together a lot more,” says Michael.

They have very different styles individually: Michael’s niche is popping, locking, some footwork, and more groove-based dance, whereas Kevin’s style is heavily influenced by contemporary, and is based on what his brother describes as “pictures and lines.”

“We’re very opposite in a sense of movement quality. But then when we come together and choreograph, it somehow works out really well,” Michael says.

The brothers have found a way to cut back on the seemingly endless audition circuit by networking. It’s allowed them to assist big-name choreographers at conventions. If the brothers plan to travel to Los Angeles, or if they know someone’s coming to Toronto, they text to hook up.

They’ve assisted often at events like Jump and Monsters of Hip Hop.

Kevin and Michael have performed at Fever After Dark and the Choreographer’s Ball, but one gig that stood out for them was the Monsters of Hip Hop Show in 2016. Monsters of Hip Hop is an American dance convention that travels around the US and whose faculty includes the likes of Tabitha & Napoleon D’Umo, Marty Kudelka, Luther Brown, Laura Edwards, and Jabbawockeez. At the end of each weekend of classes, freestyle battles, performances, seminars, and competitions, dancers are nominated as show finalists and get a chance to be chosen for the Monsters Dance Show, in LA. The guys made it, but had to survive rehearsal days that ran 12 to 16 hours.

Michael says they took baths or laid down with ice packs all over their bodies afterwards.

Perhaps even tougher on them, was learning that they can’t always dance together. “When Kevin booked performing with Avril Lavigne at the MMVAs, he booked that job through the audition, but I didn’t make it. So, it was

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Overall, they’ve been rejected more often than they’ve been accepted at auditions, but Michael says they’ve learned to understand that perhaps they aren’t what the choreographers and casting directors are looking for. “It doesn’t stop us from continuing to love what we do,” he says.

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Dance can be hard on the body, especially with long rehearsal schedules. Michael, who’s just finishing a college program in massage therapy, works out at the gym four times a week and tries to eat healthy as best as he can. “That’s probably the best way to prepare your body or take care of it,” he says. tough for me to face that rejection, because I really wanted to perform alongside my brother and alongside Avril,” Michael says.

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Kevin and Michael performing together.

One of the easiest ways to cut off your dance career is to ignore feedback, and Kevin and Michael know better. “When it comes to corrections from choreographers, I feel we take the corrections very well,” says Kevin, “because we know that they’re just trying to bring out the best in us and they want to see our full potential when we dance.”

The brothers also take drop-in classes frequently in Toronto, and they even fly to LA to take classes. They have also studied contemporary and ballet at their high school, St. Thomas of Aquinas. “It’s so important to have a good foundation when it comes to dance, and it helps being well rounded, as well. I feel it makes it a lot easier for audition purposes and taking classes,

{INTHESPOTLIGHT}

Kevin Scheitzbach

Michael Scheitzbach

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They’ve grown their careers by searching out new opportunities: they’ve choreographed for their high school and nearby post-secondary schools, entered local talent shows, and formed their own crew. We’re just starting to hear about the brothers, but we’re certain there’ll be more to come.

Kevin says you can check out the brothers’ moves and choreography on their YouTube channel: Official FlowXS. Summer 2017 | just dance! 11

MEETTHEPRO

Meet

the Pro: Evelyn Hart

BY LORI STRAUS

Former Royal Winnipeg Ballet prima ballerina Evelyn Hart has achieved everything a dancer could dream of: within three years of graduating from the RWB’s Professional Division Ballet Academic Program, she became Principal Dancer at the RWB at age 23, in 1979. She’s an inductee on Canada’s Walk of Fame (2000), recipient of a Governor General’s Performing Arts Award for Lifetime Artistic Achievement (2001), and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada.

Very surprising for a woman who didn’t start dance until age 11, multiple classes until age 14, and all-week training until age 17.

12 just dance! | Summer 2017

{MEETTHEPRO} “So, it was a late start for me,” she said on the phone when I spoke to her at the end of the winter, “but I was very lucky to have teachers that instilled in me the whole thing about work ethic. No matter what anybody else said or decreed, [my teachers] believed in me. And I couldn’t be more grateful than that beginning.”

In her teens, she auditioned for ballet school and was rejected three times before she made it. However, she credits that rejection for motivating her more.

It clearly paid off: with only 13 years’ training, she won gold for best female soloist at the Varna International Ballet Competition at Varna, Bulgaria, at age 24, and was the first Western dancer to do so since the competition’s founding in 1964.

Although her meteoric rise to ballet stardom sounds like a dream, it came with a price. After that competition win, Hart became fully aware that people were coming to the theatre to see Evelyn Hart, and the expectations she believed audiences had of her began to weigh her down, so much so that she sought out therapy.

“Going onstage, knowing that it’s nowhere near what you know it could be or dream that it should be can be very stressful,” she said.

Hart doesn’t recommend a fast rise to stardom. She thinks it’s easier if you start as a member of the corps de ballet and build yourself up so you can gain more confidence. She can see all of that now, 12 years after retirement. But “when you’re in it, it’s much more difficult,” she admitted.

“You have to be in your head in the one sense,” she explained, “but I also think you have to know it so well that you are able to let it be. In a way, what needs to be said then becomes an unconscious thing.”

She describes performing as a “powerful, huge, energetic current that goes through you. You disappear, and you just feel that you’re a conduit, and nothing can touch that.”

When Hart retired in 2005, she missed that feeling: “That’s what I think the grieving process is for: for losing that sense for being able to live in that space.”

She retired in part because roles for her were diminishing, and because of the constant work needed to keep up her level of performance: “There was no way that I could keep the level that I expected without continual work and continual eyes and coaching and assistance that way,” she said.

David Cooper (all)

the dancing she would do as “heartfelt walking,” she immediately accepted. (For the record, it was definitely more than heartfelt walking.)

Is she happy her life took the path it did?

“I still think there’s no life like being able to be an artist, but boy oh boy, you have to be prepared for it,” she said, “because it’s not an easy life. But I never thought about it as being a difficult life. I knew that - now in perspective - when things are finished, I realized that there were a lot of heartaches.

But if you’re doing something that you truly love, it doesn’t feel like that.”

Evelyn Hart and Liam Caines in Vespers rehearsal.

But that doesn’t mean she’s sitting at home watching television all day now.

She still does barre every morning and teaches. She hasn’t stopped performing, either; she just goes about it differently.

She has experimented with acting, working in partnership with two musician friends of hers, and she feels that’s gone well.

In March, she performed in Love, Sex & Brahms, a piece by former National Ballet of Canada AD James Kudelka.

She was at first concerned she couldn’t meet his expectations, because she had

“I have a feeling that

For Hart, studio and stage were two different experiences. In the studio, she could work on perfecting her performance, but onstage, she could live in the performance.

my greater purpose is to communicate. And I don’t think that’s ever

She preferred the rehearsal process “because it was far less nerve-wracking and I always felt I could come much closer to my goals and my ideals in rehearsal than I could when I perform.

Because there was always that element of anxiety.”

Because of her intense rehearsal process, she could let go in her performance and give herself over to the power of the stage; otherwise, she would have had to be in her head too much.

already retired. But when he described

going to change.”

Evelyn Hart Summer 2017 | just dance! 13

{MEETTHEPRO}

Celebrating 20 years

0 2 triple

threat Dance Convention

Love the Learning

“A lot of my kids, I think, are so anxious and want to be professional right now, that they pull themselves down because they’re not where they think they should be. And actually, they’re exactly where they are as long as they continue to work. The thing is to not be fearful of that work and recognizing that it’s going to be a lot of work. But each little thing that you accomplish is another drop in the bucket. And some things will come fast and some things will go slowly.

But I really think it is loving the learning and loving the work. Because that’s where you’re going to spend all of your time. You’re going to be onstage, yes, but if that’s what you’re doing it for, is to be onstage – only – that really isn’t going to work. You need to really enjoy the learning and coming back and doing it again and doing it again and doing it again. And doing it again. Again! And recognizing that those moments are really why you’re doing it. And be inside yourself and recognize that there’s always going to be somebody better and somebody worse. But focus on what it is that you want to accomplish, not what

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somebody else will accomplish. Because in the end it isn’t about what somebody else accomplishes, it’s only about what you accomplish.”

Evelyn Hart in Giselle.

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The way I overcome dance challenges is to believe in myself that I can do it and then get advice from my teachers to help me see what I need to do to accomplish whatever challenge it is.

In October, 2016, I sprained my ankle in gym class. I couldn’t dance for a few months. I thought I would miss this year’s competitions. Also, at school, I had a hard time playing and having fun with my friends. Luckily, in December my ballet teacher started to teach me special exercises to help me catch up with the rest of my group. So, every day, I HAD to do challenging exercises and work really hard. The exercises felt just like physio exercises, things that you don’t normally do because you don’t want to… but I needed to do them so I could dance again, and I had to work extra hard so that I could catch up with my group, and dance with them in competition. It worked, and now I’m preparing for the next competition.

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Turning Pointe Dance Studio, Castlegar, BC My way of overcoming challenges is to never give up and keep trying; if you push yourself you can overcome the challenge.

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Age: 14 JDs fabulous feet, Red Deer, Alberta Whenever I am faced with a challenge I set my mind to accomplishing it. I surround myself with people who support me and give me constructive feedback. Sometimes when I get frustrated I need to break from what I’m working on and see where I’m having the most trouble and just work on that portion of it. If I want to accomplish something I work on it every single day until I do… All it takes is a positive mind set and determination and you will be able to overcome any obstacle that dance or life throws at you!

Summer 2017 | just dance! 17

18 just dance! | Summer 2017

CANADIANS FIND INTERNATIONAL SUCCESS

BY HEIDI TURNER

Some Canadian dancers dream of being famous nationally, others dream of international success. Some find success internationally, but maintain their strong ties to dance in Canada. Crystal Pite, Reid Anderson, and Kelly Konno have used their talents to find success both in Canada and around the world. They’ve done so by dancing, choreographing, and working as artistic directors for companies here and abroad, and in the process, they’ve raised awareness around the world about the high caliber of dance talent in Canada.

CRYSTAL PITE

FOUNDER & CHOREOGRAPHER KIDD PIVOT Born in Terrace, BC, and raised in Victoria, Crystal Pite’s name has become synonymous with dance in Vancouver, but her influence extends far beyond the city’s boundaries. Following years of training at Pacific Dance Centre in Victoria, and summer programs at both the Banff Centre and the School of the Toronto Dance Theatre, Pite joined Ballet British Columbia as a dancer at age 17.

Two years later, she had her professional

choreographic debut. During her eight years as a dancer with Ballet BC, Pite would continue choreographing works for them as well as Ballet Jörgen and Les Ballets Jazz de Montréal.

In 1996, Pite left Vancouver to become part of William Forsythe’s Ballett Frankfurt.

During her time with the company, Pite toured extensively across Europe and the United States.

After Ballett Frankfurt, she became resident choreographer at Les Ballets Jazz de Montréal, during which time she also founded her own dance company, Kidd Pivot, in Vancouver. Kidd Pivot tours across Canada and internationally; they had a residency at the Künstlerhaus Mousonturm in Frankfurt from 2010 to 2012.

Since her choreographic debut in 1990, Pite has created more than 40 works for companies around the world, including Nederlands Dans Theater I, Cullberg Ballet in Sweden, and the National Ballet of Canada.

She has also had works commissioned by the Paris Opera Ballet and the Royal Ballet in London.

Among the many Crystal Pite

accolades Pite has received during her career are the Isadora Award, the Banff Centre’s Clifford E. Lee Award, and the 2011 Jacob’s Pillow Dance Award. In 2015, she received a Laurence Olivier Award for Outstanding Achievement in Dance.

Reid Anderson (left) and Friedemann Vogel.

REID ANDERSON

ARTISTIC DIRECTOR STUTTGART BALLET Born in New Westminster in 1949, Reid Anderson began dance training in Burnaby at the Dolores Kirkwood Academy (now the Kirkwood Academy of Performing Arts). At the age of 17 he obtained a grant that gave him the opportunity to study dance at the Royal Ballet School in London, England; only one year later, Anderson became part of the Stuttgart Ballet.

That move came just in time for Anderson, who told The Globe and Mail that he had been unhappy at London’s Royal Ballet School. While at a Christmas party, Anderson spoke with a dance Summer 2017 | just dance! 19

teacher who told Anderson about auditions with Stuttgart Ballet’s founder and choreographer John Cranko, someone Anderson greatly admired.

Anderson arranged to audition for the company, which at the time was known as the State Opera Ballet Company of Baden-Wurttemberg and later became Stuttgart Ballet.

By 1974, Anderson worked his way up to soloist at the Stuttgart Ballet, and to principal dancer in 1978. In addition to dancing with Stuttgart Ballet, Anderson guest performed with many international companies, including the Royal Swedish Ballet, the Hamburg Ballet, and the Prague State Opera Ballet.

Once he finished his time as a dancer with Stuttgart Ballet, Anderson returned to Canada, where he was the artistic director of Ballet British Columbia from 1987 to 1989. He then took a role as artistic director of the National Ballet of Canada, a role he held for seven seasons before he went back to Stuttgart Ballet, this time as the artistic director.

At the end of his first season as artistic director, Anderson was named Intendant

of the company. Anderson remains director/intendant of Stuttgart Ballet.

Under his leadership, the company has toured internationally, including in the US, Hong Kong, Japan, and Russia.

Anderson has received many international accolades, including the 2006 German Dance Prize, and the Medal of Merit of Baden-Wurttemberg. In 2006, he was voted Director of the Year by readers of Dance Europe.

superstars. Originally from Alberta, Konno moved to BC in her youth and spent her teenage years in Surrey. Having come from a dancing family, Konno naturally loved it and as soon as she graduated from high school, she moved to Los Angeles.

“My training in Canada prepared me for my international success by giving me a loving and supportive surrounding to train out of,” Konno says. “The studios I attended in Lethbridge, [Joy’s Dance Factory] and in Surrey, [Dance West] gave me a safe place to hone my skills. The teachers that I learned from over the years all played an integral role in my success.”

While in Los Angeles, she had the opportunity to work as a professional dancer, performing with superstars, going on world tours and performing on the Grammy Awards and Saturday Night Live.

Kelly Konno

KELLY KONNO

DANCER, CHOREOGRAPHER Kelly Konno might have lived every young dancer’s dream, having danced backup for Janet Jackson, Michael Jackson, Prince, and Justin Timberlake, to name a few

When Konno turned 30, she moved back to Vancouver and continued her work as a choreographer, with her choreography appearing on Canada Sings, Another Cinderella Story, and the film Frankie & Alice. She has also begun to pursue acting as a profession, and has appeared in Motive, Once Upon a Time, and Emily

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Our PROGRAMS

Owens M.D. She also regularly teaches classes, including Bowen Dance Cardio on Bowen Island where she now lives.

In addition to all the above, Konno is a coowner of Triple Threat Dance Convention, a national dance convention aimed at educating, inspiring, and motivating young dancers. She also willingly shares her advice with dancers who aspire to be like her.

“Train hard,” Konno says. “Eat, sleep,

E ncore Dance Academy

Inspire. Challenge. Encourage.

Summer 2017

and breathe dance. Sacrifice things in life that don’t align with your ultimate goal. Stay humble, and stay hungry. And listen carefully to your teachers and your support team.”

Come join the summertime fun!

Summer Camps available for all ages and abilities. Come in for more information on all our programs.

MORE INTERNATIONAL SUCCESS STORIES Crystal Pite, Reid Anderson, and Kelly Konno aren’t the only Canadian dancers to find international success. Here is just a short list of other internationally renowned dancers and choreographers.

James Kudelka (choreographer, dancer) has created works for approximately 25 dance companies, including American Ballet Theatre, the Joffrey Ballet, and the San Francisco Ballet. His awards include two Jean A. Chalmers Awards and two Dora Mavor Moore Awards.

Jean Grand-Maitre (Artistic Director, Alberta Ballet) has performed across Canada and created contemporary ballets for companies around the world, including the Paris Opera Ballet, the Stuttgart Ballet, the National Ballet of Cuba, and the Munich Opera Ballet.

Since 2002, Grand-Maitre has been artistic director at Alberta Ballet, and has vastly expanded the company’s repertoire, making the company the second largest in Canada. He was also the director of choreography for the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics Opening and Closing Ceremonies.

Lesley Telford (dancer, choreographer, director) has created works for companies including Nederlands Dans Theater 1, Ballett Vorpommern (Germany), International Project for Dance in Rome, and Compañía Nacional de Danza 2 (Spain). She continues to teach workshops and classes at Ballet BC, Prague International Contemporary Dance Intensive, and Madrid Conservatory of Dance. As a dancer, she has performed with Nacho Duato’s Compañía Nacional de Danza (Spain), Les Grands Ballets Canadiens, and Nederlands Dans Theater 1. In 2015, Lesley Telford was selected by Crystal Pite to receive the Vancouver Mayor’s Arts Award for emerging artist in dance.

www.encoredanceacademy.ca

604-468-7400 Office Open Wednesdays 3pm - 7pm Starting July

Follow us...

Summer 2017 | just dance! 21

Summer Creation Intensive July 24 - August 3 | 9am-5pm open to dancers 9-17 yrs

SUMMER WORKSHOPS July 4 to 7 and August 7 to 10

Guest Teachers Roberta Bierman Caara Cridland Reid Friedl Ariel Fuoco Zac Vran

Ballet | Contemporary | ImprovisaAon | Jazz | CondiAoning Dancers will train with our outstanding faculty to improve technique, gather inspira9on from our beau9ful surroundings and produce outdoor photos and videos and a final performance

AudiAons for CompeAAve & Pre-Professional May 28 - June 1. Call or email to register RegistraAon for School Year opens July 12, 2017 www.defygravitydance.ca | 604.272.0808 | office@defygravitydance.ca

dancepower.com

info: 778.232.0868 registration: dancefxmapleridge@gmail.com

DANCE POWER 2018

2018 TOUR CITIES

Burnaby 1 Feb. 27 – March 4 Edmonton 1 March 5 – 12 Calgary April 22 – 27 Edmonton 2 April 23 – 29 Surrey April 30 – May 5 Burnaby 2 May 8 – 13 Maple Ridge May 22 – 28 Dates are subject to change

22 just dance! | Summer 2017

just dance! Q&A WITH DANCE ATTACK & TORONTO DANCE TEACHER EXPO FOUNDER KENT MCCORD

BY RACQUEL FORAN

WHEN AND WHY DID YOU START DANCE ATTACK? I started DANCE ATTACK back in 2008, but it has been in the last 4 years that we have really taken off. I felt there was a need for events like this for students and teachers.

No more travelling long distances as DANCE ATTACK is everywhere! I wanted the ‘big names’ or ‘industries’ best’ for everybody.

WERE/ARE YOU A DANCER? It’s funny, I get asked this all the time on the phone or by email, but when they see me in person some people laugh. I didn’t grow up a dancer at all, but I know how to run a business/events!

WAS DANCE ATTACK YOUR FIRST DANCE RELATED JOB/BUSINESS? I used to own two very successful dance studios with my ex-wife and ran the day to day operations, so I understand the business and the needs associated from the student and teacher side of things.

DANCE ATTACK was my project from the start, as she was never involved, after we split, it gave me more time to develop and grow DANCE ATTACK to where it is today.

WHERE WAS YOUR FIRST EVENT? Our first event was a small workshop featuring Amy Gardner back in 2008, at a small hall with about 60 kids! We have since grown to have events averaging 500 students and our Teacher Expo is bringing in close to 1500 attendees combined each year.

HOW QUICKLY DID YOU GROW? The first couple of years we grew very little as I was too busy running the dance studios, working full time at a Casino and taking care of my two boys as I had them all the time. Since 2014, we have grown to 6 Dance Workshops, 2 Acro Workshops, 2 Teacher Expos (Toronto & Calgary), and 1 Student Expo and our Competitions!

WHAT WERE SOME OF THE CHALLENGES YOU FACED? The biggest challenge I faced was getting to know the studio directors and them believing in the vision of DANCE ATTACK, because I do not look like a dancer! This was always a bit of challenge when I would come to studios, but thankfully now I am well liked and known and can pretty much walk into any studio or event and approach individuals and they know who I am!

WHAT WAS YOUR GOAL WHEN YOU FIRST LAUNCHED? My goal when I first started was to run the best dance events found anywhere, back in the day I just wanted to prove I can run events and provide top notch quality.

HOW HAS THAT GOAL CHANGED OVER TIME? I still want to run the best dance events around! I believe that we offer the best faculty, great customer service, organized, fun events and that will always be my goal. We strive to provide the best value for your money. Seeing the smiles on students, teachers and parents is something that can never get old and shows you are doing a great job!

WHEN/WHY DID THE TEACHER EXPO IDEA COME ABOUT? Myself and my business partner Mike, had been speaking and saying we need an event more local and bring as many educators together for an amazing Expo for all to enjoy, learn and grow. Until we launched you had to travel to the USA for Teacher Only Events. Within a few weeks The Toronto Dance Teacher Expo was born in December of 2015. Followed by The Calgary Dance Teacher Expo for this year.

WHAT IS YOUR OBJECTIVE/ GOAL WITH THE EXPOS? Our goal is to bring the dance community together for 3 days of learning and growing. I am fortunate to bring in some of the biggest dance educators and biggest dance vendors in the business. Attendees walk away feeling inspired and motivated for their dance season with the knowledge they receive from the Expo. The Expos also allow me to continue to build relationships with studios who then continue to support our other related events.

WHAT DO YOU LOVE ABOUT WHAT YOU DO? I have met so many fantastic individuals and built amazing relationships with everybody. I wake up each day organizing and planning our events. My

The third Toronto Dance Teacher Expo will take place Aug. 8 to 10. The first Calgary Expo will take place July 21 to 23.

Summer 2017 | just dance! 23

schedule allows me to never miss anything involving my two boys in their life as I do not have set hours, I work as needed, which can be a lot, however receiving all the fantastic emails and messages after each event makes all the hard work worthwhile in the end.

WHAT IS YOUR FAVOURITE MEMORY FROM ONE OF YOUR EVENTS? Honestly each event we provide is a thrill, I meet so many thankful and exciting students, parents, and teachers. But it was after our first Toronto Expo and seeing how well it came together, seeing attendees from all over Canada and USA and how much it helped the teachers be inspired, I knew we had something amazing brewing for the dance community!

WHO HAS BEEN THE MOST INTERESTING/THRILLING/STANDOUT DANCER TO WORK WITH? This is honestly so tough, I have been fortunate enough to work some of the biggest names in the industry. My Toronto based faculty is simply amazing and continue to see the vision of the company

and are so talented and just a joy to work with. Back in the day the first time I booked Canadian stand-out Tara-Jean Popowich was certainly a highlight and was the start of booking so many more talented artists!

we get bigger and gain more and more

IS THERE A DANCER/ CHOREOGRAPHER YOU WOULD LIKE TO WORK WITH THAT YOU HAVE YET TO HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY?

television show “The Next Step” beginning

Again, this is a very tough question! I have worked with some of the biggest names: tWitch (Stephen Boss), Stacey Tookey, TOKYO, and NAPPYTABS (Napoleon and Tabitha) for Dance Attack and now I have the biggest dance educators for the Expos. One artist I have not booked yet, is the very talented Sonya Tayeh! So if she is reading this let’s talk! She would be a very nice addition to the Dance Attack family!

WHERE DO YOU SEE YOURSELF, DANCE ATTACK, AND THE EXPOS IN 5 YEARS? DANCE ATTACK is on fire and I hope we are continuing to provide top notch events all across Canada. Every year

50 ss minar 24 Classes s 24 Se +

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contacts and sponsors. I want to be every studios choice for Workshops, Expos, and Competition as we grow all across Canada! We are extremely excited to be the workshop tour provider for the hit at the end of 2017 called “The Next Step – Dance Academy” in partnership with DANCE ATTACK.

ANYTHING ELSE YOU WOULD LIKE OUR READERS TO KNOW ABOUT YOU AND/OR YOUR EVENTS? DANCE ATTACK is growing at a rapid pace and we are very excited to continue to develop, we are here to stay in Canada. Our goal is put smiles on all of our attendees’ faces and provide the most knowledgeable faculty available. We look forward to seeing you at an event soon! danceattackworkshop.com danceattackcompetition..com torontodanceteacherexpo.com calgarydanceteacherexpo.com

July 21-23, 2017 www.calgarydanceteacherexpo.com

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www.torontodanceteacherexpo.com 24 just dance! | Summer 2017

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Aug 8-10, 2017

HISTORYOFDANCE

The Dancers of Damelahamid perform in traditional costumes.

Preserving Aboriginal Dance in Canada

BY ANDREA LOEWEN

Dance has been at the core of Aboriginal life for centuries. It’s more than a fun pastime: song and dance hold their history, language, and social structure.

According to Margaret Grenier, Artistic Director of Dancers for Damelahamid and member of the Gitxsan Nation, “there was a whole political system that was associated with the songs and dances. We have oral histories, and it’s basically stories that go back to our origin.

There would be a story created when a significant event happened over time.”

Chris Randle (all)

As dances were created, the ownership of a story would go to one family who was then responsible for not only maintaining and sharing the dance, but the land and resources held by that story. Because of this, the sharing and ownership of songs and dances was the primary method by which resources, land, and social standing were distributed.

Songs and dances were shared at potlatches, or feasts. This means that in 1885, when the Canadian government banned potlatches, they didn’t just stifle a social event. They cut off entire nations of people from their own histories and social structure.

“It became up to individuals. The potlatch ban took away the sort of social structure that supported the passing forward of the practices,” says Grenier.

“I was really fortunate to be born into a lineage that song and dance was passed down through.”

away from my mom and my dad,” she says, “That was hard on me as a teenager, I was ashamed to be First Nations.”

For Grenier and her family, the lifting of the ban was the start of a new challenge: how to begin redistributing the songs and dances they had been holding for decades. Due to residential schools and displacement by missionaries, however, not all families were able to hold onto their dances.

Williams was brainstorming ways to help find her aunt, who is missing, and honour her cousin, who was lost to serial killer Robert "Willie" Pickton, who targeted Aboriginal women, when she began to consider dance: “I was trying to get my missing aunt’s picture out there and to honour my cousin... for some reason I thought of dance.”

Lorelei Williams, of the Skatin Nation, is the founder of Butterflies in Spirit, an Aboriginal dance group that preforms to raise awareness of missing and murdered Aboriginal women in Canada.

Before she started exploring the world of dance, she had a hard time connecting to her heritage.

“I never knew any of my culture growing up. I lost my culture, because it was taken

THE POTLATCH BAN

Potlatches took many forms across various Aboriginal nations in Canada, but they always involved song and dance, as a means of sharing history and social position, as well as feasting. Some also included the sharing of wealth, marriage ceremonies, birth announcements, and the giving of names. Dance was integral to each of these practices, and would have been a key element of all ceremonial practices.

The first dance performed by Butterflies in Spirit was in the middle of a busy intersection in downtown Vancouver. At this time, however, Williams and many of her fellow dancers still didn’t know their own traditional dances. Instead they did a hip hop dance to Beyoncé’s “Who Run the World?”, wearing t-shirts with the faces of their missing and murdered loved ones.

Canada’s Potlatch Ban lasted almost 70 years, from 1885-1951. Sir John A. McDonald, Prime Minister at the time, did not see the value in potlatches. While he, and the government claimed that they were banning potlatches to help unify the Dominion of Canada and restrict practices they saw as unnecessary, most Aboriginal populations immediately saw this as an instrument of intolerance and an attempt to cut their people off from their political and social structure.

Summer 2017 | just dance! 25

{HISTORYOFDANCE} At first, the dancers of Butterflies in Spirit were happy to perform whatever dance they could, from hip hop to contemporary. After two years, however, they began to look for ways to reconnect to their traditional dances.

Without a family network like Grenier’s to rely on, Williams had to research in other ways: “I asked elders that I know in the community and I put it on Facebook, but then I’d find someone who knew it, but they were too far away, had moved, on reserve, or missing is always my problem.”

This is part of why Grenier and Dancers of Damelahamid have taken their dances out of the feast halls and into theatres and schools. “We can’t just hold these things really close because we’re worried about making ourselves vulnerable, because the more closely we hold it in the more likely it is that it won’t be strong enough to continue forward.”

In Williams’ exploration of dance – both contemporary as well as traditional – she has found something unexpected: “I didn’t realize how powerful dance is for healing. As family members of missing and murdered Aboriginal women,we started to heal together as well, while raising awareness of this issue. And when you start to learn about your culture you realize that you’ve got to get involved and give back to our roots.”

TRADITIONAL DANCE

Unlike other kinds of dance, traditional Aboriginal dances have a relatively strict context that surrounds their teaching and performance that make it difficult to maintain now that the members of each nation have been dispersed across the country. For example, the fact that dances are intended to be maintained within a family line means that, for those who adhere to the traditional practices, they are not allowed to teach the dance to those outside of their family line. It also means that there is no formal training system, because children would typically learn in their households, from their parents and grandparents. This has created a challenge now, both for those who would like to learn their traditional dances as well as those who would like to pass their dances down. Some, like the Dancers of Damelahamid, are attempting to maintain their traditions while bringing the dances into a new context.

26 just dance! | Summer 2017

DANCINGDIVERSIONS

Dancing funnies

DANCE DEFINITION

ANCERS WHY DID THE D D? CROSS THE ROA

PAS DE DEUX

E D TO REVERSE TH BECAUSE THEY HA SIDE. ON THE OTHER COMBINATION

Definition source: thefreedictionary.com/pas+de+deux, joke source: rockettes.com/blog/jokes-only-dancers-understand

A dance for two, especially in ballet, consisting of an entrée and adagio, a variation for each dancer, and a coda.

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“Dance is music made visible.”

                             

BALLET BARYSHNIKOV BLOCK CHOREOGRAPH CONTEMPORARY COUNT DANCE DAVID ADAMS DUET EMILY MOLNAR HIPHOP JAZZ KAREN KAIN LIGHTS LYRICAL MARTHA GRAHAM MODERN MUSIC MUSICAL PERFORM PIROUETTE POINTE RHYTHM RWB STAGE STEP TALENT TAP TCHAIKOVSKY TURNOUT

— GEORGE BALANCHINE

Summer 2017 | just dance! 27

Moncton, New Brunswick Capitol Theatre April 6th-8th 2018

Dartmouth, Nova Scotia Alderney Landing/ Bella Rose Arts Centre April 18th-22nd 2018

Calgary, Alberta

Edge School for Athletes April 27th-29th 2018

Mississauga, Ontario Meadowvale Theatre May 12th-13th 2018

28 just dance! | Summer 2017

Sydney, Nova Scotia

Emera Centre Northside April 13th-15th 2018

Halifax, Nova Scotia

Bella Rose Arts Centre April 26th-29th 2018

Be In The Spotlight #MDP

BALANCE

THE OF BENEFITS OF MEDITATION Research studies continue to confirm that in general, people these days are more stressed out than previous generations, and teens particularly, are experiencing higher levels of stress and anxiety. This isn’t good. Both can have devastating long-term effects on physical health. But meditation could be the fix. Research is starting to prove that stress reduction is just one of the many benefits of meditation.

WHAT IS MEDITATION? There are several dozen types of meditation; Chinese Zen, Tibetan Buddhist, Metta, Hindu, and Transcendental are just a few. All styles include the practice of sitting quietly and still with a clear mind and the goal of achieving inner peace and harmony.

Some people refer to this as mindfulness.

Internationally renowned scientist and meditation teacher Jon Kabat-Zinn explains mindfulness as “paying attention in a particular way; on purpose, in the moment, and non-judgmentally.” This may sound a little out there, but meditation has been practiced for thousands of years by many different cultures. It has survived because practitioners swear by its benefits. In recent years, scientific studies have backed up these centuries old anecdotal claims.

SCIENTIFIC BENEFITS The list of benefits from meditation is long, including reducing stress; improving focus and memory; improving cardiovascular health; reducing physical and emotional pain; and enhancing immune system.

Until recently however, there were few scientific studies to back up these claims.

Harvard University’s Sara Lazar, PhD, was the first scientist to study the effects of mindfulness and meditation with brain scans. The results surprised her; that meditating literally changes the brain.

prefrontal cortex, 50-year-old meditators had the same amount of grey matter as 25-year-olds.

For the second study Lazar and her team looked at people who had never meditated before. One group was put through an eight-week mindfulnessbased stress reduction program. At the end of the eight weeks, in the group that meditated they found differences in volume in five different regions of the brain: the region involved with mind wandering and self relevance; the region which helps cognition, memory, and emotional regulation; the region associated with perspective, empathy and compassion; and the Pons which is where a lot of regulatory neurotransmitters are produced. These areas all showed thickening. The amygdala which is responsible for the “fight or flight” part of the brain got smaller, which is correlated with a reduction in stress levels.

Although there aren’t currently any good studies that examine how long or how frequently you need to meditate to benefit from it, Lazar’s research subjects averaged about 30-minutes a day. Many who meditate regularly however, will tell you that you will feel better with as little as 10-minutes a day.

BY RACQUEL FORAN Most practitioners suggest starting out slowly with one to five minutes a day. As you become more comfortable with the practice you can increase the duration of your sessions. Commit to a time of day, a place, and duration for your practice. When you first start, committing to meditate at a specific time of day for a set amount of time will help establish a routine and in time your body will be conditioned to meditate at that time.

It is also important to find a quiet place where you are comfortable and won't be disturbed. No smart phones, radios, televisions, or computers!

Most forms or meditation are practiced seated. The most important part of this is to keep your back completely straight from the pelvis to the neck. Your mouth should be closed and your eyes open with your gaze lowered and focussed on the ground two or three feet in front of you.

Now focus your attention on remaining in the present moment as much as possible.

Be aware of and observe what passes through your mind, but don’t dwell on anything. If you struggle with this, you can also focus on your breathing.

For more information about meditation and tips on how to get started check out these resources: •

Live and Dare: Master Your Mind, Master Your Life: liveanddare.com/ types-of-meditation/

•

Guided Mindfulness Meditation: Practices with Jon Kabat-Zinn: mindfulnesscds.com/pages/aboutthe-author

•

The Scientific Benefits of Meditation

by Ian Luebbers: scienceofpeople. com/2015/11/the-scientific-benefitsof-meditation/

GETTING STARTED Meditation is relatively simple and anyone can do it, but sometimes getting started and sticking with it can be difficult. As mentioned, there are several different types of mediation, and the type you choose could determine your success or failure, so if you try one and don’t like it, don’t’ be afraid to try a different method.

Her first study compared a group of longtime meditators with a control group.

Lazar’s research team found that those who meditate had more grey matter in the auditory and sensory cortex, as well as in the frontal cortex which is associated with the working memory and executive decision making.

Lazar notes that it is well-documented that people’s cortex shrinks with age making it more difficult to figure things out and remember things. However, her studies showed that in one region of the Summer 2017 | just dance! 29

ACADEMIES, SCHOOLS & STUDIOS ARMSTRONG DANCE armstrongdance.ca info@armstrongdance.ca 250 546 0308 Armstrong, BC ARTS UMBRELLA artsumbrella.com info@artsumbrella.com 604 681 5268 x0 Vancouver, BC BOSWELL DANCE ACADEMY boswelldance.com info@ boswelldance.com 604 522 4424 New Westminster, BC DanceFX dancefxmapleridge.ca dancefxmapleridge@gmail.com 778 232 0868 Maple Ridge, BC DANCE THEATRE PERFORMING ARTS edmdancetheatre.com dancetheatre@shaw.ca 780 443 0226 Edmonton, AB

DEFY GRAVITY DANCE COMPANY defygravitydance.com office@defygravitydance.com 604 294 4677 Richmond, BC DRIFTWOOD DANCE ACADEMY driftwooddance.com info@driftwooddance.com 604 770 4650 North Vancouver, BC

ONEDANCE CREATIVE ART CENTRE onedance.ca onedance@shaw.ca 604 987 8747 North Vancouver, BC

CATCHING A RISING STAR catcharisingstar.ca 403 901 8925 Strathmore, AB CHOREOLAB westcoastchoreolab@gmail.com 604 644 3720 Greater Vancouver DANCE POWER dancepower.com 780 473 4378 Edmonton, AB

PRO ARTÉ CENTRE proartecentre.ca info@proarte.ca 604 984 ARTE (2783) North Vancouver, BC

THE HOLLYWOOD SUMMER TOUR thehollywoodsummertour.com info@thehollywoodsummertour.com 1 818 574 8365 Los Angeles, CA

PULSE DANCE CENTRE onthepulse.ca 604 474 3466 info@onthepulse.ca Port Coquitlam, BC ROYAL CITY YOUTH BALLET royalcityyouthballet.org rcyb@telus.net 604 521 7290 New Westminster, BC

MILLENNIUM DANCE PRODUCTIONS millenniumproductions.biz millenniumproductions@ ns.aliantzinc.ca 1 866 326 7883 Lantz, NS NORTHERN STARS DANCE COMPETITION northernstarsdance.com info@northernstarsdance.com 905 901 2370 Oakville, ON

SPIRAL DANCE CO. spiraldance.ca info@spiraldance.ca 604 541 2800 White Rock, BC VICTORIA ACADEMY OF BALLET victoriaacademyofballet.ca 250 590 6752 Victoria, BC

COMPETITIONS, CONVENTIONS & WORKSHOPS BREAKTHRU DANCE CHALLENGE breakthrudancechallenge.com 647 218 6274 Toronto, ON CADENCE DANCE FINALS cadencedancefinals.com info@cadencedancefinals.com Ontario

SHOWTIME DANCE PROMOTIONS showtimedancepromotions.com info@showtimedancepromotions. com 250 768 7202 TORONTO DANCE TEACHER EXPO torontodanceteacherexpo.com danceattackworkshops@gmail.com 519 365 0272 Toronto, ON VIBE DANCE COMPETITION vibedance.ca info@vibedance.ca 250 769 3633 Kelowna, BC

ENCORE DANCE ACADEMY encoredanceacademy.ca office@encoredanceacademy.ca 604 468 7400 Port Coquitlam, BC LAMONDANCE Lamondance.com 604 980 3040 North Vancouver, BC

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VIEW DANCE CHALLENGE viewdancechallenge.com info@viewdancechallenge.com 1 855 405 8439 Toronto, ON

PERFORMING ARTS RETAILERS & SUPPLIERS AINSLIEWEAR ainsliewear.com orders@ainsliewear.com 1 855 310 4555 AVALON DANCE SHOP OF CANADA avalondance.ca info@avalondance.ca 604 874 2461 Vancouver, BC DANCECRAFT dancecraft.ca dancecraft@shaw.ca 604 590 1733 Surrey, BC EN POINTE ENTERPRISES en-pointe.com info@en-pointe.com 1 866 491 9019 FOREVER DANCEWEAR foreverdancewear.com info@foreverdancewear.com 604 770 0703 North Vancouver, BC JAZZ MA TAZZ DANCE & COSTUME jazz-ma-tazz.com jazzma@telus.net Abbotsford: 604 855 9166 Maple Ridge: 604 466 0861

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VISIT OUR WEBSITE FOR DIRECT LINKS TO LISTINGS’ WEBSITES: justdancemagazine.com FIND US ONLINE:

PROFESSIONAL COMPANIES BALLET VICTORIA balletvictoria.ca info@balletvictoria.ca 250 380 6063 Victoria, BC

EXPERIENCE A TRUE FINALS. QUALIFY AT ANY OF THESE FANTASTIC COMPETITIONS.

NOTTAWASAGA INN RESORT 6015 HIGHWAY 89, ALLISTON, ON. L9R 1A4

www.cadencedancefinals.com info@cadencedancefinals.com 905-901-2370 Summer 2017 | just dance! 31

Royal City Youth Ballet Company Society presents

RCYB is a leader in training young dancers in the performance skills they will need to excel in the performing arts.

Don’t miss this opportunity to develop your skills as a dancer, training with world-renowned teachers and other dedicated dancers.

Aug 14-19, 2017 at the Anvil Centre

777 Columbia St, New Westminster

& NAPA Dance Studio

511 Columbia Street, New Westminster There will be a demonstration on Saturday August 19, 2017 from 5:30 to 7:00 pm at the Anvil Centre Theater.

Ballet Repertoire • Pas De Deux Contemporary • Musical Theatre Special Boys’ Classes All levels from Juniors to Seniors Classes will be conducted under the watchful eye of our Artistic Director, Camilla Fishwick-Kellogg from Los Angeles California, and our Executive Producer, Trisha Sinosich-Arciaga

On Thursday, August 17, 2017,

audition to be a part of the company, and next year’s Nutcracker tour!

(Auditions are for dancers age 7 and up)

Register early, as space is limited For more information: email: rcyb@telus.net

w w w . r o ya l c i t y y o u t h b a l l e t . o r g