Inspiration in motion at Dal Dance workshop

Motion, creativity and passion all came together for Dal Dance Society’s first workshop, aptly named INSPIRE.

The workshop was held on Sunday, November 18, open to the public for anyone over the age of 16. With affordable classes in four different styles of dance, all led by local professional dancers, it was a chance to try out some new steps or perhaps discover dance for the first time.

Hop hop, jazz, contemporary and more

The day started with a quick warm-up followed by the first class: a fast-paced, hard-hitting hip hop class with Janelle Warren, a Dal grad who founded the Black and Gold dance team. Warren currently teaches at the Fall River School of Performing Arts and dances with a local Halifax hip hop group called The Woods.

The small group of early risers were challenged not only in timing, but also in stamina. “It was really fast-paced,” said society treasurer Taylor Cudney, but this didn’t seem to affect the enthusiasm of the students who came to the event. Dancers definitely had to find their own sense of presence in the world of hip hop; each position or movement requires a certain confidence in order to be able to take up the space required to pull off this style.

Up next was a technique challenge, with Loni Kenny showing off her jazz talent. Kenny has a background in teaching jazz, hip hop and ballet in British Columbia for 15 years. Classically trained, Kenny has danced her way from Toronto, to London, to New York. She had also danced abroad before coming to Halifax to study science at Dal.

Kenny challenged dancers to perfect techniques rather than spending a lot of time on a routine, which allowed both beginner and experienced dancers to experience new challenges.

Even Dal Dance’s President Allie Nugent felt herself being challenged. “I’ve never done so many turns in a row!” she said after Kenny’s warm up.

From beginners to veterans

A quick break for lunch followed, and then it was right into the contemporary routine led by Kym Butler, who showed the group some new moves and the importance of fluidity. Butler has been teaching for 25 years and has choreographed various events and organizations, from Fringe Fest to MuchMusic videos. If her background wasn’t enough to draw in curious minds, students were certainly captivated by her dance moves.  

Butler drew on So You Think You Can Dance?-style routines to cater to her crowd of more than 40 young dancers. As soon as she started to layout the routine, it was clear that she was looking for more than just technical ability. Every dance has its own style, but each dancer can also add his or her own flourishes to a routine. This bit of wisdom gave the dancers the motivation to push forward and experiment with their own creativity.

Though this workshop was aimed at intermediate and advanced levels, many beginners came out and held their own, especially in the contemporary session.

“Some of my beginner ballet students are here, and they are doing such a good job of keeping up!” said Cudney. “I think they are doing well because they aren’t thinking about it; they’re just going for it.”

The day ended with Suzanne Chui, a local contemporary dancer and the artistic director of Mocean in Halifax. Chui led the modern dance class, which, to the relief of the dancers included a lot of floor work and slow controlled movement, body awareness and breath. At first it seemed like just a yoga class, allowing the tired dancers to unwind after a day of hard work, but this dance focused on how each body part moves, and how the body is connected, and then how we can connect the body to a piece of music.

As for the name, INSPIRE, Nugent said they decided to spin off of Dal’s “Inspiring Minds” tagline.

“Dal Dance is all about inspiring dancers, of every skill level, so we decided that it would be fitting if we called it INSPIRE,” she said.

More on Dal Dance

Dal Dance offers classes for every level and every style, from jazzercise (which sold out within twenty minutes of registration), to highland, ballet, tap, modern, salsa, belly dancing, contemporary and even musical theater. Classes combine fundamentals and technique as well as conditioning. But mostly it’s about having fun and getting a great workout. Students can sign up at the beginning of each semester for $25. Classes generally are an hour long and are held once a week in either the Studley gym or the University of King’s College Gym facilities.

For more information about the Dal Dance Society and the programs it offers, check out its website.