Greater Victoria will become a Mecca of dance from January 27 to February 5 when it hosts of a total of 70 dance events over 10 days.
The event, entitled Dance Days, will feature dance performances, demonstrations, workshops, and free classes around town, according to Elise Wren, Dance Victoria’s community relations manager.
“The free classes are a great opportunity for people to test the waters with dance and take classes with various skill levels, genres, and instructors to find out what works for them,” says Wren. “There’s a wide variety of music that accompanies each genre, such as live African drumming, live classical pianos, and hip-hop on stereo.”
The event will include classes and workshops for all levels of dancers in effort to expand their boundaries, says Wren.
“So when it comes to participating in the classes and workshops, there is really something for everyone,” she says. “The passion I get out of dance is feeling the movement. I love being in a studio, learning an exercise, executing the moves, and focusing on dancing without thinking about outside distractions.”
Another way to explore dance is to observe performances, says Wren. A number of demonstrations and performances, some of which are free, will be happening around town as well.
The international highlight of Dance Days is a performance by Ballet Nacional de Cuba on February 3 and 4 at the Royal Theatre.
“Ballet Nacional de Cuba have rounded up 25 of their most talented dancers to show us a diverse performance highlighting the best of the dancers’ abilities,” explains Wren. “They will be doing excerpts from various ballets, such as Don Quixote, Swan Lake, and The Nutcracker.”
The LOLA Projects are a local highlight of Dance Days; they are performances highlighting two dancers, Trina Stubel and Robert Halley, working with their own choreography, as well as the input of Vancouver choreographers.
The LOLA Projects are the finale of Dance Days and will take place at the Metro Theatre on February 5 at 7:30 pm. Admission is by donation.