Young dancers in the Bow Valley have a unique opportunity this August when two of Canada’s top ballet dancers come to Canmore to participate as guest instructors in a three-day intensive workshop.
Hosted by Canmore-based Ignite Dance Studios, this summer intensive will feature instruction in contemporary, jazz, ballet and hip hop at Elevation Place Aug. 15-17.
Galien Johnston Hattori and Yukichi Hattori of the Alberta Ballet will lead the ballet portion of the intensive while Calgary-born Edgar Reyes, a founder of the IllFX Dance Crew, will teach the hip hop and Taylor Dolan, an instructor with the Spiral Dance Co. of Vancouver, will lead the contemporary dance sections.
Ignite Dance Studios ballet instructor Alexis MacIntosh said the husband-wife team Johnston Hattori and Hattori, who are volunteering their time, have a wealth of experience and knowledge to share with dancers.
“They have so much artistically to offer to these aspiring dancers,” said MacIntosh. “They’ve both been trained at two of the best ballet schools in the world. (Galien) being the national ballet of Canada and Yukichi at the Hamburg Ballet School in Germany so they have received amazing training as young dancers and then they have gone on to have prestigious careers working for the national ballet of Canada and the Hamburg Ballet and most recently principle dancers with the Alberta Ballet.”
MacIntosh said studio director Dana Sekulich has plans to continue to bring guest artists to the Bow Valley for further intensive workshops throughout the year.
“It’s so important for them to be exposed to dance outside the Bow Valley and this is the perfect way.”
Registration is $295 for the full three days or $30 drop-in. The summer intensive is designed for intermediate and advanced dancers ages 13-18. To register email [email protected] or call 403-707-5020.
