UNB Dance competing for enrichment
January 25, 2012 6:00 AM ADT
Dancers deserve better than to endure bouncy cheer mats as a stage for their passion.
In Atlantic Canada, university level dance competitions are scarce -- basically non-existent.
“There’s a competition in Halifax, but it’s really a cheer competition that just sort of tacked on a dance division,” said Ashley Thompson, president of the UNB Dance club.
“So we’re dancing on the cheer floors, which are super-bouncy. Not ideal for dance.”
Because of this, for the first time, Thompson and the UNB Dance club have assembled teams from six schools to come to the Lady Beaverbrook Gymnasium to participate in their inter-collegiate dance competition. One of the competing schools is the University of Maine, technically making it a international competition.
Ashley Thompson has been involved with UNB Dance for four years, and is now its president. She has put a lot of work into making dancing at the university level, a serious and competitive pursuit. The UNB Dance club is geared towards people who have an interest in dance at an advanced, competitive level.
Although a young group with only five years of being internally run by UNB, the club features extremely talented dancers, and participates in various shows at both UNB and St. Thomas University, as well as all around Fredericton. However, with room for only 15 to 20 people, the club is selective with who they accept, often turning away as many as 25 people any given year in tryouts. Apart from the thrill shows and getting some practice, though, the dancers were unable to do much with their talent. They wanted more.
The upcoming event is not just the competition. In the afternoon, Matt Marr (UNB Dance alumni and second runner up in So You Think You Can Dance Canada), and Sarah Butler (UNB Dance club’s former president) will provide a workshop, also at the LB gym. This is open to the public for $75 (although registration is now closed) so that advanced dancers who are not a part of UNB’s club can also benefit.
“Not only do these dancers get to come in and compete, they can also participate in this workshop. This way they can take something away for the experience, rather than just competing.”
The club is also looking for volunteers to help organize the event, run concession, take admission at the door, etc. If you’d be interested in being a volunteer, you can sign up at www.acdcompetition.net.
The event will take place on Feb. 5 at the Lady Beaverbrook gymnasium. The competition will run from 9 a.m. until 12 p.m., followed by the workshop from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. Admission will be $5 at the door.
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