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We’re thrilled to announce that The Dance Centre is launching a new, free dance program for Lower Mainland elementary school students as part of our education and outreach initiative, The Power of Dance.
The Power of Dance: Elementary Schools Program offers schools a series of six workshops led by experienced professional dance artists, for students in kindergarten through to Grade 7. The workshops introduce students to dance and movement, sparking their creativity and increasing their physical activity levels and supporting their mental and emotional wellness. Two pilot workshops took place at Florence Nightingale Elementary School and Charles Dickens Elementary School in Vancouver in the spring, led by OURO Collective, a Vancouver company whose dynamic hybrid movement combines hip hop, street dance and contemporary dance.
“Participating in dance delivers so many benefits – it’s good for our health, inspires creativity and imagination, and nurtures self-esteem,” says Mirna Zagar, our Executive Director. “By bringing young people into contact with dance, this program will encourage them to find new avenues for personal expression and to communicate better, learn teamwork, and have fun!”
The elementary schools program has been made possible by a generous donation from the Charles and Eve Chang Foundation. Eve Chang, who is a member of The Dance Centre’s Board of Directors, says: “I wanted to support this program because I have personally experienced and witnessed how magical dance and movement can be as a creative, non-verbal outlet for young children. They feel confident to express themselves in a non-threatening form that allows for the emotional release of feelings that perhaps they didn’t know they had inside. When this happens, they become open to learn, feel and grow as individuals.” The Power of Dance program also includes workshops for secondary schools, and for immigrant and refugee youth.
Read more about the Power of Dance
The Power of Dance: Elementary Schools program is made possible through the Charles and Eve Chang Foundation and The Province of British Columbia.
Photos: The Power of Dance Elementary Schools Program at Charles Dickens Elementary.
Left Image: Back row far left: Cristina Bucci, OURO Collective; second from left: Eve Chang
Back row far right: The Dance Centre Education Coordinator Marnie Maretic; second from right, Jhaymee Hizon (assistant to Cristina Bucci)