Paige Anderson is a proud Powell Riverite, so the best part of the Laszlo Tamasik Dance Academy’s (LTDA) trip to Dance the Magic in Disneyland from November 22 to 24 was seeing the name of her hometown up on the big screen.
“During the onstage component, the screen read: Canada, Powell River, British Columbia, Laszlo Tamasik Dance Academy,” said Anderson, who owns and instructs for the academy. “It was wonderful to be one of only two dance academies from Canada at this event, and we were so proud to represent Powell River there.”
Anderson took over the academy five years ago when Laszlo Tamasik retired. Since then, she has worked to grow the academy by increasing the opportunities for Powell River dancers. Dance the Magic at Disneyland was one of those opportunities.
“We have a good base of competitive dancers, so I started looking into avenues to provide a great experience outside of competition,” said Anderson. “Dance the Magic requires a certain level of skill as well as comfort performing, so it was a great fit.”
Dance the Magic happens six times each year in Disneyland, California, with additional events in Florida, New York and Tennessee. Academies submit video applications, and those accepted at this stage are provided choreography to learn. The team from LTDA only had three weeks to practice before sending in a new video to show their progress. Dance the Magic evaluates those videos and accepts teams that meet their standards to be part of the event.
“We had a team of 39 dancers between the ages of seven and 16,” said Anderson. “We received the parade choreography at the end of September and sent in our progress video mid-October. We got the onstage choreography around that time as well, and only had a month to learn it before we left. And we were one of the academies picked to perform three of our own dance routines. It was a lot, but the team really stepped up to the challenge.”
Anderson said the team really enjoyed the parade.
“It was a different style of dance than they’ve done before, but it was fun,” she said. “The movements are fast, and because it’s a parade and not a stage, they were always performing out to the side and moving forward. They were so energized when they finished, I think they would have done it again the same day if they could. It was emotional for me and for parents, too; they worked so hard, and then the parade started and all I could think was, ‘Oh, they’re doing it.’”
Anderson is in the planning stages for another trip, this time to New York to dance with the Rockettes.
“By planning it for 2021 or 2022, the older competitive dancers will be able to participate in one last trip before they graduate,” she said, “and those who are new to dance can be inspired to continue. Our experience at Disneyland has shown them what they can work towards and that it’s attainable.”
