Over the last 68 years, audiences at Powell River Festival of Performing Arts have come to expect seeing and hearing the best from local musicians, speakers and singers. Now they can add dancers to that list.
“This year we’re all about finding our feet,” said Jayne Fogarty, discipline head for the new dancing section. “This is the first time we’ve had this in Powell River.”
Thirty years ago, Fogarty, who taught dance, tried to have it included in the festival, but found that the festival was more focused on music. “It has been a long time coming,” she said. “We’ve got quite a bit of talent, so it’s great that it’s going to be brought forward. Performing arts means dance too.”
Rotary Club of Powell River is the major sponsor of the festival. Rotary’s philosophy behind the festival is to try to give participants the best support possible for their artistic development.
As discipline head, Fogarty has had to review other festivals’ dance forms criteria, adapt them for the Powell River festival and then communicate with dance teachers. A variety of dance forms will be included: classical on pointe and flat ballet, modern, jazz, contemporary and hip hop.
“Each is very different from the other,” said Fogarty. “They all draw from the same form, but each is specific in itself.”
Fogarty is relying on her network from teaching dance to find judges for the competitions. Judges will be able to take the criteria and apply it to the dancers in their form.
“They can’t wear pointe shoes in the modern section, and they can’t have bare feet in the ballet section,” said Fogarty. “They’ll have to stick to the form. Judges will be able to compare what they know about classical ballet [in the classical ballet section] to what the person is doing.”
Dance instructors from local studios were included in reviewing criteria and adding their thoughts.
“I was hoping that we could develop something that works for us in Powell River,” said Mariah Sheridan-Runions, owner and instructor at Sheridan Dance Academy. “There are some festivals that are very precise and strict about what they allow. I think it would be more enjoyable for all of us if it’s a little more relaxed.”
Valerie Thompson, festival coordinator, said she thinks adding dance is a great way to improve the event. “We were missing an opportunity,” said Thompson. “We have a lot of advanced dancers and young dancers who need to get more exposure.”
Sheridan-Runions shares Thompson’s enthusiasm. “I’m thrilled about having it here,” she said. “It’s a chance for my younger students, who can’t travel to other competitions, to come and get a taste of it here.” She added it’s also an opportunity for her students to try for spots in provincial competitions.
Laszlo Tamasik, dance instructor at Powell River Academy of Music, said this festival is an added benefit for his students who routinely travel to out of town competitions.
“We always go to Courtenay,” he said. “We do very well, but it’s going to be exciting to do it at home.” He added it can be expensive to travel and stay overnight on Vancouver Island.
Tamasik’s dancers range in age from 12 to 18 and are preparing 12 pieces for the event.
“Some lyrical, some ballet and some ballet on pointe,” he said. “All kinds of things, we will have.”
Sheridan-Runions, who has a competitive class at her studio, said she thinks she’ll have at least 12 dancers and some smaller groups from her studio performing in the festival.
“We work all year to get up on stage, so any additional chance we can give them is fantastic,” she said. “No one became an amazing dancer, professional or not, by taking only one dance class per week. You have to immerse yourself in it to really grasp it.”
All of the instructors agreed that this festival will do much for promoting dance in the community. “Over the last few years the number of dance supporters has dwindled, so we’re hoping that this reaches out to more kids,” said Fogarty. “If they see the dancing as part of the festival, they might think it could help their acting.”
The inclusion of dance is not the only change to the festival’s format this year. For music fans, event organizers are moving performances in the piano discipline from Powell River Recreation Complex to the academy where participants will be able to compete playing on the academy’s nine-foot Steinway concert piano.
Broadway night, a crowd- pleaser, has been extended to two nights this year because there always are so many entries. Organizers have set the evenings of Thursday, February 28, for the children’s performances and Friday, March 1, for the adults’. Children’s duets will also be performed on March 1. Costumes and props make these performances a favourite for audiences.
Other disciplines in the festival are vocal and choral, band and instrumental, strings, speech arts and piano.
Festival organizers are currently taking registration applications for the festival and working to book venues. The festival is scheduled to run from February 23 to March 9. Registrations close Tuesday, January 22 at 4 pm.
Entry forms and more information about the festival can be found online at The Rotary Club’s website, at the academy of music, 7280 Kemano Street, and at all schools.
Although there are a huge number of volunteers, there are costs associated with the festival including adjudicators’ fees and expenses.The festival also helps with travel expenses for participants who are recommended to Performing Arts BC, the annual provincial festival. Everyone is invited to attend all sessions by donation.
The Grand Concert, the only ticketed event of the festival, takes place at 7:30 pm on Saturday, March 9, at Evergreen Theatre. This is a change for the day of the Grand Concert. Typically it has been held on a Wednesday but this year it concludes the festival on a Saturday evening.
