 
|
 |
The mission of the Okanagan Institute is to contribute to the quality of creative engagement in the Okanagan through publications, events and collaborations. » Home » Events » Publications » Collaborations » The Institute » Contact  Kelowna BC Canada Telephone 250.870.2690 Email: Click here  Click here to help us improve our programs. |
 | |
THE NEW DANCE SENSATIONS » Thursday 9 July 2009 | 5 pm » The Bohemian Café, 524 Bernard Avenue An informal afternoon hour showcasing ideas and people in the Okanagan creative economy. Join us as Tanya Bakala, Warren Eaton, Natalie Bickert and Rose Sexsmith showcase the shakes, spins and shimmies that are stirring up dancers - and dancefloors - in the Okanagan. » $2 at the door. Refreshments are available at a modest cost. » Seating is limited, please reserve yours HERE Modern Dance Stars Show their Moves, and Share Their Enthusiasm The on-screen dance pairing of Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers in the early 20th century have reached iconic status, and their dance sequences together greatly influenced ballroom dancing. Since then - and especially in the last few years as a result of the popularity of television competitive dance programs - modern dancing has spread like wildfire through the popular imagination. Nowhere else more so than here in the Okanagan. On Thursday, July 9th at 5 pm the ongoing weekly Okanagan Institute Express series at the Bohemian Café presents Catch the Swing! The New Dance Sensations. Join us as Tanya Bakala, Warren Eaton, Natalie Bickert and Rose Sexsmith showcase the shakes, spins and shimmies that are stirring up dancers - and dancefloors - in the Okanagan. Tanya Bakala and Warren Eaton are examples of creative entrepreneurs who are making a business of sharing their passion with the Okanagan community. In Europe both experienced dance as the art of the people. Both were moved by how communities build tradition and grow together through dance and how individuals do indeed seem to find their special beat in rhythm with the universe. Movies like "Shall We Dance" have shown how learning to dance changes people's lives. Television programs of dance competitions have stirred North Americans' imaginations. Join us to discover how two new schools are teaching new dance sensations and changing the face of dance in the Okanagan. Their enthusiasm is also showing us that individuals sharing together what they love is good business. Feel the rhythm and "catch the swing".  Tanya Bakala, dancer, choreographer and teacher, the 2008 recipient of the Okanagan Arts Award, trained at the National Ballet School in Toronto, Canada. She studied flamenco with the renowned Susana and Antonio Robledo in Germany and Switzerland and had the privilege of studying and performing modern dance under Daniel Lewis of the Jose Limon Company. She was engaged by various companies and musical productions in Germany and later danced with flamenco companies in Canada. She was featured in documentary film "Fringe Bound" on CBC and CHUM TV/ BRAVO. For the last five years, as the artistic director to the Mission Dance Centre and Mission Dance Company, she has been producing her own full-length dance performances. Most recently, she was commissioned by the Okanagan Symphony Orchestra to choreograph for the productions of Carnival and Scheherazade. In the latter of the two she also performed as a solo guest dance artist. Warren Eaton has been a professional instructor, dancer, performer and choreographer for over 15 years. Originally from Edmonton, he started his career in 1993 teaching "American style" ballroom and latin dance, and competing in numerous competitions across Canada and the U.S. In 1999 he moved to England, then the top country in the world for International style dance, where he received coaching at the Semley Dance Studios in south London. After a few years in the competitive scene he realized that his true love was teaching. He decided to get his qualifications in "International style" dance as a Licentiate member of the International Dance Teachers Association. In early 2004 he was invited to be a guest instructor in various schools across China, helping to develop their teachers and students dancing level. In late 2004 he moved in Peachland, and began teaching classes at the Robb Card Dance Studios in Kelowna. After just a few years of teaching he built up a clientel large enough to warrant his own studio, and in 2008 Latinesque Ballroom and Latin dance Studio opened it's doors.Joining Warren for a short demonstration are two Kelowna women who have "caught the swing" and found the opportunity for greater self expression through dance.  Natalie Bickert is an internationally acclaimed photographer. Since her graduation from the Northern Alberta Institute of Technology, she has been viewing the world of photography through her camera's lens. Although her professional interests are in photography, she developed a passion for dance in her teens when she took Disco after "Grease" was a hit. In her 20s, she expressed herself through Jazz Dance. Still, the inspiration really matured when she discovered her Latino side. Since then, she has learned many genres of dance, including Latin, Swing, Ballroom, Country and Jazz. Rose Sexsmith, partner in Rose's Waterfront Pub and Hanna's, is well known in the community as a business woman and philanthropist. However, when "Swinging with the Stars", a recent fundraiser for the Hospice Association, asked her to be one of the dancers for its event, a secret dream came true. "When I first met with Warren he asked me which dance I would like. When I told him I wanted a joyful dance he said we would do the Samba. I had private dance lessons with Warren and he choreographed a fabulous dance for us to perform. It was one of the most exciting nights of my life. I had never had dance lessons before and although I love to dance this was a first for me. I encourage all to take dance classes. It is proven that it keeps the brain from deteriorating & slows down the aging process plus it is a great work out."FOR MORE INFORMATION AND TO REGISTER ONLINE CLICK HERE  Catch the Swing! The New Dance Sensations takes place at the Bohemian Café. This marks the 97th event the Okanagan Institute has held since the Express series got underway in July 2007. Express has played host to many Okanagan luminaries, including former deputy secretary general of Amnesty International Derek Evans, artists Lee Claremont and Gary Pearson, BC Book Award nominee Don Gayton, CBC Literary prize winner poet Harold Rhenisch, distinguished editor and author Jim Taylor, poet and professor John Lent, animator and filmmaker Jim Cliffe, community activist Don Elzer, dancer David LaHay, architect Jim Meiklejohn, culinary artist and writer Heidi Noble, broadcaster Marion Barschel and others from a wide range of creative fields.   NEW! Up Chute Creek is a portrait of Okanagan landscape and people like no other. It is alternately passionate, joyful, heartbreaking, lyrical, quirky, and always wise, and always human, in the best sense. This is a book for the people of the Okanagan, both new and old, to treasure and to share. » 208 pages, paperback, $20. Illustrated with photographs throughout. » For information and to order, click HERE.
| |
