On August 14th and 15th, an eager audience was witness to Resi-Dance, a collaborative dance workshop that took place at Huntingdon’s Grove Hall over the course of two weeks, as part of the province-wide Arts Alive! Quebec festival.
Owned by locals Mark and Tina Bye, Grove Hall has quickly become a creative hub for artists in the area. This past weekend the hall hosted a particularly original event, which was the result of inviting three established, professional choreographers to teach the master classes at Grove Hall for an event known as Resi-Dance. Working with the support of ELAN (the English Language Arts Network), the independently run dance workshop was held over the course of two weeks. The dancers were housed in the area for the duration of their stay.
The first week of workshops were hosted by David Albert-Toth and Emily Gualtieri of Parts+Labour_Danse. While the duo had to return to Toronto due to work commitments, the second week was overseen by Sasha Kleinplatz of Wants and Needs Danse (company). Grove Hall’s Rural Arts Project invited these prestigious instructors to the workshop with the hopes of attracting accomplished local dancers—with the only requirement being that participants be over the age of 18. A total of eight local dancers participated in the workshop, with six completing the entire project—which was undoubtedly a physically exhausting one. For instance, the dancers would start practice at 9 A.M. under the guidance of local instructor Kerwin Barrington and finish in the evening—sometimes as late as midnight. As for an apt description of the physical demands of contemporary dance? According to the instructors, their dance injuries bear a striking resemblance to rugby mishaps.
Much of the music was provided by local band Run Snowball Run, who worked with the dancers to create a successful collaboration—a particularly notable performance being presented by soloist Meaghan Wood (who worked with Grove Hall Summer Arts Camp colleague Jeremy Robidoux to present the piece).
This dedicated practice led to two shows, on both Friday and Saturday. Saturday’s performance was hosted by CBC’s Morgan Dunlop, which was a special treat for the dancers. Instructor Gualtieri also returned to present a piece of her own, entitled “In Mixed Company” which left audiences breathless with her touching performance. The rural environment had quite an effect on the talented instructor, who said, “There is so much happening in a city. It’s a really nice opportunity to see what else is existing.”
Overall, the event was a success. As for next year? Owner Tina Bye sees a repeat performance in the hall’s future. “The excitement in some of the young Resi-Dancers’ eyes when they looked into their own futures with the feelings of inspiration and confidence that these two weeks had left within them. That is reason enough to make sure this workshop become the first of many.” said Tina Bye when asked if this type of program had a future at the hall. “We just have to find a structure that will allow more dancers, young or in later life, the opportunity to participate even if they can’t take two whole weeks out of their schedules.”
