WinterDance Festival  Brings Performance Heat to Island Winter

New program is presented Feb. 28-29 by the School of Performing Arts

The School of Performing Arts (SoPA), a partnership between Confederation Centre of the Arts and Holland College, is excited to announce WinterDance, a series of dance masterclasses and performances February 28 and 29.

The Centre and Holland College will welcome guest artists Eldiyar Daniyarov, Sion Irwin-Childs, Claire Newbery and Dawn Ward, to guide dancers through a series of workshops designed to hone dance, choreographic, and technical performance skills. A public performance will also be offered on February 29 at the Florence Simmons Performance Hall—admission by donation.

Director of Arts Education at the Centre, Peggy Reddin sees this initiative as a community-builder for dance on P.E.I.  describing WinterDance as “an alternative to dance events that are competition-based. WinterDance is aimed to celebrate and enjoy the art of dance for its own sake.”

During the two day series Daniyarov will share his extensive experience as a professional ballet dancer; Irwin-Childs will focus on instilling dancers with confidence in their choreography; and Ward will bring Afro-Jazz influences to her masterclasses.

Newbery is a SoPA graduate who is continuing her studies at Concordia University. She will guide senior level students through improvisation. All students will also experience workshops on technical performance craft—a required skill when bringing a performance to life on the stage. These programs are specifically aimed for dance students aged 9-and-up.

This series will culminate in a demonstration performance of content covered in the workshops. Admission is by donation and all are welcome to attend this public presentation at 3 p.m. on Saturday, February 29 at the Florence Simmons Performance Hall at Holland College.

PEI Professional Theatre Network