Dancers from around the province will be congregating on Humboldt to compete in the annual OnStage Dance Festival, which will take place at the Uniplex from April 23 to 26.
This is the 18th year for the festival, which will include dancers from a variety of disciplines: tap, jazz, ballet, acro, hip hop, lyrical, modern, contemporary, musical theatre, and more.
“My experience is there’s always a lure of excitement,” said Cori Norman, chairperson of the festival committee. “There’s an opportunity to learn from each other. They watch how they do different combinations, different songs, different music. The choregraphy, the whole team networking, the friendships, the contacts that they develop- it’s great. It’s for the dancers, the instructors, the dance parents. It’s a wonderful learning opportunity to see what your child can go towards, whether they continue dance or take on new disciplines.”
There are medals for different disciplines and age groups, as well as $5,000 in cash prizes. There are also scholarships for workshops across the country, from Ontario to B.C. The cash value of the workshops is $16,000 - $20,000.
This is also the fourth year for the golden ticket portion of the festival. Throughout the festival, adjudicators hand out five golden tickets to the older age groups and three to the younger ones, as well as two wildcards. Recipients of golden tickets are individuals or groups that catch the eye of the adjudicators. At the end of the festival, those with golden tickets perform for the adjudicators for a top prize of $1,000 for the older students and $500 for the younger students.
“It’s quite an exciting hour. It’s probably the most intense part of the festival.” Norman said. “The golden ticket part would be the one to come to, because you will see some phenomenal dancing.”
It’s not just dancers who benefit from the festival. Norman said the local economy is positively affected as well, from restaurants to hotels to gas stations, because of the 1,300 dancers and their parents and friends coming to the city.
“Humboldt becomes a hotspot for ... hosting a welcoming and … well-organized experience, one that they go away from with really nice warm memories,” she added.
The adjudicators are well-known Canadian dancers with a lot of experience under their belts.
“They’re quite experienced, so it will be a great opportunity for all of (the dancers),” Norman said.
Angela Quinn is one of those adjudicators. She is a film and television actress as well as a choreographer. She choreographed Les Miserables last year and is the choreographer and co-director of an original rock musical.
Sarah Tabler is another. She is an Alberta teacher and dancer who performed for the Royal Visit at Alberta’s centennial celebrations in 2005.
Lastly, Cori’s son Turner Norman, born and raised in Humboldt, returned from Toronto, where he will attend York University to get his dance degree. He also works as an instructor and choreographer.
“(He’s) a wonderful example to others that you can continue with your dance into a bona fide career and it’s a great source of education and opportunities,” Norman said.
There are nine board members organizing the festival, and they’ll be helped during the actual event by 20-25 volunteers, and other people working in security and tech.
“The arts in general allow for so much growth and creativity, and the greatest fulfillment for our youth is to understand that they put themselves in a position on the stage where everybody sees their skills,” Norman said. “It’s like a painter showing off his paintings. You open your soul to your audience, and to be acknowledged for the fact that they’re onstage and … they’re performing to their best ability, to family, friends, is probably the most fulfilling part of their study. That acknowledgment, that recognition, that smile, the applause, is probably more than winning a medal. Encouraging them to learn and become who they are is the greatest gift you can give to anyone … that, to me, is why I would encourage everyone to go.”
