YOU dance Takes Residence for First Time in Regent Park
Karen Kain, Artistic Director of The National Ballet of Canada, today announced the company will bring YOU dance to the Regent Park community in Toronto for the first time. The week-long residency will include workshops at local schools as well as five performances at Daniels Spectrum, April 25 – 29, 2016.
“YOU dance, the National Ballet’s signature education and outreach programme, introduces ballet to young people who otherwise may not have access to it. The exposure to a living art form is essential in the stimulation and growth of young minds. It is also vital in creating the audiences of the future,” says Barry Hughson, Executive Director. “We are thrilled to bring YOU dance to the vibrant community of Regent Park and look forward to seeing the new work they create.”
Over 1,100 students and teachers in Grades 3 – 8 at Nelson Mandela Park Public School and Lord Dufferin Junior and Senior Public Schools will participate in 36 movement workshops, followed by four free YOU dance performances featuring the National Ballet’s RBC Apprentices. Students in Grade 8 will also create two original works under the guidance of a dance educator. The students will perform the new dance pieces on April 28 during a free evening performance of YOU dance for 300 of their family members and neighbours in the community of Regent Park.
Led by Lindsay Fischer, Artistic Director, YOU dance/Principal Ballet Master, YOU dance has reached nearly 120,000 students since 2007 using the power of dance to inspire movement, creativity, imagination and confidence.