Trisha Shanks
Arrow Lakes News
When Cassia Parent found herself in a belly dance class with Brendalee Morgan a few years ago, her lifelong passion for movement was reignited. Dancing seriously since the age of nine, Parent had been away from it for a number of years when she was called back to the studio and to her roots of teaching dance to children.
“Being back in a dance studio after a few years away, I felt like I had come home. NaCoMo seemed like a cool, authentic movement space,” Parent said.
During her youth in Port Coquitlam, the Dance on the Kusp founder studied ballet, lyrical dance, modern, tap, jazz, hiphop styles. She was also an instructor from the age of 15, having taught dance classes in musical theatre, ballet, jazz and tap with students ranging from 3-8 years of age. Fast forward to 2012, the former Nakusp Music Festival stage manager had relocated to Nakusp where her grandparents Milton and Rosemarie lived since she was three. In January of 2013, she began teaching classes to the children in Nakusp — something that had not previously been available. 2014 marked her first full season of dance instruction and both years ended with recitals. 2015 brought about a new challenge.
“As far as I know, this is the first time that there has ever been a group of dancers from Nakusp at the Just Dance Festival in Castlegar,” said Parent. She began looking for something bigger than a local recital for her students to work toward and came across the opportunity. “I wanted our first competition to be something friendly and welcoming so the girls could see what a professionally run competition feels like. Turning Point, the dance school that puts this festival on, is high calibre and runs like a well-oiled machine.”
“We came home encouraged. The group numbers got bronze, our soloists and duo got silver. The girls want to work harder and do more and return to compete again next year.” Parent said. She explained the results of the debriefing they had in the days after the competition.
Several of her dance students were on board and the little dance school organized four numbers with choreography and music compiled by Parent. In attendance were ten Nakusp dancers ranging in age from six to 14. The girls stayed in hotel rooms or with friends and family in Castlegar for the weekend, and almost all parents were able to attend and encourage from the audience.