Here in Vancouver we have the phenomenal Arts Umbrella Dance Company. They teach a varied repertoire that does include ballet. In the summer some of the best Canadian and European choreographers come to teach classes. My 15-year-old granddaughter has been at it there now for 8 years. She loves her ballet, her jazz and modern. What is interesting about Arts Umbrella is that they do not promote perfect bodies. Quite a few dancers (I call them compact) have graduated and gone to better things. Perhaps here in Canada were are more “modern”. The days of seeing Evelyn Hart dance and noticing her thighs were straight lines are gone. We knew she had a spoon of peanutbutter for breakfast. That is gone, too. In fact there is a lot of dance here where women pick up men! The head of Ballet BC danced for William Forsythe’s company in Frankfurt. She was and is 6ft tall. When she danced for Ballet BC only one male dancer could pick her up. Another Ballet BC dancer, Crystal Pite went to Forsythe and is now a renowned choreographer who does stuff at Arts Umbrella. I do believe that while Vancouver may be perceived as a backwater we have an advanced idea of what dance can be. As a writer I have noticed how the education of Vancouver dancers is well grounded and that there skill in the use of language (the spoken kind) is as good as their dance ability.
Study for dance in the future: http://blog.alexwaterhousehayward.com/2015/05/study-for-dance-in-future-james-kudelka.html
