Passion among top factors for dance judges at Festival of the Arts

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This article was published 21/02/2018 (2247 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

When critiquing dance performances at the Brandon Festival of the Arts, adjudicators Matthew Armet and Josephine Cavaco say the top three considerations are: passion, technique and the entertainment factor.

“I always really like to come back to the solid main point of why we’re dancing and performing to begin with — and that’s to tell a story and to entertain,” said Armet, who currently teaches at The Dance Connection in North Battleford, Sask.

“Of course, the technique in dance is also extremely important, so we’re focusing on that too, but the entertainment is my No.1 priority.”

Armet is a graduate from the Canadian College of Performing Arts in Victoria, B.C., with a specialty in choreography. He has worked at the Stratford Festival for the past six seasons.

Cavaco, originally from Montreal, trained in the professional program at L’école Supérieure de Ballet du Quebec, and joined Les Grands Ballets Canadiens de Montreal at the age of 16. She is a performer, teacher and choreographer.

“I’m looking or passion,” Cavaco said. “It’s so important because it comes through. If you’re passionate for what you’re doing, it just shines.”

The dance portion of the festival is in full swing at the Western Manitoba Centennial Auditorium. On Wednesday afternoon, the focus was on tap and ballet.

“The participants get to perform on a professional stage, which has a professional dance floor laid down specifically for this week,” said festival president William Gordon. “Also they are dancing under theatrical lighting … They’ll be critiqued on their dancing skills and they will be encouraged to keep on dancing.”

Behind the scenes, the dressing rooms were full of dancers making costume adjustments, running through final rehearsals and getting final tips from their instructors.

Ava Acevedo, 13, was preparing for her point solo Wednesday afternoon. She started dancing at four years old, and has been involved in the festival for many years.

“It’s always nice to see new creativity come to life, and to be among peers…and cheer them on, it’s really fun,” she said.

The avid dancer represents three studios: Dance Images, Steppin’ Time and Charise Beer Dance Studio in Dauphin.

“It’s extremely exciting and rewarding as a parent to watch her develop. In fact, sometimes just for fun, I’ll take out her very first recital DVD,” said Acevedo’s mother Therese Shamray, who has a background in highland dancing.

“I let her decide what kind of dancing — I didn’t want to influence her in highland dancing — so we looked at all different types,” Shamray said, which included jazz, tap, ballet and modern.

For the past two summers, Acevedo was invited to study at the Canada’s National Ballet School in Toronto, and the summer before she studied with the Royal Winnipeg Ballet.

“She’s been very lucky,” Shamray said. “We’ve had many people notice her talent and ability, so we encourage that, and she can do it as long as she wants to do it.”

Hannah Van Santen, 16, performed a tap solo. She too has been dancing since the age of four, and says the festival is a great goal to work towards.

“It’s good to get out on stage and … explore what it’s like to really perform,” she said. “In the studio, you can work on your technique, but it’s when you get on the stage that you really get to show all of the things you’ve been working on.”

Linda Kearns, owner/director of Dance Images, said it is an exciting week for hundreds of her students.

“The kids love it. They love the excitement, they love the costumes, they love performing on stage,” Kearns said. “They like all the stuff that goes with it, the camaraderie and everything is so exciting for them, they can hardly wait to get here.”

Sessions are open to the public, for a cost of $3. A season ticket is available for $20, which provides entry to all sessions and awards nights.

“I highly encourage the public to come out to watch because, for a nominal fee at the door, it’s great entertainment,” Kearns said.

The season ticket does not include the dance showcase, which takes place on Sunday at 2 p.m. at the WMCA.

Next week, the festival is all about piano — junior, intermediate and senior. Piano awards night takes place March 3 at 7 p.m. at Lorne Watson Recital Hall. Week 4 includes strings, brass and woodwinds with its awards night on March 6 at 7 p.m. at the Lorne Watson Recital Hall.

The popular Festival Encore Concert, featuring the most outstanding performers of the festival, will take place on March 11, 1 p.m. at the Lorne Watson Recital Hall.

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