MOOSOMIN —An adjudicated dance competition that has been planned for months is set for this weekend at the Moosomin Conexus Convention Centre.
Eclipse Dance Experience will see around 500 dancers from seven dance studios in town for the event, which runs from Friday, April 11 to Sunday, April 13. There are 313 entries for the weekend, with a variety of ages from four years old to adults competing.
“We have two adjudicators coming from Regina, who mark all of the dances, their scores, and then they place them accordingly,” explains Ayla Schwandt who shares competition director duties with Amber Sylvestre.
Rebecca Bzdell and Eddy Alvaro will be adjudicators for the competition, each with their expertise in dance. Bzdell has trained in a variety of styles since age three and is currently a member of the Saskatchewan Roughriders Cheer Team and the Company at Collective Studios in Regina. A proud homegrown Saskatchewan dancer, Bzdell’s journey has led her to opportunities in Calgary, Winnipeg, and training in New York City.
Alvaro is a self-taught hip-hop/street dancer who has been involved with traditional Filipino dancing in Regina for many years. He’s one of the founders of VibesYQR Dance Workshops, which offers dance classes at no charge and is led by local talent around Regina. Alvaro is focused on strengthening the street dance scene across the prairies.
Among the various genres featured during the Moosomin competition will be jazz, tap, hip hop, ballet, lyrical and contemporary.
“They are competing for first, second, third place, while also competing for awards such as high mark in their category or division and most outstanding,” Schwandt explained. “We also have cash prizes at the end of the weekend for the highest marks in the competition.”
One feature that will be added to the Moosomin competition is the People’s Choice Award, something Schwandt says is not common in such competitions.
“We will have a QR code throughout the building, and then people will get to scan it and vote for their favorite number,” she said. “They just have to put in the entry number and the name of the dance, and then whichever number has the most votes by the end of the weekend also gets a cash prize. I’m excited to see what the people like. It’s always interesting to know as a dance teacher, because you know what you like; it’s always different from a spectator’s point of view to see what they enjoyed most. They’re really just watching for performance, fun, and what is pleasing to the eye, so it’s always fun to see what everyone else is into.”
While this is a competitive environment, Schwandt also wants the focus to be on positivity.
“That’s our goal for this competition,” she said. “It is still a competitive environment, we want to keep it really well-rounded in terms of everyone having fun and hyping each other up, and keep it really positive and just good vibes all around. We want this to be lots of fun and for everyone to leave feeling really good and like they’ve made some good connections with other dancers in nearby communities, and just had the opportunity to share their love of dance, rather than it be a hostile competitive environment.”
Studios from Weyburn, Carlyle, Grenfell, Reston, Melita, plus Moosomin and Redvers will be represented, which gives a nice mix of familiar faces plus new friends from other communities.
“That’s one of the reasons we were inspired to do it is we go to three other competitions every year, and we tend to see a lot of the same dance studios, so we were trying to maybe get some more studios that we don’t necessarily see as many times throughout the year,” Schwandt explained. “It’s basically just all of our ‘best dance teacher friends’ getting to hang out for a weekend, so we’re okay with that!”
This will be the first adjudicated dance competition held in Moosomin, which organizers hope will become an annual event.
“If we’re successful this year and it goes well, we’re hoping that we can do it in the following years,” Schwandt says. “It’s a great economic opportunity for the community, but also just for the performing arts community. It’s really nice to see more things like this going on in Moosomin.
Tickets for the Eclipse Dance Experience competition are $5 per session, or $25 for the whole weekend, plus a program.
