East Side Dance Festival connects students, teachers and community
Annual event removes barriers and elevates opportunities in Calgary's dance community
A dozen years ago in a high school gym, a couple of dance instructors from the Calgary public school system organized an event showcasing dance students’ work from four high schools in east Calgary. The goal was to give students and teachers a chance to connect with each other and opportunities in the community. Today, the East Side Dance Festival takes place in professional theatres, offers full programming and has expanded to include some junior high school students as well.
“We’ve grown into a festival, not just a showcase,” said Kelly Brownlee, co-chair of the festival society and a dance instructor at Father Lacombe High School.
The festival now offers workshops for students where they get to train and meet with professional artists in the dance community and discover an array of dance styles. Festival alumni run three after-school programs in junior highs and elementary schools. There is also a community outreach training program called Gamma, run through illFX Education, for students who show talent but can’t afford competition and training fees. The festival is also in its third year hosting a teachers’ conference that includes studios from across Alberta.
“Within public education, when you’re a specialist you are on your own. …You are the only person in your building, there is no one to talk to, no one to run ideas past,” says Kelsey McMahon-Stoker co-chair of ESDF and assistant principle at a local Calgary school.
“We’re really hoping that we can elevate dance education across Alberta and provide opportunities for teachers that are wanting to connect with one another,” says Brownlee.
The ESDF society isn’t stopping at high school. A “dance to campus” project serves as a pathway to post-secondary education — high school students are matched with post-secondary students who provide advice and support through the post-secondary process.
FILLING THE GAPS
High school drama programs have a drama festival with a long history in Calgary, but before the East Side Dance Festival, there wasn’t anything similar for high school dance programs — and the east side of the city has even fewer opportunities than other areas.
“One of the key reasons that we created ESDF is because there was this gap in programming for kids on the east side of Calgary,” says McMahon-Stoker. Students who attend schools on the east side of the city are more likely to come from households with lower incomes and don’t have access to dance programs outside of school. The organization aims to remove barriers to accessing dance education, whether it is by providing transportation for students to go to campus or by bringing guest artists into public schools.
“Last year the festival raised $140,000 in scholarships and bursaries to allow the kids that are interested in pursuing dance after high school to continue that education,” says Brownlee. Those funds were primarily donations from community partners and private dance studios throughout the city. “The studios in the city are really buying in and providing support for us in a really inspiring way.”
Ishita Singla, a dance student at James Fowler High School who graduated in 2011, went on to open her own production and dance studio, Madhuban Performing Arts. “For me, it’s the cyclical nature of it, because if I didn’t get mentored… while I was in high school, I would not have a successful dance career like I do now,” she says. Now she is paying it forward — she has donated class passes and training for ESDF students and taught at the teachers’ convention.
One of the goals of the ESDF society is to have dance included as part of the Alberta curriculum — currently, dance is considered tertiary and isn’t held in the same esteem as other art forms. There are some Alberta-based high schools that offer dance as a locally developed course that students can get credit for.
“Dance is valuable not just to physical and mental wellness, but it [also] helps build community,” says Brownlee.
“The impact that the festival has on kids is that it has created a space of belonging and pride and ownership in their schools,” adds McMahon-Stoker. That sense of belonging can also improve course completion and graduation rates because students who don’t feel they belong in their schools often struggle to reach academic goals.
Research has shown that dance helps students develop skills that support them throughout their lives. “When I teach partnering or pas de deux, it’s so vulnerable to allow someone to touch you or to trust that someone will catch you. You’re teaching these amazing interpersonal skills like the ability to take risks, the ability to trust, the ability to be responsible and accountable,” says McMahon-Stoker.
On its 10th anniversary, the festival won the 2023 Calgary Award for community achievement, which was also the first year the festival raised over $100,000 in scholarships for the kids.
Now the festival faces a new challenge — it’s brimming over. The society had to turn away some schools because their facilities can’t accommodate more students, and their schedules can’t accommodate a third day for the festival. The organization is looking at how they can continue to grow and remove barriers so it can continue inspiring young people to dance.
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