Seven international choreographers from Los Angeles and Toronto are in Regina this week, helping young dancers find their rhythm.
The Drop Workshop was spearheaded by Daniella Beltrami and Sammi Vassell, two dancers who learned their early footwork in Regina and Saskatoon.
The two met in Toronto after their dance careers took them out of the province, and they have now decided to bring their passion for dance back to Saskatchewan through The Drop Workshop.
“We both wanted to come home and bring people back and do something for the community here because (there has) not been a lot of opportunities here for industry dancers, in the hip hop world especially,” Beltrami said. “So we wanted to bring the people we know from Toronto and L.A. here to give the dancers here the opportunity to learn about the industry and know that they can make it and that it’s possible.”
Some of those dancers have worked with some of the biggest names in entertainment.
Devin Jamieson, who originally hails from North Battleford, Sask. has worked with the likes of Michael Jackson, Janet Jackson, Justin Timberlake and Usher.
Jamieson, along with the other instructors, want to share their skills with young Saskatchewan dancers, as they were once in their shoes.
“(I) really have a lot of empathy for where they’re at,” Jamieson said. “Small town, having a lot of access to the career path; being able to teach them here is really fulfilling.”
“I found that during my transitional period of leaving my home studio and trying to pursue dance as a career, I was kind of finding gaps in between and there was like a text book guide or even a way for me to reach out to anybody, because I didn’t know anybody that was doing what I wanted to do,” Vassell said.
“So I just kind of wanted to create a bit of a link between both worlds, from my home town to where I am now.”
The Drop Workshop will be in Saskatoon Aug. 16-17 at Dance Saskatchewan.
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