Acadiana Dance Month Recap!
Acadiana Dance Month Recap!
AAANNNDDDD THAT’S A WRAP! The first ever Acadiana Dance Month was a huge success! March, 2018 was aimed at creating awareness and advocacy for the art of dance in our Acadiana Region. With nearly 100 local dance schools, cultural groups, professional companies, student organizations, a university program and dance service providers, what ISN’T there to celebrate!? Here’s a break-down of all the fun that happened…
Acadiana Dance Month began with its official proclamation at the beginning of March by the Lafayette Consolidated Government. Seriously, we have pictures to prove it! We still don’t know how they let a bunch of crazy dancers into that council meeting 🙂
Needless to say, we got the gig and started joining forces! With the help of some local dance companies and the ULL Performing Arts program, we put on a kick-off event at Acadiana Center for the Arts that began with live performances throughout the gallery and ended with a theater performance from Dance Heginbotham, a touring modern dance company based in New York City. Dance Heginbotham had already unknowingly contributed to Acadiana Dance Month by leading various classes for ULL, Basin Dance Collective, and even a special class for those with Parkinson’s Disease.
Major events throughout the month didn’t end there! Glide Studios offered free Cajun dance classes every Wednesday. Basin Dance Collective, the dance company in residence at Basin Arts, worked with Acadiana Symphony Orchestra to perform “PARADE” at the Heymann Center. Lafayette Ballet Theatre’s spring ballet, “Snow White,” premiered at the Heymann Center later in the month. Zydefit, a zumba-meets-zydeco exercise class, had it’s world launch! The Kabuki Kru, a group of break-dancers and DJs, went to schools around the area to spread their anti-bullying campaign. Allyce Morgan led a dance meditation class. There was even a backyard poetry slam, Magnolia Shed Series, that collaborated with local dancers specifically to celebrate the art of movement!
March was also filled with some serious social media savviness. Every day of the month fostered a different Daily Dance Challenge in which responses could be posted to either Instagram or Facebook. What’s your preferred dance shoe? Where’s your favorite place to dance? So many inspiring and personal stories were shared. There was also an official “Acadiana Dance Month Line Dance” that ended up being taken over by dance studios! So many schools videoed themselves adding their own flair to it with costumes, music, and unique choreography.
One dance studio in particular supported Acadiana Dance Month with all of their heart and soul. They contributed to the month just about every day by sharing special events that they were putting on, taking pictures for our #acadianadancemonth movement, danced for the official closing event, and even made T-shirts! Because of their undeniable passion, we decided to award them the 1st ever ACADIANA DANCE MONTH STUDIO AWARD!
And the award goes to….
HAMILTON ACADEMY OF THE ARTS!!!
For this, Hamilton Academy of the Arts will be featured in the Basin Arts Blog during the month of May. Be sure to be on the look out for the scoop on all the great work this studio is doing!
Acadiana Dance Month ended with a closing day-of-dance with free family dance classes led by Clare Cook and the Kabuki Dancers, as well as a student dance showcase! We are so excited for what will come next year, and we hope that you will celebrate dance with us! How can YOU get up dance?!
Special thanks to all of the individuals and groups that made this month possible:
Thank you: Glide Studios, Allyce Morgan, Clare Cook, Jaqueline Lyle, Upstage, Inc., Kate Durio, Dance Heginbotham, Acadiana Symphony Orchestra, Basin Dance Collective, Lafayette Ballet Theatre, The Ballet Studio, Moriah Istre, Zydefit, Kabuki Dancers, Grace Hamilton-Mayfield, Hamilton Academy of the Arts, ULL Performing Arts, Paige Krause, Acadiana Center for the Arts, Lafayette Consolidated Government, James Blanchard, Ana Leger, KADN FOX 15, Paige Barnett, and Sydni Bourg.