Lyrical/contemporary dance instructor Autumn Hernandez was one of three guest professional teachers who shared their knowledge with aspiring Treasure Valley dance students at a free workshop held at Columbia High School.
Lyrical/contemporary dance instructor Autumn Hernandez was one of three guest professional teachers who shared their knowledge with aspiring Treasure Valley dance students at a free workshop held at Columbia High School.
NAMPA — On the weekend when the remake of the 80s hit dance
flick "fame" hit the silver screen it seemed only fitting that more
than 300 aspiring young dancers from across the Treasure Valley
would converge on Columbia High School for a free all-day
workshop.
Last Saturday's event was sponsored by a unique organization,
the Boise Valley Dance Teachers Association (BDTA). The nonprofit
group meets monthly and raises money to provide deserving area
dancers with an opportunity to attend a dance camp at the College
of Southern Idaho each year in Twin Falls.
Dancers, ages 8 to 18, from 11 studios in Nampa, Boise, Eagle
and Meridian sent participants to the workshop. They learned
classic ballet, jazz and hip hop from top notch instructors Autumn
Hernandez, Ryan Ingram and Mic Thompson. Thompson, the house
choreographer for Disney in Los Angeles, taught the students jazz.
Hernandez is a lyrical/contemporary dance teacher from Salt Lake,
and Ingram was the event's hip-hop instructor.
Sixteen local dance studios comprise the BDTA, including the
Kennedy School of Dance, Centre Stage Studios and Xpressions, all
of Nampa, and Backstage Dance of Meridian. Eleven of those hand
picked workshop participants who received intensive training from
the three talented instructors.
"Many of these girls pay to go to dance conventions in other
places because there really hasn't been anything like this in the
Treasure Valley," BDTA president Dotty Hancock. "This is a way to
bring the convention here, and it's free."
"What's unique about the BDTA is that we are essentially
competing dance studios, but we've come together to advance the art
of dance in the Treasure Valley," Hancock said. "That's pretty
uncommon. You don't see Dominos and Pizza Hut doing anything like
this."
"The student loved the event and BDTA was extremely happy with
the way the day turned out," Lisa Cowman of the Kennedy School of
Dance said.
Money for the workshop came from proceeds raised at the BDTA's
annual fundraiser show "Freeze Frame." The event is a collaborative
production that features performance pieces from each of the
participating studios. In past years the money was used exclusively
for the scholarship fund, but BDTA members expanded it to include
the workshop.
