Snap Dance Studio had the trip of a lifetime as 27 dancers and their families took a weeklong trip to Los Angeles and Las Vegas starting on Mar. 30.
The trip started with three days in Los Angeles, which was jammed packed with a city tour of Hollywood Boulevard, Rodeo Drive and Beverly Hills. The class also took classes at the world-renowned Edge Studios with Calgary-Native Sabrina Phillip, and did their first performance at the end of the Santa Monica Pier, which the group had a huge audience for the show.
The dancers also took a private workshop with a Disney choreographer, where they learned portions of three Disney shows, while receiving great advice from the instructors on what it takes to be a performer at the happiest place on earth. The group rounded out the California part of their trip with a once-in-a-lifetime experience of dancing on a Disney stage at Disney’s California Adventure Park, while also taking in a show at the Pacific City Mall, right on Huntington Beach.
In Vegas, the Snap dancers took a private class with Yayoi Ito, a Calgary-native who has performed with Britney Spears, and in the Donny and Marie Live show. They also took in the show Beatles Love and had two performances at the Doral Academy and at the Tivoli Village, which is an outdoor shopping centre.
Studio Manager Alison Stutz said the trip was amazing in every way for all those involved including the Snap Dance staff and family members.
“The trip was fantastic. From performance opportunities that the kids had to the training opportunities they had, it was awesome,” Stutz said.
“We had a great group of kids, they worked really hard and even from the crew side of things, the parents we took were amazing and it was a great training and team building opportunity for us.”
“It’s amazing for the students get some of the experiences they had, such as dancing on a Disney stage. The reason we do the trip is to expose the kids to the different opportunities that are out there for a career in dance. Our first performance (at Santa Monica Pier) was in front of a crowd of 300 or 400 people.”
“They performed at different outdoor venues in Los Angeles and of course the Disney stage is a huge professional setting, high expectation of professionalism from the show and thousands of people from all over the world for them to see the group perform. Same for Vegas, the places we performed were fantastic too. Just gives them exposure to different professional platforms.”
This isn’t the first time Snap Dance Studios has done a trip of this stature, travelling across the globe to expose their dancers to different experiences and dance cultures.
“We do a trip every two years. In the past we’ve done New York City, London, England, trips to Mexico where they performed at different all inclusive resorts, cruise ships … we’ve done a whole bunch of different things,” Stutz said.
“We have different kids every year. Some of our senior kids have been with us with a while and have done the last four or five trips so they really do get a real different experience every trip.”
Stutz also added that taking lessons from local dancers who have made a career out of dancing such as Sabrina Phillip and Yayoi Ito shows the current crop of Snap dancers that they too can make it in the bright lights.
“Getting to work with choreographers that work in that professional setting, getting to take their choreography is great knowledge for the kids to see what kind of work would be put on them if they were to ever venture that way and try to dance professionally,” Stutz said.
“At the end of each session we did a question and answer period with both Sabrina and Yayoi, with both of them originating from Calgary, it’s great for the kids to hear from someone who’s come from a place that they’re at currently and have made it in the professional world.”
“I think that question and answer is so valuable for the kids to know that it is possible … to hear their stories and path on how they got there and what’s important when you want to work professionally. I think that’s invaluable information for the kids who do have aspirations of dancing professionally.”
“It really showed them what it takes with work ethic and training but also showed them that you need to be a good person. All the little things like being hard working and being kind and things they might not think about, but they all play a role down the line in your professional career.”
