If you think you have some great dance moves and are under the age of 19 there is a local dance contest with a sweet prize at the end.
So You Think You Can Dance Qualicum is being held as part of the 70th birthday celebrations for The town of Qualicum Beach. Organizers hope the event will help bridge the gap between young and old in the community.
The contest is open to youth between grades six to 12 and the winner will receive a trip for two to Las Vegas, including flights, accommodation, workshops in their dance genre and tickets to see a Cirque du Soleil show.
Oura Giakoumakis is one of the organizers and said several organizations and businesses in Qualicum Beach are backing the contest.
“They want to do something to involve the youth of the mid-island and Oceanside area, and with so many people enthralled with the So You think You Can Dance reality television series, they decided to attempt their own show,” she said.
Round A of the first audition took place on March 10 and Giakoumakis said they saw some great talent.
“The dancers were good. There were lots of different disciplines. It was nice to see.”
She said out of the 14 guys and girls who auditioned, nine made it to the next round.
Round B of the first set of auditions will take place Friday, March 23 from 3 p.m. onwards at the Qualicum Beach School of Dance at #2, 141 East 4th Avenue.
The cost to audition is $10.
Dancers can dance solo, in duets, or small groups, but not all members of the group will necessarily advance to the next round.
Dancers who would like to audition should prepare two to three minutes of a dance set to music, and bring their music with them on a CD or IPOD.
They can dance in any style they wish including ballet, jazz, tap, hip hop, street, Highland, Irish and ballroom.
Round two will take place on Saturday, April 21 and the finals will occur on Sunday, May 20 at the Qualicum Beach Civic Centre.
Tickets for the finals will go on sale April 1. The finale will include a gala dinner and a night of dance performances that will include two group numbers, one hip hop, the other contemporary. As well there will be a group number done by the finalists.
Giakoumakis said the final dance routines will be professionally choreographed.
She said for the first round of judging they have Jolynn Mears and Gabe Richards from the Vibrant Dance Studio in Nanaimo.
Another judge is Donna Wilkins who holds teaching certificates from the Kilburn Performing Arts College in England for several dance forms including modern, tap, ballet, classical Greek and national folk.
Since 1999 she has been head of stage dance at Parksville Ballet School and the Kirkwood Academy of Performing Arts in Nanaimo. In addition to her extensive work as a teacher, she has adjudicated at the Victoria Danceworks Festival and the Canadian National Dance Championships both regionally and nationally.
Giakoumakis said The Oceanside Hospice Society is the beneficiary of all funds raised from the event.
The winner of the contest will win airfare, a three night stay for them and a chaperone in Las Vegas and will receive tickets for Cirque du Soleil’s The Beatles Love at the Mirage.
For more information, please go to the So You Think You Can Dance Qualicum Beach facebook page or phone 250-756-5476.
