DANCE LIKE NO ONE'S WATCHING ~ Continued from page 45
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Shawna Kwan, 38, agrees and finds that many of the adults who take classes at her Lambeth studio, Elan Dance Arts (EDA), are initially hesitant because “they think they have to be dancers before they begin classes and walk in expecting to see others with model-perfect bodies, with perfect hair and makeup and clothes. But they always say, ‘I wish I’d done this sooner.’ after they start taking classes.” Kwan started dancing at age 12 in her home town of Ottawa. Initially she was a competitive athlete and “got into dance, appreciating its expression as an art form.” She took jazz, tap, ballet. As a kinesiology student at Western University, she continued to dance and became the director of the school’s dance program. Kwan loves hip hop dance because it works well with popular music. “It’s hard to do tap, jazz or ballet to songs on the radio. Hip hop teaches us to just move to any type of music. I love it.” Many of the adult students at EDA take hip hop for the same reasons. “We attract a lot of non-dancers and people who danced as children and want that joy in their lives again. At the gym, there’s not a ton of mental stimulation when lifting weights or doing cardio. But with dance you’re learning new routines so it’s mentally stimulating. Dance is a happy release of physical and emotional energy,” Kwan says. Stirling, 52, danced as a child and now loves the ballet classes she has taken for the past year and half. A public health nurse, her job is sedentary so she was looking for a unique form of group fitness and remembered how much she loved dancing as a child and teen. “I enjoy tennis and my running group but wanted a more spiritual aspect and dance helps you go inside and connect with yourself in a holistic way. You use your breath and mindfulness. You integrate mind, body and spirit when you dance,” she explains and that gives her real joy. n
● FOR MORE INFORMATION BEYOND BALLET
Dorit Osher • www.beyondmovement.org ELAN DANCE ARTS
Shawna Kwan • www.elandancearts.ca