Capital inundated with happy feats

Dance tends to be a tough sell in these parts. But the 8th annual Feats Festival of Dance is up and groovin’ and it’s trying to get all of Edmonton to boogie.

This multi-disciplinary festival is chock-full of public performances, special events and workshops that highlight the abundance of dance artists in our area.

Spread across Edmonton until July 4, the 10-day festival embraces various venues including the TransAlta Arts Barn, Strathcona’s Orange Hall, Louise McKinney Park and the Winspear Centre.

For St. Albert dancer Paige Tirs, this fest is a chance to work with special guest choreographer Deanne Walsh of Decidedly Jazz Dance (DJD) of Calgary. “She has quite a reputation and I’m really excited.”

Walsh is choreographing a specifically commissioned work for the showcase section Currents, and Tirs, along with three other dancers, has a week to learn the moves of this still untitled dance. Included in this ticketed jazz showcase on Tuesday, June 29 at the TransAlta Arts Barn is drummer Raul Gomez Tabera and singer Toto Beriel.

Feats director Bobbi Westman is particularly excited about the festival’s partnership with the Edmonton International Jazz Festival on Sunday, June 26, a free public event at Louise McKinney Park. Cuban dance sensation Orlando Martinez and Salsa Addiction are the dance festival’s special guests.

Later that same night, there’s a dance party with Nils Landgren’s Funk Unit and Will Campa’s Afro-Cuban jazz at the TransAlta Barns. Westman describes the mood of this ticketed event as “hot and sizzling.”

“I’m pretty excited about this. When you remove the fourth wall, and you ask people to come to an old-fashioned dance, it comes across as pretty exciting.”

Once again the sizzling Urban Dance Encounters runs June 28 to 30 at Edmonton City Centre Mall, displaying some of the snappiest hip-hop, funk, R&B and jazz moves around.

And on Canada Day, Westman has orchestrated Historical Feets at Fort Edmonton Park. At the Blatchford Aviation Hanger, visitors will be swept away with a variety of traditional dance, including clogging and circle dancing.

And closing the festival on Saturday, July 3 is Sugar Swing Barbecue at Strathcona’s Orange Hall. This ticketed event includes lessons in the Charleston, Black Betty and a variety of swing moves.

Westman adds, “Dance enhances your life and you look at life in a different way. Dance is entertainment and its value to us is seeing how it can affect us.”

For a complete schedule of events visit www.abdancealliance.ab.ca.