Dance at Brentwood: 'Bunching up' to dance at the Bunch!

The Brentwood dancers have been working long and hard in the studio these days with only nine weeks of school classes left to prepare the Evening of Dance choreography. But with most of the action taking place in the studio, it was inspiring to see the stage lit up (by the talented Mr. Don Armitage and his trusty crew of Malcolm and Brenden) for dance this past weekend. The stage of the T. Gil Bunch Centre for the Performing Arts (with its awesome new portable dance floor) was put to use on January 12th by hosting the inaugural 'Cowichan Dance Connection'. This event allowed several dance schools from the valley to perform together on the new floor at the Bunch. Lorraine Blake, Brentwood's Head of Dance and Director of the resident dance school Steps Ahead, orchestrated the evening, inviting Carlson's School of Dance and BarreNone Dance to join the celebration. Several of the children of Brentwood faculty and staff are students with Steps Ahead, and at least six of them performed at this event! Performance alone was not enough for these energetic dancers; they were active in workshops all day with guest teachers Constance Cooke and Amalia Schelhorn (both from Victoria). After 4 1/2 hours of classes during the day and a performance that evening, the nine Brentwood dancers involved were sure to enjoy their sleep-in and leisurely brunch on Sunday morning!