2018 Summer Dance Camps

Dancing with a Difference

Participants in the 2018 Senior Dancers, Love To Dance Summer Camps had the chance to try their hand at choreography, set design, costume design and more. Five wonderful days filled with creativity.

This year, students had a taste of the other aspects of the dance world, including designing costumes and painting stage décor and props that will be used in the upcoming winter concert titled "Museum of Art." Students also had the chance to learn about choreography while teaching their own work to other students.

The camp was a collaborative effort between the Love To Dance Academy and the Nicola Valley Community Arts Council.

The Little Movers Summer Dance Camp for young movers aged 3 - 6 was enjoyed by all who attended. Twenty-two little dancer left the camp with a bag full of crafts and a tutu (girls) or dance outfit (boys). It doesn't get much better than that!

Ladies Tea

Dressed to Impress…

Ladies from all walks of life came together to create stylish memories.

Laughter filled the room as interesting conversations could be heard, the setting complimented by colour, beautiful china and wild flowers. 

The ladies were met by the aroma of what was to come, a delightful finger buffet created especially by Chef Ryan at the Merritt Golf & Country Club.

We are looking for Ballet and Spanish-Flamenco dancers.

We are looking for Ballet and Spanish-Flamenco dancers between the ages of 4 - 10 years of age to perform in the 2017 Love To Dance Christmas Concert titled:  "Colours of the Heart."

Flowers in Bloom

"The purity present in the innocent touch of a child, is magical." ~ VVR

By the bright colours currently on display, it is visible that the flowers planted by the dance students in the Love To Dance gardens (Olde Courthouse, Merritt) were planted with love. 

During the month of June, 2017, dancers took a break from their dance classes for a day.  Their mission was to create a brilliant display for everyone in Merritt to enjoy, by planting hundreds of colourful flowers, bringing to life a beautiful mixture of vibrant colours.

"The joy of planting and the love and care with which the planting was done, was obvious.  Plants are growing at such a speed and are flowering beautifully." ~ Lizette Nel

2017 Spanish-Flamenco Awards

The Love To Dance Academy would like to Congratulate our Spanish-Flamenco dancers on their exam results. 

Twenty-seven, students participated in the annual Spanish-Flamenco exams on February 25, 2017, under direction of dance instructor, Vanessa van Rensburg.

Back:  Michelle Etchart, Alexia Clarke, Amy Manuel, Miranda Cavaliere, Triana Clarke, Chantalle Anderson, Barb Scapinello, Julia Dobson-Gill, Felize Omori.  Middle:  Nia Kuzio, Hannah Manuel, Peyton Rotvold, Megan Voigt, Reese Horsman.  Front:  Sadie Stewart, Elaina Pickering, Mikayla Manke, Sedona MacDonald, Danika Fader, Emmry Horsman, Kate van Rensburg.  Absent:  Danica Guichon, Ronnie Guichon, Alicia Rizzardo, Dani Kuzio, Alejandra Diez, Ayla Wall.

Entries included:

Six "Spanish Stars" (ages 3 - 6):
Alejandra Diez, Sadie Stewart, Danika Fader, Kate van Rensburg, Emmry Horsman and Sedona MacDonald.

Five "Spanish Sparkles" (ages 6 - 9):
Ayla Wall, Alicia Rizzardo, Reese Horsman, Elaina Pickering and Mikayla Manke.

Four "Senior Beginner Level" (ages 9 - 12):
Hannah Manuel, Dani Kuzio, Ronnie Guichon and Triana Clarke.

Twelve "Level Two" (ages 9+):
Megan Voigt, Peyton Rotvold, Michelle Etchart, Barb Scapinello, Danica Guichon, Julia Dobson-Gill, Chantalle Anderson, Miranda Cavaliere, Alexia Clarke, Amy Manuel, Felize Omori and Nia Kuzio.

Our Awards Night, March 10, 2017, welcomed parents and dancers alike.  Performances by our Level 2 students were enjoyed by all.

Special Mentions at the Awards event included:
Judges choice:  Spanish Star - Danika Fader.
Judges choice:  Spanish Sparkles - Reese Horsman and Elaina Pickering.
Highest Score:  Senior Beginner Level - Triana Clarke
Highest Score:  Level 2 - Felize Omori

Youngest Student:  Kate van Rensburg
Bravest Student:  Barb Scapinello

Vanessa van Rensburg with "youngest" student:  Kate van Rensburg and "bravest" student:  Barb Scapinello.

2017 LTD Scholarship Winners

A few words captured about our contestants:  

Avery:  Classical creativity, facing the challenge with poise.
Chantalle:  Talented performer.
Danica:  Creative mind that kept our attention.
Felize:  Humble and committed in the purest way.
Julia:  Genuine determination visible through an honest expression.
Megan:  Determined and creative, a beautiful bright display.
Peyton - Young but confident, eager to please.
Tirza - Beautifully creative and naturally graceful.

"We as teachers are extremely proud of all the contestants.  Their conduct throughout the audition was worthy of praise.  Their determination was visible even though slightly shadowed by serious expressions of tension.  One cannot blame them, the stakes were high.  Their ambitious attempts to do what was expected of them, regardless of skill level, was noted and praised during judges discussions."

Our judges awarded the following LTD scholarships:  
-  Voigt, Megan:  Jazz
-  Rotvold, Peyton:  Spanish 

Based on the judges' scores, the Ballet Scholarship amount will be shared by:
-  Omori, Felize
-  Anderson, Chantalle

All applicants had to choreograph and perform a dance, to their music of choice.  Our judges were especially pleased with one student in particular, offering the Love To Dance Academy a $100, on the spot prize towards tuition for:  Tirza Lara.

Special mention:  Danica Guichon
Danica's Spanish Choreography was not only bold but also beautiful, filled with moments of light and shade to compliment her choice of music.  Parts of Danica's choreography, under the direction of Vanessa van Rensburg will become the 2nd choice medal test dance for the June Medal Test session where current Lvl 2 Spanish students will have the opportunity to enter the 1st choice dance, and in addition, the 2nd choice dance.

Spanish Sparkles

Little girls, who love to dance, gather at the Love To Dance Academy in Merritt, once, twice or three times a week.

Whether they swirl and twirl or stomp and clap, music fills every young heart, creating memories in full colour, allowing little girls to grow into beautiful young dancers.

For more information or to register:
Tel:  1.250.378.9898
E-mail:  dance@telus.net
FB:  LoveToDanceAcademy

2016 LTD Christmas Concert

"Nature On Stage"

On November 23, 2016, The Love To Dance Academy wowed audiences with a beautiful display of costumes, choreography, music and a variety of dance styles brought to life by the fifty-five Love To Dance students who performed on stage.  Dancers aged 3 - 43 entertained seven hundred plus audience members with a variety of dance styles which included Ballet, Spanish, Lyrical Jazz and Hip Hop.

Due to popular demand, the Love To Dance Academy decided to host not one, but two performances at the Merritt Civic Centre as part of the annual Merritt Country Christmas.

"That was the best 2.5 hours in a long while. Costumes, music, choreography all so perfectly put together. The beautiful, always smiling faces.....the manyhundreds of hours of work. A magical afternoon." ~ Shirley Emmerick

"So awesome!!! We truly enjoyed watching every minute!!!" ~ Tanya Starrs

"That was an awesome concert, beautiful costumes and beautiful dancers. I am so impressed that our little town of Merritt can produce such a professional production. It brought tears to my eyes." ~ Audrey Niehaus

Dancers waiting in line at the make-up station. 

Backstage during the afternoon matinee performance.

Evening performance.  On-stage images by The Merritt Herald.

Be The Best "You"

By:  Vanessa van Rensburg

Facebook page for Joseph Michael Gatti.  His cover photo titled, "Official Fan Page".

Done!  I am a fan!

His latest video captioned, "You're only as good as your last show," really got my attention, along with a few couple hundred thousand others.  If you happened to miss it, click here... 

His mind and body, providing what seems to be limitless amounts of power to his muscle groups conditioned specifically for dance, allowing him to exercise control which is beyond most of us, effortless flight to unimaginable heights and the perseverance to succeed.

The blood that runs through my veins is filled with music notes and intricate dance combinations.  Saying that, I have respect for any individual, despite their chosen field, who strives to be the best at their craft.  Driven by passion, dedication, self-motivation, the will to succeed, and a responsibility to execute their God-given talent to the best of their ability.

To those of you who are still debating whether dancers are athletes… Yes, dancers are athletes and more.  Words like strength, technique, stamina, endurance, power, ability, mental maturity, commitment, focus, and a high tolerance for pain come to mind when you think of an athlete.  When you think of a dancer, though, those words are accompanied by words and phrases like musicality, artistry, creativity, versatility & the ability to defy gravity.

Dance because you are passionate.
Dance because you are strong.
Dance because you are an individual, not an average statistic.

Dance for the love of movement.
Dance for the love of music. 
Dance for the love of expression.

Be true to yourself and what you were created for.
Obstacles in any shape or form, are just there to improve your ability to leap!

--------

JOSEPH MICHAEL GATTI, Professional Ballet Dancer, former Principal with Corella Balletin Spain and Cincinnati Ballet and currently a Principal Guest Artist.

From Joseph Michael Gatti:

"Thank you so much for sharing my video and thank for respecting this art form and acknowledging that dancers are athletes as well.

Back in December I had a very bad injury completely breaking my foot.  There is a small documentary about it on my page called “You Against You.” Last Breath.

Anybody who has had a bad injury knows how hard and stressful it can be. I worked on strengthening areas of my body to help protect myself from future injuries. Learning from my past physical therapists I worked with throughout the many years I have been dancing, has been very important to me. I’m so thankful to be back stronger then ever dancing now.

”The Important thing in life is not the triumph but the struggle.”

2016 Garlic Fest

The Love-To-Dance Troupe wowed garlic lovers at the 2016 Garlic Fest, Merritt B.C., which attracts vendors and visitors from across the province. 

Miranda, Peyton, Felize, Alexia, Amy and Nia inspired the crowd with their display of fancy footwork to the tunes of crowd favourites, "Cruise" and "Watermelon Crawl," so much so that numerous spectators joined in when the "dance floor" was opened to "Achy Breaky Heart."

The Love-To-Dance Troupe, along with students from the Love To Dance Academy will be performing during the annual, Merritt Country Christmas Week, bringing to life their passion for nature through dance. 

We would like to invite everyone to attend our performance titled: "Nature On Stage," at the Merritt Civic Centre, November 23, 2016.  There will be two performances.  Times to be announced.

Love To Dance Troupe on Shaw TV - Merritt.

Left:  2016 Love-To-Dance Troupe.  Right:  Audience Participation to Achy Breaky Heart.