Community
27 March, 2023
Get your dancing shoes on
Workshops to teach the finer points of style, routine, participation and flair
CULTURAL dance workshops for beginners will take over the Tanks Arts Centre next weekend to commemorate International Dance Day.
The Let’s Dance Around the World workshops will be held on Tank 3 at Tanks Arts Centre on Sunday, April 2, from 10am to 3pm.
The event will give Cairns residents interested in dance or who want to connect with different cultures the opportunity to learn cultural dances from local instructors.
The workshops are aimed at beginners ages 16-plus and cost just a gold coin donation on entry.
Bavarian dancer with local dance group Edelweiss and cultural dance instructor and organiser of Let’s Dance Around the World Sonya Therese said the event aimed to raise awareness on Cairns’ multiculturality.
“I’ve been involved in multicultural dance for the last 35 years, and there’s been a decline in numbers,” Ms Therese said.
“Some cultures are no longer being represented at multicultural festivals, and I would like to help support multicultural groups by promoting them.
“Let’s Dance Around The World is an open invitation to the Cairns community to come and try. Dance is a really fun form of movement and fitness.”
So far, seven local cultural dance groups representing the Middle East, North Africa, Spain, Scotland, Ireland, Austria, Germany, Cuba, Italy and America have joined Let’s Dance Around the World.
Two slots still remain for cultural dance groups looking to join.
“What makes our event stand out is that these are workshops instead of demonstrations,” Ms Therese said.
“Rather than a performance, we are encouraging participation; we will be the one-stop shop for people looking to learn cultural dance.
“From 10am to 3pm we will have all these workshops; every 30 minutes, we’ll switch to a different dance group.
“There will be a sausage sizzle and a tea and cake stall hosted by Far North Queensland Hospital Foundation’s Cardiac Challenge team for refreshments.”
Ms Therese said Let’s Dance Around the World aimed to make people fall in love with cultural dance and boost the member numbers at local dance groups.
“We want people to have fun trying various dance styles; movement is great for both our physical and mental well-being,” she said.
“And we want to promote our local dance groups with the hope of recruiting new members.
“This will help strengthen some of our cultural dance groups so they can continue performing at various multicultural events in and around Cairns.
“It’s important we keep these cultures alive and strong,” she said.
