Dance Workshop | June 16

Date: Mon, Jun 16 @ 4:00 PM

Location artsPlace, 950 – 8th Avenue, Canmore

This event is free and all are welcome.

National Indigenous History Month, Dance workshop with Cherith Mark and Jaylin Simeon

Join us to learn the basics of dancing with this short presentation and workshop led by Cherith Mark and Jaylin Simeon.

This workshop is open for beginners and will focus on the basics of the Pow Wow dance step. Pow Wow dance involves a careful blend of cultural education and physical movement. For this workshop, beginners will start with the basic steps of a simple dance style, like the Traditional dance. This workshop will also focus on the importance of posture, foot placement, and the rhythm of the drumbeat. Participants will move in sync with the steady beat of the drum, while feeling the rhythm in their bodies. Participants will start with slow, deliberate steps, focusing on proper footwork and maintaining a graceful movement. Once the basic steps are introduced, participants will practice repetition and a routine to help build confidence and muscle memory. The instructors will also explain the importance of regalia and how it symbolizes personal and cultural identity.

This workshop is open to all ages, backgrounds, and levels of experience.
Registration in advance is required.

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Participants will come dressed in comfortable dancewear, bring shoes or moccasins, a towel, and a water bottle.

Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity invites you to participate in National Indigenous History Month in June for a series of free events that included Storytelling, Online Marketplace and Online Film Screenings, as well as partner events at the Whyte Museum of the Canadian Rockies in Banff and artsPlace in Canmore.

Indigenous Arts

National Indigenous History Month

Banff Centre Summer Arts Festival

Biographies

Cherith Mark

Âba wathtech! Cherith Mark emâgiyabich. Îethka wîya hemâchach. Mînî Thnî emâdahâch.
Cherith Mark is from the Stoney Nation and currently resides in her home community of Mînî Thnî, Morley AB - Treaty 7 Territory. Cherith is a skilled dancer and performer whose artistic practice involves Indigenous pow wow dance, contemporary dance, theatre, and aerial work. She has toured and performed with Indigenous dance companies including Red Thunder Native Dance Theatre, Raven Spirit Dance, Dancing Earth and Kaha:wi Dance Theatre.

Cherith is also a language advocate and educator who graduated from Grant MacEwan College’s Dance Program, received her BFA from Simon Fraser University’s School for the Contemporary Arts and BEd. from the University of Alberta. She is also an alumna of the Banff Centre for the Arts and Creativity, having attended the Aboriginal Arts program between the years 1999 to 2006. Cherith has also studied at the Centre for Indigenous Theatre in Toronto from 1999 to 2002. Cherith actively contributes to her Stoney community through her advocacy for the Stoney language in schools through her work with Stoney Education Authority, serving as lead coordinator for SEA in the Stoney Language Resource Development Project. She also is a board member for the Mînî Thnî Charity Foundation and the Whyte Museum. In addition, Cherith was also involved with Nightrise: An Immersive Storytelling Experience, a tri partnership between the Stoney Nakoda Nations, Pursuit Collection and Moment Factory.

Jaylin Simeon

Jaylin Simeon is from the Stoney Nakoda Nation and lives in Mînî Thnî AB. She graduated from St. Timothy High School in Cochrane.

Jaylin has a deep love for her Stoney culture and is active in the Pow Wow circle travelling throughout the summer dancing at Pow Wows. She has a passion for visual art and practices her skills by creating visual art pieces.