The Arts Council for the South Shuswap has taken over the Faces programming for art, dance and music in the area.
Arts council administrator Karen Brown says she is pleased that Faces has now become one of four key areas of the arts council under a non-profit format.
“Under the arts council’s wing, the fine arts programming in the area will grow under a fresh vision of the board of directors,” says Brown. “This is integral to the healthy growth of the arts council to ensure that the needs of the community, both young and old, are met.”
Returning to teach are songwriters, recording arts and musicians Larry Stephenson and Sylvain Vallee, teaching music with a variety of instruments. A new children’s choir will also be struck under the direction of Vallee.
Heading the art department is local artist and teacher Lynn Crin, who will continue to share her funky and eclectic style with art class participants.
New to the Faces family last year was Storm Dafoe, who will continue to head the dance department.
“Ms. Dafoe’s dance background is extremely impressive and the arts council feels very fortunate to have her as part of their teaching faculty,” says Brown.
Dafoe began dancing at the age of four, studying ballet, lyrical, jazz, musical theatre, character, modern, ballroom and hip-hop, but always particularly loved ballet.
Dafoe trained with the Van Dance company in Lethbridge, Alta. before travelling to Toronto, where she continued to train.
Back home, Dafoe was invited to audition for the Saskatchewan tour with the Moscow Ballet Company’s Swan Lake, and was cast with 11 other girls in the corps de ballet. She made a second appearance with the Moscow Ballet company at age 16 when she was cast as a soloist and danced the Spanish Variation in The Nutcracker.
Until 2012 Dafoe participated in competitions in Saskatchewan and Alberta. In her senior year, she received the Dance Saskatchewan Ambassador Scholarship.
This spring she created competitive pieces for the Backstage Dance Company and choreographed two solo pieces. Her modern solo piece Coralia received four choreography awards in the 2014 competition season.
Dafoe is studying at Thompson Rivers University and is looking forward to teaching ballet, jazz, modern, lyrical, hip hop and musical theatre at Faces Studio this fall.