THUNDER BAY - Professional and aspiring dancers were taking their moves to the next level courtesy of a dance workshop that held a summer session due to popular demand.
The Next Level Workshop, led by professional dancers and co-owners, Angelica Migliazza and Emma Dubinsky, held Next Level 2.0 on Saturday at the Thunder Bay Art Gallery.
Dancers of all ages and skill levels participated in workshops on contemporary dance, hip-hop, jazz, and were given the opportunity to participate in a music video to show off some of their newly learned skills.
“Mostly we want them to gain as much knowledge from us as possible,” Migliazza said. “Not even just the dance industry, but just as us as humans. We are living in big cities now so we are learning stuff constantly. We went to school for dance and just the whole industry in general. There is so much to know.”
Migliazza and Dubinsky are both originally from Thunder Bay and have gone on to become professional dancers. Migliazza lives and dances in Los Angeles and Dubinsky in Toronto. When back in Thunder Bay, they founded the Next Level Dance Workshop to share their experiences in the industry with young dancers in their hometown.
“I hope the dancers really just take away that to try their best in all styles and know that even if you are really strong in one style, you should always be training in every style that you can as a dancer,” Dubinsky said. “And to just know that as a dancer, you are never reached your top level. You can always keep going, you can always keep learning something new, and just try new things.”
The first workshop was held in December last year and had a very large turnout. Because both Migliazza and Dubinsky were in the city for the summer and because of the popularity of the workshop in the winter, they decided to hold a second workshop, which brought 18 dancers to learn some new moves.
“We throw a lot at them and they pick it up so fast and they absorb as much as they can from us, especially at this age,” Miglizza said. “We want them to have confidence and leave with any knowledge from us possible.”
Migliazza expects another winter session will be held this year and she and Dubinsky are hoping to see the workshop expand to other communities in the region.
