UF and Santa Fe College will partner to host the Young Dancer Workshop Oct. 22-24, an annual event that welcomes 11- to 18-year-old dancers to connect with dance scholars and professional performers.
Students who enroll will take classes on UF and Santa Fe campuses. Alex Springer, UF’s YDW coordinator, said the program is committed to exposing students to a variety of dance styles, including West African, Afro-Brazilian, musical theater and contemporary, and teaching them how to choreograph their own dances.
This year also marks the beginning of a partnership with UF Performing Arts. YDW will begin with a social at the Phillips Center, followed by a welcome concert featuring Rubberband Dance, a professional company based in Canada known for blending break dancing, classical ballet and dance theater. The company will also work with students during the workshop.
Ava Smail, a YDW administrative assistant and 21-year-old UF dance senior, said the program gives younger dancers an opportunity to explore the art form in new ways.
“They’re getting to take classes that they may not have even heard of, meet new people and get to experience how wide the world of dance is,” she said.
Also joining the lineup this year is Bates Dance Festival, which hosts an international dance intensive in Lewiston, Maine each summer. YDW students 14 and older can participate in a recruitment class, connect with staff from the program and receive a discounted tuition offer.
YDW has partnered with Gainesville Parks, Recreation and Cultural Affairs through UF’s Center for Arts, Migration and Entrepreneurship to allow visiting artists to engage with Gainesville’s youth.
Melissa Brenner, who coordinates the program for Santa Fe, said she’s excited to see the program continue to expand its reach.
“We keep trying to find ways that we can impact more folks, both locally, regionally [and] all the way through the state,” she said.
The event is sponsored by Visit Gainesville.
Brenner said YDW also benefits the local economy by bringing visitors to the city.
“[YDW] brings hundreds of people into our city and [is] filling up our hotels and our restaurants, keeping us on the map as a hub for arts and culture,” she said.
The workshop will close with a YDW showcase at the Santa Fe College Fine Arts Hall, where participating dance schools will present their work alongside undergraduate dance students.
Lilly Byrum, a 21-year-old UF dance senior who previously attended Santa Fe, said this will be her third year performing in the showcase. Byrum said YDW is important because it connects young dancers with professors, collegiate dancers and each other.
“This is a weekend for us to be moved and move together,” Springer said.
Julianna Munoz is a contributing writer for The Alligator.
