When high school opens next fall, eight teenage dancers who are serious about their art will be involved in a new pilot program. Thanks to a collaboration between Chatelech Secondary School and the Coast Academy of Dance (CAD) in Sechelt, the advanced dance students will be able to train three afternoons a week at the academy while continuing their academic education in the mornings.
"This group is all on track academically," says Julie Izad, director of CAD, who worked out the details of the program with the school counsellor and principal Jim McGowan. "He could see that they are so passionate about their dance," she said.This program will allow students to juggle their schedules in such a way that they will have time for both school and dance practice without as much stress.
It's a rigorous program, Izad points out. They will undertake the complete dance training program that includes ballet and other styles of dance with the object of taking their Imperial Society of Teachers of Dance qualifications, a worldwide standard for dance quality. With a teaching diploma, they can move to a different level. They can travel, get jobs in professional theatre or teach anywhere in the world. She cites the example of two former CAD students, Erika Wrightman and Rachel Berinstein, who earned their teaching diplomas and took on dance jobs in Mexico. "Erika was a natural born teacher," says Izad,and shenow teaches at the Academy.Students will continue to pay for dance lessons as before but will now receive two high school credits for the elective course."If this pilot program is successful," Izad says, "I can see it becoming at least a two-year program in the future."
