Ottawa’s Dandelion Dance Company used movement to educate Carleton students on social issues as part of a celebration of International Children’s Day in Dunton Tower, Nov. 20.
The production, hosted for the first time this year by the Child Studies Society, was aimed at promoting change, said Child Studies Society president Marina Staltari.
The goal was to “advocate for change, believe in who you are and to continue to get something more out of education other than academics,” Staltari said.
The Ottawa-based youth dance theatre features 12 dancers, aged 13 through 19, who explored issues such as child labour, hunger, equality and inclusion through a variety of dances.
International Children’s Day was created in 1954 by the United Nations to promote fertility and to initiate action to benefit children’s welfare.
“I think dance is a great form of communication,” said 14-year-old dancer Madeleine Soroczan-Wright.
Many viewers wiped away tears as the dancers stood under a spotlight and danced.
“Art makes us feel things,” said Hannah Beach, founding director of the Dandelion Dance Company. “It’s an emotional connection.”
To educate students on hunger, dancers came together in a circle holding boxes of food. One dancer stood in the middle looking hungry while another clapped every three seconds.
When the hungry dancer wasn’t given food from the boxes, she curled up into a ball — to represent death.
Following the performance, the dancers explained that every clap represented a child dying every three seconds of hunger. By their calculations, 32 children died during the course of the dance.
The performances were created by the dancers themselves, which is what makes the dance studio different from others, Beach said.
“I don’t know another dance company of our kind in the city or even possibly the country,” she said.
“Being involved in Dandelions has made me open up,” said 16-year-old dancer Diana Penco. “[It made me] accept my emotions and not be such a robot.”
Beach said the issues explored in the dance are important for Carleton students, since they’re the next generation that’s going to have and work with children.
“There are still issues happening,” Staltari said. “And it is important to bring awareness to those issues.”
