The cost of attending a typical dance workshop can run up to $200 a session in Ottawa.
That’s what drove Manhattan MacLennan, a fourth year communications and media studies student at Carleton University, to launch Give Dance a Chance: an organization running mobile dance workshops for adults on a pay-what-you-can scale.
MacLennan didn’t expect her class assignment would turn into a real-life to make dance accessible in the community.
As part of her communications event management course, she had to create, market and facilitate an event, which served as the foundation for Give Dance a Chance.
“Dance can be such an expensive and elitist sport,” MacLennan said.
GDAC’s dance workshops operate on a sliding scale with a minimum $8 fee per class.
The low cost “makes it affordable to attend dance classes,” said Ali Shukri, a former workshop participant and now the femme heels dance instructor for the organization.
“This would have been great to have growing up.”
While the company’s first workshop last November only offered two styles, jazz funk and contemporary or lyrical, MacLennan said the next iteration will feature more classes including musical theatre, pom funk, hip hop, contemporary, femme heels and jazz sass.
MacLennan added she also wants to create an accessible space.
Give Dance a Chance instructors come from various 2SLGBTQIA+ and racial backgrounds. MacLennan is a queer movement artist herself, and she wants students to see themselves in their instructors.
“We get to offer all this inclusivity and diversity in our classes so that people can feel like they really belong,” she said. “It’s been really cool to see everyone’s confidence grow.”
Sally Riché, another participant-turned-instructor, said the company increases visibility for a wide range of dance styles, cultures and identities.
“There is a genuine openness that allows people to show up as they are and feel like they belong,” Riché said.
Their first workshop offered two classes and sold out, welcoming around 30 dancers to Union Studios. Workshops will move to various locations across the city.
Next up is the Nepean Creative Arts Centre on March 29, with the venue to accommodate a larger number of participants.
“Inclusion in dance means creating a space where different stories, bodies and expressions are not only welcomed but celebrated,” Riché said. “GDAC actively creates that environment and that is incredibly meaningful to me.”
Featured image provided by Give Dance a Chance.
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