When B.C.’s best dancers converge on GW Graham school on Wednesday for the dance portion of the Performing Arts BC 2019 Provincial Festival, Chilliwack will be well represented.
Maya Dombowsky, 14, and Hannah Bateman, 17, both with Project Dance studio, were chosen as Intermediate and Senior Modern dance representatives from outstanding performances at the PacWest Dance Festival held earlier this spring in Burnaby.
The two will perform on Wednesday, May 29 as part of the Provincial Festival which takes place in Chilliwack May 26 to 30.
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“Hannah and Maya are such strong examples of how hard work can pay off’,” said Project Dance owner, Amanda Quinton-Kucherhan. “Not only are they accomplished dancers that spend upwards of 25 hours a week at the studio training, they are both honour students and outstanding mentors.”
The Provincial Festival is the pinnacle of 25 B.C. dance festivals – in the Lower Mainland they are: Chilliwack Lions Music and Dance Festival, Surrey Dance Festival and Burnaby’s PacWest. Reps are chosen from each of these festivals in various dance categories.
Hannah, a Grade 12 student at Sardis secondary, is no stranger to the provincial stage. In the past, she was selected as Junior and Intermediate Stage Rep, where she achieved runner-up in both, and was the Provincial Senior Stage winner last year.
In addition to her many outstanding awards this competition season, a day after her Grad prom, Hannah will head to Las Vegas to represent Chilliwack at a major dance event. She will compete and take master classes at the Velocity Dance 2019 Season Finale, having won a scholarship at an earlier Velocity Convention.
Hannah plans to pursue a career in dance, while Maya, a Grade 9 student at Sardis secondary, will continue her dance training at Project Dance and enter Grade 10 at GW Graham this fall.
The Performing Arts BC 2019 Provincial Festival features competitions and workshops in music, dance and speech arts. Here is the schedule:
Tuesday, May 28, 7:30 p.m. • Provincial Highlights Concert (music and speech), Cooke’s Presbyterian Church (45825 Wellington Ave.)
Wednesday, May 29, 7:30 p.m. • Dance Finals, GW Graham theatre (45955 Thomas Rd.)
Thursday, May 30, 7:30 p.m. • National Finals and Highlights Concert, Cooke’s Presbyterian Church (45825 Wellington Ave.)
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