MANSFIELD — Get ready to stretch, jump, turn and dance for joy. Dancers from all over Ohio will be at the Richland Academy of the Arts and The Renaissance Theatre on April 29, participating in the 7th annual All Ohio Dance Festival.
This dance festival, directed by Anita Shapasian of Aurora, Ohio, encourages dancers to share their various art forms with each other and the community, awards scholarships and bridges the gap between professional/semi-professional companies and smaller dance studios by offering the opportunity for dancers to not only perform, but also improve their dance education with master classes.
In 2016, the All Ohio Dance Festival was held at the Cuyahoga Community College East Campus. That day, over 400 dancers participated in a variety of master classes during the day, the first junior matinee performance as well as the evening performance which was filled with nonstop dance of all techniques ages and genres.
The evening culminated with the presentation of $4,500 in scholarships to students continuing their dance education at the university level. Two years ago, Richland Academy’s graduating senior Daylin Williams, who now is a sophomore at BYU studying dance, was awarded a $700 scholarship for an essay she submitted to the festival.
Dancers from the Richland Academy of the Arts have participated in the festival for four years and are preparing for the master classes will be at their home studio.
The Richland Academy’s space will allow for all the students to get the most out of their master class techniques including: Hip Hop, Lyrical, Ballet, Salsa, Modern, Tap, Musical Theatre, and Non-traditional partnering.
Marden Ramos and Sarah Horrigan-Ramos will be among the master class teachers again this year.
“We are here to pass on our love of dance to the next generation,” Marden says. “The students have great technique, conditioning and passion for dance; as a teacher that’s what you hope to see.”
About the festival, Sarah says, “It’s great for the girls to participate in a festival and see other dancers from Ohio. They have an opportunity to learn from other teachers, watch other dancers and to show off, a bit of their many talents.”
The dance performance is open to the public and you’re all invited to come see what talent is in our local community and throughout Ohio. Tickets are $20 and are on sale now through The Renaissance box office during their business hours.
Curtain opens at 7 p.m. on April 29, 2017. The All Ohio Dance Festival is a nonprofit project, the proceeds from master classes, t-shirt sales, 50/50 raffle and ticket sales, cover the festival expenses and contribute to the festival scholarships.
