For Apex, it’s dust or diamonds

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This article was published 29/02/2016 (3478 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A Westwood Collegiate (360 Rouge Rd.) boys’ dance club is giving students the chance to get moving and learn a few lessons along the way.

The Apex Dance Company runs out of Westwood once a week on Monday nights as an extracurricular club for students who identify as male — no experience required.

Instructor Brian Toms said the group began three years ago with the help of students Michael Carter and Jesse Thibert.

“In Grade 10 Mr. Toms came to Jesse and I and said I have a dance for seven guys but there are only three guys in dance, so Jesse and I were like, ‘not a problem,’” Carter said.

They did, in fact, find seven dancers and after performing the piece, the group decided to keep going and formed Apex. Now a total of 16 guys take part in some kind of dance program at Westwood.

“Some have been dancing their entire lives,” Owen Dueck said. “For me, coming to Apex a couple of years ago was really my first chance to experience a real dance class and it has been really interesting to see how far we’ve come from hardly being able to move to being able to put on multiple dance pieces throughout the year.”

The group puts on full productions in lyrical, contemporary jazz and hip hop styles complete with costuming. To raise money for costumes, the group is putting a showcase on March 2 (noon, $1) and 3 (7 p.m., $2) in Westwood Collegiate’s theatre.

The club has become a home base for the students, a place to learn dance but also one of personal growth and community.

“Every day, you learn something you can take over into real life,” Thibert said. “Dust or diamonds is what we’re taught a lot. There are points in dance where it’s hard and you want to break down, and when you make a diamond it takes a lot of heat and compression and it either crumbles into dust, or it’s a diamond.”

Toms said that while many of the students won’t continue with performing arts once they leave high school, the lessons in work ethic, appreciation for art and welcoming criticism stick for life.

“It’s almost more fun to teach kids who aren’t dancers because they don’t know what to expect and it’s like showing someone something for the first time,” Toms said. “The excitement is palpable.”

Student Peter Dueck said the rehearsals are something they all look forward to.

“We’re always laughing and joking but we’re progressing so much in one rehearsal a week,” he said.

Rhys Funk agrees that a sense of camaraderie is the core of the group.

“We all share an understanding about the stigma of being a male dancer, and overcoming that as a group,” Funk said. “It’s important for schools to give students an opportunity such as the Apex male dance company because a lot of males in schools are scared to join a large dance class with a lot of girls and not a lot of boys.”

Luckily the experienced dancers have warmly welcomed beginners to join the group, as well.

“One of the hardest things is you’re putting yourself out there in front of your peers,” Brandt Jesson said. He will be continuing with a music program once he graduates. “Initially I was really nervous about looking awkward in front of people because most were already in dance, but I felt like it was such a comfortable environment and after a few practices, I felt like I was at home.”

For more info on the Apex Showcase, please visit westwoodcollegiate.blogspot.ca