RBC Royal Bank recently sponsored the Dance Bahamas School “Masters in Dance Series” program in conjunction with the National Dance Company of The Bahamas.
The “Masters in Dance Series” was born out of the realization that there are limited resources locally for dance practitioners and students. The main objective is to enrich the lives of young Bahamians by exposing them to internationally acclaimed dancers, teachers and choreographers.
The first “Masters Series” took place February 14th to 16th, 2013 with Master Teacher, Ms. Charmaine Hunter. Ms. Hunter is the former Principal Ballerina with the Dance Theatre of Harlem and Co-founder of the Las Vegas Contemporary Dance Theatre.
The Second “Masters in Dance Series” began on Monday and ends on July 12th, 2013.
The program will feature Dr. Mel Tomlinson as the Master Teacher. Dr. Tomlinson is a renowned, classically trained ballet dancer. He is a former principal dancer with Agnes DeMille’s Heritage Dance Theatre of Harlem, Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre, New York City Ballet, Boston Ballet, and North Carolina Dance Theatre. His repertoire includes works that range from contemporary to classical ballet.
Key tenets of the “Masters Dance Series” are accessibility and inclusion.
The “Masters Series” is committed to exposing and inspiring students who would not necessarily get the opportunity to receive dance tuition on a technically high level.
Students from C.V. Bethel Senior High School were included in the cohort of participants last February. Interested students throughout the Family Islands have been invited to participate in the next scheduled series. Dance School Bahamas will assist these students to defray the costs for airfare and accommodations.
“RBC supports the arts and recognizes the pivotal role the arts have played in knowledge building, innovation and youth development”, said Jan Knowles, RBC Manager, Public Relations and Communications.
She continued: – “We are proud to support the “Masters in Dance Series”, a program which promotes cultural exchange between groups of people from different backgrounds and geographies.”
Robert Bain, Executive and Artistic Director of The National Dance Company of The Bahamas thanked RBC for their support, “We are grateful for the fact that RBC has always been a reliable corporate sponsor that realizes the importance of the arts in the development of a country”. He explained that because of contributions such as RBC’s, “The program will be adequately funded, allowing us to procure the master teacher. This sponsorship makes it possible for us provide assistance to students from the Family Islands and New Providence who are interested in participating in this significant event”.
