Quesnel-born and raised dancer Calida Kuzek hosted a free dance class at the Arts and Rec Centre in Quesnel Oct. 12. The class was open to anyone to learn from a professional dancer.
The class was very successful and Kuzek said she and the dancers really enjoyed their time in the class.
Kuzek moved to Vancouver and then L.A. from Quesnel to pursue her dance career. She has credits that include Disney and Netflix while working in the entertainment industry.
“I think it’s been eight years since I’ve been home,” she said. For the Love of Dance sponsored the class, allowing it to be free for people who wanted to learn hip-hop dance. She said while she grew up in Quesnel, she got disconnected from the city’s dance community and she was excited to reconnect with it.
“I moved away a day after graduation,” Kuzek said. “I started in a training company which was a really great way to (help) a kid from a small town land in the big city and get my toes wet in the dance world and I met a lot of great people.” From there, Kuzek signed with an agency which she said opened the doors for her to work in film and TV.
She worked in entertainment in Vancouver before moving moving to L.A.
“I moved to L.A. and was chasing the dream. I was there for about a year and then my body had other plans and I was injured and came back to Vancouver to regroup and get healthy,” she said. Life showed her new priorities while she was back in Vancouver and she ended up falling in love and having a child.
“Now I’m focusing back on teaching and specifically I run an adult beginner hip-hop class called ‘Jam’ and it’s all about bringing (together) people from all walks of life who have maybe never danced before or maybe used to dance. We get together and connect over our love of dance.”
The class in Quesnel was more made for people who had some level of experience with dance, but everyone was welcome to attend. She said her love of teaching hip-hop is to allow people, especially young women, to express themselves in a way they might not feel like they can show in their day-to-day lives.
“Seeing them be really powerful and (showing) feelings that they aren’t always so welcome to express in the real world,” Is one of her favourite parts of teaching. “Being allowed to show up as you are and who you are versus trying to fit into any sort of box and just letting the creativity take over.”
She started dancing at four-years-old at Gold Pan City Dance in Quesnel. When she began, she hated it.
“I was that kid crying in the corner for many, many, many classes and years. And then all of a sudden the switch flipped and I totally fell in love with it,” she recalled. Any goals of careers outside of dance faded away and she knew that’s what she wanted to do with her life.
Kuzek said she wanted to thank the Quesnel arts community and specifically Taya Yamamoto for supporting the dance community in the city.
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