Michele skuse
Rossland News
Rosslanders won’t want to miss the solo show, Papillon: Flying Solo this Thursday at Rossland Summit School. This event — put on by Kootenay Danceworks — is a fundraiser for the Kelly Family Trust and the Koppin Family Trust.
The show is made possible from the teachings of instructor Renée Salsiccioli who is a firm believer that dancers must begin their journey early in life.
She explained that if people come to her at a young age, she can train students to give them all sorts of opportunities; the downside is that you need to start young.
Salsiccioli believes that while interest is always nice, starting to late is a real issue, with youth aged 12 and up usually already too far along to partake in her classes.
Acceptance into her program is based on talent, but more importantly, Salsiccioli considers such things as whether or not they are focused, and if they have the drive required to train.
“Then it’s easy to teach them, especially when they are young. You can do so many things with a body,” she added.
If students do decide to train however, she can give them many opportunities.
“It’s the strong ballet training, it gives them a leg up with their classical training in jazz, modern, almost any type of dance.”
This is where her talent and passion lie; in training dancers.
“I like the challenge of being able to watch a child physically and mentally change,” Salsiccioli admitted.
Her advice for parents interested in registering their child, is to check out the website and make contact with Salsiccioli. Due to the very small class size — 5 to 10 students in a class — there is limited space.
Classes start at age three with creative movement. The instructor has a huge wait list and has had parents with children only 10 month old approach her to be added to the list.
Notable students include Sabrina Neufeld, who received a scholarship for Ballet Austin and was also accepted into Northwest’s Ballet Summer Intensive as well as Tatum Clement, who was accepted into Alberta Ballet’s Summer Program in addition to the Royal Winnipeg Ballet’s summer program.
Catch Salsiccioli’s dancers this Thursday, May 21. The show starts at 6:30 p.m. with $10 tickets at the door.
There will also be a year end show, Dancing Divas and Dads, with group pieces at the Charles Ballet, June 20. Tickets are currently on sale at the Charles Bailey box office.