Parents group bringing dance back to Moosomin
September 8, 2020, 9:39 am
Kevin Weedmark
After a year with no dance club, a parent group is bringing dance classes back to Moosomin this fall.
Dance classes will start September 21 and will be held Mondays at the Nutrien Sportsplex.
“Greg Gillespie, the Economic Development Officer in town, came into Kari’s Kloset back in early spring to introduce himself and we had a really great visit. We talked about some things we feel Moosomin is missing,” explains Kari Kosior of the parent committee.
“Jen Mannle, who works with me, and whose kids grew up dancing in town, was going out of town to the Grenfell dance club for her kids to keep dancing. We started talking about how it’s really too bad that we have a such a great group of kids in town that love dance but we don’t have a dance club in town.
“Greg said that would be a really great thing for Moosomin to have, and he said he would do some research to see what it would take to get a dance teacher to come here.
“He reached out again to let me know that he had been phoning around to other towns in the area that have a dance club or a dance teacher, and it sounds like what attracts a teacher to come to a town is having a club that is organized by parents. He wondered if I would be interested in talking to families and seeing if we wanted to get a club together in town.”
Things developed quickly from there.
“That day I had met with him and Emily Mannle, Jen’s daughter, was visiting at the store, and mentioned she was supposed to be starting teaching dancing in Rocanville this year. I asked her if she would teach in Moosomin this year if we could get a club up and going in time.
“I told her to go and talk it over with her family to make sure it was okay to do that, and not even two minutes later she came back saying yes she would love to. I asked if she had a friend who could help out and she said Ashley, her friend, could help. So Ashley came down to the store within five minutes and they were both excited and thrilled about it.
“Both girls have 13 years of dance experience. So I decided we need to establish a club.
“I reached out to a few moms I’m friends with and we have been organizing it to this point.
“The next step was finding a spot in town. The Sportsplex is where we decided to go. There are a few really good spots in town but we met with Catherine and decided the Sportsplex would work for us.”
There has been a lot of interest already.
“We have such a large number of kids, the registration numbers are unreal,” says Kosior.
“We have to get this started, get these young student teachers in, get us started up, and build up the reputation. If we can get a club together with a good size, if it’s well-run, that is going to attract a more permanent teacher for the future.
“So far for our Tiny Dancers, ages 3-4, we have eight registered. For Junior, which are ages 5-7, there are 21 registered, and our Intermediate, which is ages 8-10, there are three registered so far.
“Classes will be hosted on Mondays. The Tiny Dancers would be half an hour, so starting at 4:15 to 4:45.
“We will take 15 minutes between classes to properly sanitize and to let the last class come out and the new class come in—with the Covid guidelines we have to be careful.
“The Junior class will be 45 minutes, starting at 5:00 to 5:45. The next classes will be 6:00 to 6:45. That’s not official scheduling, that’s just what we’re thinking right now, but we will set it in stone once registration is complete.”
The club tried to set rates that would be reasonable and affordable. Details are:
Tiny Dancer (3-4) $140 - Jazz
Junior Dancers (5-7) $200 - Jazz,Tap, Ballet
Intermediate (8-10) $250 - Jazz, Tap, Ballet
Age 10+ $300 - Jazz, Tap, Ballet
“We will need to do some fundraising as the season goes on, because being in the Sportsplex, it’s not set up for dance, so we need to look into bars and portable mirrors. Our first main purchase will have to be a roll-out mat that you can use for tap,” says Kosior.
There are a couple of people with a lot of experience in dance helping get the club going.
“We have Stacey Poelzer helping as one of the board members,” says Kosior. “She danced for 14 years and knows her dance. So she knows what is expected and she will oversee the teachers and follow through to make sure everyone is satisfied with how it’s going.
“Chris Charles from Wapella, who is a ballet teacher, worked with the previous dance club. Emily and Ashley have taken ballet from him and they speak very highly of him. They are so excited to work with him. We hope to look into having him join us once a month or having special ballet classes with him teaching.”
Covid precautions
Starting a new dance club in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic means special precautions.
“We will be following the Covid guidelines that are in place, so no more than 30 in a building, and with dancing they are spaced out anyway with X’s on the floors, so we will take that into consideration and space them out six feet apart,” says Kosior.
How to sign up
Anyone interested can sign up or find out more information by stopping in at Kari’s Kloset, checking out the group’s Facebook page, emailing moosomindanceclub@outlook.com, or calling Kari at 306-435-2738.
“Registration day is Wednesday, September 9,” says Kosior. “We do have a late registration fee of $25 but late registrations are welcome.”
Kosior said she believes it will be great to have dance classes back in Moosomin.
“It will make a huge difference to have a club in town. Last year it wouldn’t have worked for our family to go out of town. We would not be able to do it. What was frustrating for me as a parent was with a community our size I felt discouraged—I really believe there is no reason Moosomin can’t have a dance club. We have so much potential here. I’m so happy to get the response and support, and I feel confident that we are going to start up a great dance club.”
