When Camillus Dance Centre teachers Lynea D’Aprix and Sarah Walter moved to Syracuse to continue their careers in dancing, the two were surprised by the lack of opportunities for adult dancers to grow.

Their situation ignited the Salt City Dance Festival, a two-day dance workshop series that will debut on July 27-28, the same weekend as National Dance Day. Not only will the event provide a space for dancers above the age of 16 to grow, but it will also expose the community to a wide variety of dance styles.

“We have classes from modern to yoga to partner acrobatics to hip-hop to Bollywood to belly dancing,” said D’Aprix.

This weekend of dance will take place at SALTspace, a brand new performing arts center in Syracuse’s Westside. After learning about the space last year, D’Aprix and Walter were instantly inspired to create something that utilizes the studios and theater in the new center. The idea for the festival was born soon after, said D’Aprix.

These two days will be filled to the brim with classes taught by 24 different dance teachers. From 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on Saturday and 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Sunday, along with breaks for lunch and dinner, SALTspace will serve as a creative hot spot for dancers of all levels to immerse themselves in an array of styles, D’Aprix said.

“We wanted to get a huge variety so that way people could find one thing they’re interested in or maybe they find something brand new that they’ve never tried before,” she said.

“Modern Mind and Body,” one of the classes D’Aprix is teaching, will involve strengthening coordination by allowing people to challenge themselves with riskier movements, she said.

Partner head coordinator Walter is teaching an improvisation class for all levels where people will have the chance to test their strength and stability while stepping out of their comfort zone by trying new ways of moving that aren’t so choreographed, Walter said.

In addition to the classes, there will be a performance at 6 p.m. on Saturday that will showcase local choreographers of Syracuse, which is open to all of the community to attend.

Choreographer Moriah Markowitz is one of the local artists showcasing their work at the performance. The style of her pieces tend to be contemporary but with a splash of novelty and risk, she said.

“Throughout my time as a young choreographer, a goal of mine is to give the audience a unique experience, incomparable to other artists’ work,” Markowitz said over email.

Following the performance is a networking event being held at Wunderbar, a new nightclub as of April.

Apart from SALTspace inspiring the creation of the festival, Walter and D’Aprix share a desire to boost community engagement while supporting a multitude of dance professionals, Walter said.

“It’s so important for dance teachers to keep learning and this is just our big foot in the door to hopefully lead to more opportunities like that,” D’Aprix said.

In the end, both women hope to expose people to the diversity of the local dance community. However, their mission goes beyond helping local dancers; through the festival they hope to show the city how important it is to create this professional experience so that all artists can thrive in Syracuse, Walter said. 

Along with bringing the community together through dance, one of their biggest accomplishments is that they will be able to pay every single teacher and choreographer participating in the festival.

“We want to prove that Syracuse can actually be a thriving place for dancers to not just dance but also to actually make a living doing so,” D’Aprix said. “We want Syracuse to be a place where people come to dance or stay to dance.”

Published on July 26, 2019 at 10:24 pm