96th Kiwanis festival in Penticton reflects a passion for the arts

Since her time dancing with the National Ballet of Canada, Stephana Arnold has focused on helping young people realize their true potential.

She had an opportunity to do that again this week at a special workshop for competitors at the 96th Penticton Kiwanis Music, Dance and Speech Art Festival.

“I try to find approaches that the dancers will respond to and I try and really make it fun for them,” said Arnold who is also an award-winning dancer, choreographer and adjudicator at the festival “I’m always trying to find visuals that will help the young dancers achieve the goals they need.”

She added with a smile, “When I was a kid, ballet wasn’t much fun to learn. The approach is much different now, you can’t get away with slapping people or poking them with a stick.”

For Arnold, being able to give lessons in a way that will strike that chord of understanding in the students is critical to their success and ultimate lifetime enjoyment.

“I like to see how they articulate that information and get it into their bodies,” she said. “As the levels go up, I want them to think about what I said earlier but that it’s now an action.”

The dance portion of the festival has about 750 of the 1,200 total festival registrations.

Festival dance director Karen Pennington pointed to the workshops as a key part of providing participants with the best possible experience.

“It’s important to round out the festival. It’s not just about the competition, it’s about encouraging them to move on to the next level. To just improve their technique and knowledge,” she said.

The instructors are also the ones who will judge the young people during the competition, which Pennington believes also has benefits for the kids.

“They get to know the adjudicator a little bit and that takes the stress out of it a little,” she said. “They (workshop instructors) might crack some jokes so the dancers get to know that they are not just some ogre up in the stands.”

The workshops are also mandatory for those competitors hoping to earn a spot in the Performing Arts BC Provincial Festival that runs May 28 to June 2 in Penticton.

Competition and workshops in the Kiwanis festival run daily until April 26 at the Cleland Theatre and are open to the public.

Having started in early March, this year’s festival will wrap-up with a gala feature show May 6 at the Cleland. 

Tickets are available here or festival venues.

— This story was originally published by the Penticton Herald.