Creating a stronger community through dance
November 2, 2017
Annika Peveril still remembers the very first time she walked through the doors at Dandelion Dance. Her family had undergone some pretty big changes, the biggest of which was a move across the country to Ottawa from their home in Canmore, Alberta.
Annika, who joined Dandelion as a young girl, continued on as a teenager, ultimately joining Dandelion’s Performance Company.
Being incredibly quiet and shy, Annika struggled to make friends at her new school and was often left by herself at lunch and during recess. After months of enduring the intense pressure that comes with feeling isolated by her peers, Annika began to show troubling signs of anxiety. She was just seven years old.
“I was really sad – I would always sit by myself with no one to talk to,” Annika confesses. “I felt so alone.”
Looking back, the now 18-year-old is incredibly grateful that her mom discovered the Dandelion Dance group. During her time in the Dandelion program, Annika and her classmates were given the freedom to create their own works. Together, they learned how to express their individuality through movement and gained the confidence and courage to share their voices with the world.
Today, more girls like Annika are able to benefit from this unique approach, thanks to a three-year, $42,500 grant from the Ottawa Community Foundation. This important seed funding was a turning point for the organization, allowing Dandelion to provide specialized training to more facilitators and distribute bursaries to girls living in low-income households.
“We could not have expanded our impact without the support of the Ottawa Community Foundation. We are forever grateful for their support and encouragement,” explains Monica Chohan, Co-Executive Director of Dandelion Dance. “With this generous multi-year grant, we are able to connect with more families and expand our outreach to young girls living in marginalized communities. We are able to have a real, long-term impact in young lives.”
Giving girls, ages 6 to 18, the opportunity to connect with one another in a safe, supportive and inclusive environment is at the root of the Dandelion method. For more than 17 years, creator Hannah Beach has been developing this unique approach to empowerment and the results have been nothing short of inspiring, especially for girls like Annika.
“Dandelion Dance changed my life,” she explains. “It was somewhere I could go and be myself without the fear of being judged by anyone.”
Dandelion Dance was founded in 2000 as Tournesol, a private dance school here in Ottawa. In 2012 it transformed, and grew into its role as a not-for-profit and charitable organization. With the Dandelion approach, program instructors serve as facilitators, guiding the girls through the creative process that enables them to give movement to issues they care about, while at the same time helping them develop key social skills such as leadership, empathy, acceptance, communication and community building.
Monica believes the strength of the programs come from the openness of the girls and their willingness to break down barriers and connect with one another, regardless of where they are from or who they are.
“We have girls who are both shy and very outgoing, some who have a disability, newcomers to Canada, girls getting top marks at school, and girls with so many different passions and interests,” she explains. “At Dandelion, everyone has a unique background, but they are all brought together through dance.”
You can find out more about Dandelion Dance by visiting www.dandeliondance.ca.