PHOTOS: Community participates in Bella Dance Academy student appreciation event
Students of Bella Dance Academy, their families, and the community participated in an afternoon filled with activities to wrap up the end of the academy’s season on June 16.
From left, Taylor Paddon, Briar Rintoul, Sayumnee Panapiti, Georgia Debogorski, Anabel McMillan, Michelle Moyo, Sloane McKay, and Addison Soloy, dancing in front of a crowd at the Somba K’e park on Friday. Jonathan Gardiner/NNSL photo
Students of Bella Dance Academy, their families, and the community participated in an afternoon filled with activities to wrap up the end of the academy’s season on June 16.
Phoenix Smith, owner and director of Bella Dance Academy, said that she really appreciated the community coming to the event to spend time with the dance students outside of the studio. Jonathan Gardiner/NNSL photo
Dance classes of multiple age groups performed for attendees. There was also a bouncy castle, face painting, free popcorn, and not least of all, a dunk tank, which drew a very large crowd of people throughout the evening. One of the people who ended up in the tank was the owner and director of the academy, Phoenix Smith.
After she dried off, she told Yellowknifer how her first year as the owner went.
“It was really great,” she said. “I saw a lot of growth in the students and in the programs.”
She commented that it was also nice to see the teachers who are very committed and love what they do.
She also said the event was a nice reward after the end of the year.
Families watch while Ady McLeod, dance instructor (in the vivid blue pants), attempts to dunk her boss, Phoenix Smith, into the dunk tank. After a few missing throws, she gave up and smacked the red button which caused Smith to plunge into the water. Smith said that the dunk tank was a big hit among the students. “The kids really love getting their teachers dunked,” she said with a tinge of laughter in her voice. Jonathan Gardiner/NNSL photoLeft, Molly Adams and her father, Keir Adams, right. Adams said this was his daughter’s first year dancing at Bella Dance Academy and she loved it. She did tap dance and ballet and plans to do even more dancing next year because she really enjoys it, he said. Jonathan Gardiner/NNSL photoLeft, Tatiana Leclerc paints an arctic fox mask on studio dancer, Annamarie Yeoman, right. Jonathan Gardiner/NNSL photoEdison Reid jumping around inside the bouncy castle while his sister waited in line for face painting. Jonathan Gardiner/NNSL photo
Dialogue and debate are integral to a free society and we welcome and encourage you to share your views on the issues of the day. We ask that you be respectful of others and their points of view, refrain from personal attacks and stay on topic. To learn about our commenting policies and how our community-based moderation works, please read our Community Guidelines.
