Emotion and expression in dance

By Brady Grove, Times Reporter

Expressions the Dance Gallery entered its 36th season by welcoming back a familiar face.
Calgary-born dance choreographer Sarah Cherewko returned to the dance gallery on Dec. 27 and Jan. 3 to build new routines for three local dancers that will be used in competitions in the upcoming year.
“These little women are so wonderful. They are so hard working and passionate. They will try anything,” said Cherewko. “They are really wonderful students. Every year I look forward to coming and working with these students.”
Cherewko moved to Montreal in 2011 and for seven years has taught at the dance school Dans A’tout. While visiting family in Calgary at Christmas she always stops by Expressions the Dance Gallery in Strathmore to work with the students. Growing up, Cherewko attended the dance studio’s Calgary location and trained under Heather Thomas, the owner and artistic director of the Strathmore location.
“We’re very fortunate to have choreographers visit and set pieces for our students,” said Thomas. “It’s a great experience for the dancers to work with well-known artists and get ready for the professional performance world.”
Cherewko is trained in several forms of dance, including Ceccetti ballet, jazz, lyrical, modern, musical theatre, tap, hip hop and contemporary which has taken her all over the world. Cherewko signed her first contract at the age of 18 with Carnival Cruise Lines which took her to many different countries, including Mexico and Australia.
The trio of dancers who learned the new choreography included Jaymie Smith, 16, Cadence Goodeagle, 16, and Teagen Rabbit Carrier, 17, who has been working with Cherewko for four years.
On Dec. 27, Cherewko met with the trio to map out new routines, focusing on the story and themes told in their performances which fall under the contemporary dance category.
Being positive is a big part of Cherewko’s philosophy but she doesn’t shy away from the negative. She tries to help train dancers to handle the off-floor pressures such as negative self-body imaging and to become more comfortable in their own skin.
Depression is a major theme in one of the routines, and Cherewko described one of the challenges of turning off the automatic smile when performing and letting those negative emotions shine through the dancer’s movement and expression.
“Because of society we don’t usually express our anger or sadness out loud, so it’s nice to give them an opportunity to do that because it does feel pretty good,” said Cherewko.
On Jan. 3, the dancers returned to hammer down the routines and added some new moves, including a lift and smoother transitions, and work out any issues before Cherewko headed back to Montreal. She stays in touch through Skype to follow the trio’s progression.
The new routines are about three minutes long, and for the trio it’s not all about winning.
“It’s not really about the medal. It’s about how we dance and how we perform,” said Rabbit Carrier.
The first dance competition the trio will compete in with the new routines is called Sparkle on March 22-24 in Stettler.