This weekend I took in Nath Keo's "Sacred Centre" and "Oriental Bliss" workshops, and they were fantastic! Put on by BC ex-pat's Kathryn Burke and Lara Kirkpatrick, the workshops were held at the Dartmouth Sportsplex. I first met Nath after he blew everyone away at the first IBCC in Toronto. He was one of the performers everyone asked about, and due to popular demand Yasmina brought him back the next year to teach. Check out any of his Youtube videos and you'll see that his precise and innovative dancing is like nothing you've seen before.
What I love about Nath is his humble attitude and sense of humor, not to mention impeccable technique and a lot of passion for the dance. Influenced by his training in both Cambodian dance and Oriental style (aka Egyptian/cabaret bellydance for the stage), his style is very unique. Nath often mentioned how his teaching style is influenced by his work choreographing for Sacred Centre dance company, with the end goal being synchronized lines and technique.
Having been away from Yasmina and my other teachers in Toronto for many months, I was thrilled to be a student again, learning a fresh perspective on oriental technique as well as new and innovative combos. I even felt Nath's aesthetic coming out when I taught my classes on Saturday.
Nath is truly a Canadian treasure and belongs on the international workshop circuit. The quality of the workshop was right up there with many I've taken with more famous dancers. So get in your classes with him while you can!
I've been thinking a lot lately about creating group choreographies for our Cabaret Serpentine shows, and for various events in Atlantic Canada. Now I'm even more inspired!
Read more about Nath and his dancers here: www.sacredcentredance.com
1 comment:
That just about sums it up :) I really enjoyed the workshop too, I didn't know anything about Nath until Lara and Kathryn posted the event to facebook and I started poking around to find out more about him. So glad I went!
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