The Red Deer Aboriginal Dance Troupe is on the lookout for a permanent location to call their own.
The group meets every other Monday in the gym at Oriole Park Elementary School. They’ve been gathering here since the troupe began over 10 years ago.
“We have a wonderful relationship with Oriole Park and it’s been a great facility to rent from,” said Kim Southcombe, the events co-ordinator for the troupe.
“But if we had a place of our own, we could be meeting every week, which would be more consistent for the kids.”
The group hasn’t been able to meet at Oriole Park since the beginning of March due to the school’s badminton season and have had to move around from place to place in the meantime.
The troupe that started out with just a handful of participants now sees on average about 150 attendees at each gathering, said Southcombe.
Children as young as two, youth in their early 20s, parents, and even elders join in the community dancing to connect with First Nations, Métis, and Inuit culture and spirituality, said Southcombe. A select group of about 20 dancers also perform for major community events, such as the Canada Day celebrations.
“Everything right now comes out of my house; it’s all stored in my own basement office,” she said.
“We have to load everything and bring it to the gatherings and performances and nine times out of 10 I forget something and then we can’t do hoop dancing or whatnot that night.”
A space of their own would allow not only more storage for costumes and equipment but also help increase the variety when it came to the dances they perform at public events.
Right now they don’t have the facility to expand their performances, said Southcombe, or the opportunity for the select performers to practise on their own time.
“We can’t just go anywhere, either,” she added.
“We need a big gymnasium-type place in a good, safe location.”
The Red Deer Aboriginal Dance Troupe has really been the only consistent Aboriginal Peoples group that has run all these years, noted Southcombe. It’s important to understand, she said, that the majority of the children who attend are in foster care. The dance troupe is the space where they can visit with their siblings and parents, and express themselves with confidence.
“One of the boys would ride his bicycle in the winter from Johnstone Park to Oriole Park just to come and dance,” said Southcombe. “I get a lump in my throat every time just thinking about how proud these kids are, their chins up, shoulders back, when they are in their costumes and dancing.”
Southcombe noted how it’s mandated by the government that foster homes with aboriginal children provide cultural experiences. The troupe is one of the few places they can do that in Red Deer and having a permanent home would make it much more stable for the families who depend on it, she said.
The dance troupe is an all-inclusive community non-profit that welcomes Aboriginals as well as non-natives to dance and learn about the spirituality and culture of dance.
Members of the public interested in discussing or recommending a private space for the group can contact Southcombe at 403-309-6090 or by email at kim_southcombe@hotmail.com.
rfrancoeur@www.reddeeradvocate.com