THUNDER BAY - A group of local dancers will be taking their brand of cultural dance back to its roots, showcasing traditional steps adapted by Canadian generations.
Le Stelle Alpine Italian Dancers of Thunder Bay are setting off for Italy next month for a two-week dance tour of the country.
“This has been a long term goal of ours since La Stella Alpine started in 1982,” said Leah Nadin, a teacher and dancer with La Stelle Alpine.
“It is important for us because a lot of us have ancestors who immigrated to Thunder Bay back in the 1940s and 1950s. So it’s important for us to continue their culture and spread their culture and spread their heritage here in Canada, but also perform our adapted versions of Canadian Italian culture there in Italy.”
A group of 10 dancers and family members will land in Venice on July 12 and tour through Tuscany, Rome and Sicily. They will be performing solo shows, as well as participating in festivals and dance workshops to bring some traditional steps back home to Thunder Bay.
“We do adapted versions of traditional versions of Italian dancing, so it will be nice to be there with experienced Italian dancers who can teach us the traditional steps,” Nadin said.
The trip has been a long time in the making and Nadin said it was made possible by support from the community through fundraising and sponsorships. The dance group will also be blazing a new trail for Canadian dancers.
“This is our first time travelling to Italy to dance,” Nadin said. “We are representing Canada as the first traditional Italian dance group to travel to Italy to perform the traditional Italian dancing.”
Beth DeProphetis, who has been dancing for more than 30 years, said she has been waiting for this trip since she first became involved with Le Stelle Alpine.
“I’ve always wanted to go,” she said. “I’ve been with this association for many, many years and this is the first time going to Italy and it’s been a dream of ours to go.”
Being her first trip to Europe, DeProphetis is looking forward to taking in the sites of the Italian cities and countryside, but she is looking forward to being up on stage the most.
“We’ve performed in the Thunder Bay community and across Canada and the States, but we’ve never actually been able to perform in the country of our heritage,” she said.
And while performing Italian dances in Italy will bring with it some added pressure, DeProphetis is looking forward to sharing the Canadian style that has been mixed with tradition.
“There’s not a lot of Italian dancers out there,” she said. “We are excited to go out there and show the Italians what the Canadians do to honour our heritage.”
DeProphetis will be travelling with her husband and newborn son and other dancers will also have family members cheering them on from the audience.
“It’s always nice to get the family perspective,” DeProphetis said. “It’s always nice to bring a crowd with us and have a cheering squad.”
