An award winning local hip hop dance crew will be providing some of the entertainment at the Mosaic Youth Talent Show at Knox United Church on Saturday, May 19.
Foot Clan is made up of seven dancers who train at Vibrant Dance in Nanaimo.
The group’s only female dancer is 16-year-old Kiana Smith of Nanoose Bay.
Smith has performed in a few past Mosaic shows. The multi-talented Grade 10 student who attends Dover Bay Secondary School in Nanaimo has been dancing for 12 years. She enjoys hip hop and other dance disciplines and said anyone who thinks dance is an easy art should see her bruises.
“It is a demanding sport and is quite brutal,” she admitted.
Smith is still savouring the gold medal the dance troupe she performs with brought home earlier this month from a competition on the mainland.
In April the seven members of Foot Clan attended the Surrey Festival of Dance, which is one of the largest amateur dance competitions held in North America with over 10,000 dancers competing over five weeks.
Foot Clan won their age division and were invited back for the No Borders Group Dance Challenge where the first place groups returned to compete against one another.
After a grueling day of competition, Foot Clan advanced to the finals where the top 10 groups in all ages and genres of dance competed for the overall title of grand champion. Foot Clan did Vancouver Island proud and brought home the gold medal. Not only did the group win $1,000, they also earned some bragging rights. Smith said they competed against some amazing dancers and the win took them by surprise.
“We thought we did a really good job but didn’t think we would take it. When they called us our knees collapsed and we started screaming. We didn’t expect it at all … we were so humbled. It was an amazing experience.”
Smith and her dance team are committed and train five days a week in various forms of hip hop.
You can see Foot Clan perform their award winning routine this weekend at the Mosaic Youth Talent Showcase.
Smith will also dance a hip hop solo routine called First Date.
“It has a little story to it. The dance is about having a crush on a boy and getting ready for the date. I will also do a musical theatre piece,” she said.
Foot Clan will be guest performers at the So You Think You Can Dance Qualicum Beach finals (see related story on page B4) and they will be performing at the Vibrant Dance year end show June 16 at the Port Theatre in Nanaimo.
The Rotary Club of Parksville is providing scholarships to the rising stars in the community who are performing in the Mosaic talent show on May 19 at Knox United Church in Parksville.
Tickets for the 7 p.m. show are $15 for adults, $10 for students and kids 12 and under free. They can be purchased at Cranky Dog Music in Parksville and Mulberry Bush Book Stores or at the door.