VIDEO: Promoting a different kind of dancing

Right now, the girls rent a space through Dance Saskatchewan and do all of their own choreography. They have been dancing together for five years.

Bittner said when she first met Turgeon she really wanted to take part in a competition.

The reason why Turgeon wanted to compete was because her teacher at the time didn’t believe in competitions, which is why the pair teamed up together.

“I thought it would be a perfect opportunity for her to come with me and she’s my friend, so it was just for fun when we started. It definitely became a lot more than just dancing for the two of us,” Bittner said.

They took part in their first competition in Biggar about three years ago.

“Most of the girls had never seen anything like that so we got some crazy looks going out on stage,” she said.

Following that they had people come out to other competitions and festivals they were taking part in just to watch them perform.

One of the things that drew Bittner into dancing with someone in a wheelchair is the opportunity for a new experience.

“When I moved to Saskatoon I’d never seen anything like it. Being from Shellbrook, you know small town, you don’t really see anything like that. My mom actually worked with [Turgeon’s] mom and so when Sheri said she danced I decided I needed to go watch because I’ve never seen anything like that,” she explained.

“And just the first time I saw her dancing it was crazy, I thought it was wonderful.”

After seeing Turgeon dance Bittner asked to join Turgeon’s dance group, was accepted and now they are promoting this kind of dancing.

The two have already been through some competitions together and they are hoping to be able to compete in this year’s Prince Albert Festival of Dance.

They most recently performed at the Shakespeare on the Saskatchewan festival in Saskatoon this past August.

When asked why the two wanted to promote this kind of dance Bittner said, “One of the girls that Sheri has known for a long time, she was a big dancer growing up and she was actually in a car accident and became paralyzed. And one of her biggest problems was she couldn’t dance anymore.”

“So I was hoping that in doing this and getting out there [people] become more aware and maybe some dance schools will add [this kind of dancing] so that other girls can dance.”

She said they are promoting that there is no perfect body type when it comes to dancing and they are hoping this will catch on.

“I can honestly tell you that after dancing with Sheri going back to dancing normally, like by myself, is definitely not the same.”

Training in New York

Both Bittner and Turgeon got a chance to train under Kitty Lunn in New York City.

Lunn was a prima ballerina who, through a slip and fall accident, broke her neck and became paralyzed from the waist down.

“Because dance was such a big part of [Lunn’s] life she rewrote the [Royal Conservatory Ballet Syllabus] and accommodated for wheelchair dancing,” Bittner explained.

Bittner and Turgeon took part in a week-long session with Lunn.

“She taught us a bunch of stuff and we got to see what different kinds of things you could do with the wheelchair,” Bittner said.

“I probably learned more in that one week with her than I did my entire dancing career.”

swallace@panow.com

On Twitter: @sarahthesquid

by Sarah Wallace

VIDEO: Promoting a different kind of dancing

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