Get to know your CADA/West

July 2014 Member's Newsletter

This edition features our monthly dance citizenship challenge to complete the CADA/West Member's Survey; a call for photos for our website; & a profile of CADA/West Student Member Diego Romero

This month's dance citizenship challenge...

Complete the CADA/West Member's Survey

Please take a moment to complete our annual Member's Survey. How are we doing? What are your thoughts on the future of our organization? It's always great to hear from you! Completing the survey also helps us with reporting to funders.

Thanks so much for your time!

Call for photos for the CADA/West website

Sure, our website has over 190 resources for dance artists, info about dozens of dance/arts service organizations, advocacy tools, as well as all info about anything CADA/West. What it's missing is images of our members in action.

As CADA/West is its members, we are putting out a call for photos from all of you to represent the dynamic and vibrant community that we are. It's simple! Please email Deanna any photos you'd like to share (with performer & photo credits).

photo: Yvonne Chew

Profile: Diego Romero

Where are you from?

I was born in Vancouver and have lived here all of my life.

How long have you been dancing?

I started dancing when I was two years old and have been ever since. It is difficult to know what my life is without it. Recognizing this, I am reminded to consistently challenge what the art form is to me and how I can continually evolve it to where I am, and want to be, in my life.

Describe your childhood training.

I started dancing at Family Place "ballet" for a year, then I started tap dancing and did more ballet at the Vancouver Tap Dance Society and the Shadbolt Centre for the Arts. Eventually I moved to Arts Umbrella and did even more ballet. After seven years there I left to reconsider whether or not I should keep dancing or if it was time to shift gears into something else. I decided to continue dancing and, a few weeks later, I joined Modus Operandi, where I have been training for the past four years.

Describe your current training.

My current training consists of Modus Operandi 5 days a week, my own time in the studio and morning classes at EDAM Dance and Working Class.

Whose work are you currently interested in, in dance or outside of it?

Lately I have been listening to lots of LCD Soundsystem, Slim Shady and Bob Dylan. I'm reading George Orwell, Bertolt Brecht and Sigmund Freud. My dance interests are mainly my friends and the professional dance community around me. Also, all the dancers, teachers and performers at the Toronto Dance Love-In, where I just attended a summer intensive for 2 weeks.

What resources have been helpful in your career thus far?

Working Class has been a great resource along with CADA/West's Training Subsidy Program, which helps put food on the table.