Celebration of Dance links active bodies and active minds!
April 28, 2005, Belleville, Ontario—Put on your dancing shoes and listen to the beat, the 14th annual Celebration of Dance is Wednesday, May 4th at the Belleville Fairgrounds. It will include over 6,000 Kindergarten to Grade 8 students from the Hastings and Prince Edward District School Board. Students will move, groove and square dance to 14 traditional and upbeat dances.

Celebration of Dance has blossomed since it started 14 years ago with just 300 students at Centennial Secondary School. Teachers find it a great way to celebrate dance and increase the physical activity of students in their class. In some schools, dances are rehearsed as part of the health and physical education or drama and dance programs. In others, dances are learned through extra-curricular programs offered during lunch or after school.

“Celebration of Dance continues to be a way of promoting a healthy, active lifestyle through daily physical activity. The premise that health and learning are inextricably interconnected and an increasing focus on health, especially physical activity, is very important to enhance the conditions for learning,” remarks the event’s co-ordinator, Nancy Popovich.

Throughout the years, this event has been held in the Centennial Secondary School Gymnasium, at the Quinte Sports Centre, and at the Mary Anne Sills track. The event was moved to the Belleville Fairgrounds to accommodate the growing number of students who want to participate.

“It’s pretty awesome to see a sea of 6,000 people dancing in unison,” adds Popovich.

This event has been picked up by OPHEA (Ontario Physical & Health Education Association) as a great way to promote physical activity during Education Week.

Family, friends and members of the community and the media are invited to come out and watch—even get in on the action!

Date: Wednesday, May 4th
Location: Belleville Fairgrounds
Time: 11:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.

On Friday, May 27th at 9:00 a.m. over 300 students from the northern part of the Board will gather at North Hastings Community Centre for the 10th annual Celebration of Dance - North.

The Hastings and Prince Edward District School Board has 46 elementary and eight secondary schools serving 18,700 students, employing 1,067 teachers and 775 support staff. The Board covers a wide geographical area of 7,221 square kilometres bordered by Maynooth to the north, Deseronto to the east, Prince Edward County to the south, and Quinte West to the west.

For more information, contact:
• Nancy Popovich, Curriculum Coordinator, (613) 966-1170 or 1 800 267-4350, ext. 2308