The Dance Carnival is another cornerstone event of Arts Whakatane. This annual event aims to bring the various local Dance groups together to perform in front of downtown shoppers and those who come specifically to enjoy the Festive atmosphere. There will also be some audience participation. We will also bring in a Dance Professional from outside the region to showcase Bachata Latin Dance which is not available in this region. This will have an extra drawcard for those who have attended in the past. The Choreographer will also run a workshop for locals to attend on the following day.

Arts Whakatane member Beryl Wilson will coordinate the project in conjunction with Ronna Funtelar. The various Dance groups in the local region have been invited to come and participate. This gives the various groups the opportunity to showcase their style of Dance and encourage people to join up to one of the groups offering regular classes. With plenty of variety, the event has great audience appeal and attracts downtown shoppers passing by.

We hope to showcase all the diverse ethnic and indigenous groups in our local community. We will have a Kapa Haka group, Ballet dances, Hip Hop and many cultural groups performing, such as Israeli Dancing, Indian Hoop Dancing, Belly Dancing, Filipino Dance, Thai Dancing, and Scottish Country Dancing, to name a few.

We know from past experience that the participants will cover a diverse range of ages. We will have young pre-school dancers right through to those in their seventies. Because of the various styles of dance being show-cased, this event will have a broad audience appeal.
The Carnival is ‘free’ with a request for donations to help cover a small portion of the operational costs. There are at least 10 different dance groups involved.