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Michelle Farmer studio celebrating 50 year anniversary at Sanderson Centre
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They’re tentatively booked for May 17th at the Sanderson Centre in Brantford to celebrate the 50th anniversary with their “Stars of Tomorrow” show.
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DONNA DURIC
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A grand showcase of Six Nations talent is coming to the Sanderson Centre in May to celebrate the Michelle Farmer’s Studio of Dance and Modelling. The iconic studio is celebrating 50 years of business this May with what organizers are hoping will be a free performance for all community members to attend at the Sanderson Centre in Brantford. Erin Monture is spearheading the organization of the showcase and said the 50th anniversary is a milestone as Michelle Farmer’s studio is the only
First Nation-owned and operated dance and modelling studio in Canada. Monture, who is herself an alumni of the dance studio and is now the CEO of Grand River Employment and Training, came to elected council last week asking for $46,000 to help put on the show for free for community members to attend during Community Awareness Week. Studio alumni have won numerous championships worldwide and it has produced actors, dancers and models on a national and international stage. “I know dance isn’t really as celebrated as our sports here on Six Nations but it really does
change your life when you put these young people on stage like this,” said Monture. Michelle Farmer began dancing when she was two years old and moved to Six Nations when she was 12. She took dance lessons in Toronto as a teen and her talent took her to illustrious dance schools in both Chicago and New York City. Farmer even audited to be one of the fabled Radio City Rockettes, an iconic troupe of dancers with an over 100-year history in the United States. Teachers always told Farmer it didn’t matter if you had a small studio in a strip mall or in a
basement - that you could produce powerful dancers no matter where you are. For 50 years, she’s been doing that out of her basement, said Monture. They’re tentatively booked for May 17th at the Sanderson Centre in Brantford to celebrate the 50th anniversary with their “Stars of Tomorrow” show but the cost to put on the show is at least $46,000. Monture said she’d like to see the event built into Community Awareness Week in May as the studio has been a fixture in the community for decades, providing youth with a safe space to develop dance skills, social skills, self-esteem and become
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future leaders. She said the studio has had a positive impact on over 5,000 Six Nations community members since its inception, who have since gone on to become community leaders and influencers in their adulthood. Monture is asking Six Nations Elected Council to be an official sponsor of the event. “It’s more about dancers,” said Monture, adding, “there’s no profit that’s ever made from putting this show on. There’s no direct benefit.” Elected Council said it will discuss the costs further at its next general finance meeting.