Dance your way into the end of summer with Ballet Austin’s 20th annual COME DANCE! event, returning Sunday, August 30, with a full afternoon of free dance classes and activities for the Austin community.
Lauren Parra-Faudree, Director of the Butler Center for Dance & Fitness, joined Sierra Waggoner on We Are Austin to preview the annual event and share why making dance accessible to everyone remains such an important part of Ballet Austin’s mission.
Lauren Parra-Faudree, Director of the Butler Center for Dance & Fitness, joined Sierra Waggoner on We Are Austin to preview the annual event and share why making dance accessible to everyone remains such an important part of Ballet Austin’s mission.
COME DANCE! began in 2008 after Ballet Austin moved to a new location and wanted to create a bigger opportunity for the Austin community to experience dance.
“We were just looking to kind of open dance up to the general community of Austin in a bigger and better way,” Parra-Faudree said. “And this is just a great opportunity to kind of get people out of their seats, out of their houses for the summertime and into the studio to move.”
Lauren Parra-Faudree, Director of the Butler Center for Dance & Fitness, joined Sierra Waggoner on We Are Austin to preview the annual event and share why making dance accessible to everyone remains such an important part of Ballet Austin’s mission.
The event is designed for all experience levels, so attendees don’t need any previous dance background to participate. Classes are 45 minutes long and take place throughout the afternoon, giving guests the chance to try a variety of styles.
“If you’ve never danced before in your life, you get to try, or if you’ve had tons of experience, there’s a class for you,” Parra-Faudree said.
This year’s lineup includes ballet, West African dance, hula, contemporary and hip hop. Parra-Faudree will also teach a beginner-intermediate hip hop class during the event.
In addition to the classes, attendees can enjoy free snacks, information and prizes throughout the afternoon.
COME DANCE! began in 2008 after Ballet Austin moved to a new location and wanted to create a bigger opportunity for the Austin community to experience dance.
For Ballet Austin, the event is about more than simply learning new dance moves. Parra-Faudree said movement can have a powerful impact on people’s mood and overall sense of joy.
“Dance brings so much joy,” she said. “Movement in general just really lightens your spirit and your mood, but dance does it in a way that other forms don’t.”
Making COME DANCE! free is also intentional, helping remove barriers and giving more people the opportunity to experience the benefits of movement.
“By making it free, it just kind of eliminates any barriers that you can try,” Parra-Faudree said. “You can get your body moving and just have a good time.”
The goal is for guests to leave feeling like they tried something new, had fun and maybe picked up a few new dance moves along the way.
“Dance brings so much joy,” she said. “Movement in general just really lightens your spirit and your mood, but dance does it in a way that other forms don’t.”
“We just want people to walk away feeling joyful, feeling glad that they maybe tried something new,” Parra-Faudree said. “Just leave with a smile on their face like they had a good time and a few more dance moves, of course.”
Ballet Austin’s 20th annual COME DANCE! takes place Sunday, August 30, from 1 to 5:45 p.m. at Ballet Austin’s Butler Dance Education Center in downtown Austin.
The event is free, but participants can register for individual sessions and view the full class schedule online at Ballet Austin.com/come-dance.
The event is free, but participants can register for individual sessions and view the full class schedule online at Ballet Austin.com/come-dance.