By Christina Groot

THIS SUMMER marks the 6th annual B.C. Cultural Crawl – a province-wide celebration of the arts, culture and heritage of our province.

Kicking off B.C. Day weekend, the event is touted as an opportunity for  greater appreciation of  B.C.’s unique ‘cultural fingerprint.’

 “A community is past, present and future,” said the event’s founder, Trudy Van Dop.

“The vision of the B.C. Cultural Crawl is to celebrate our cultural similarities and differences by getting people out and active in their own communities.”  

Sandy Rosen, director of Langley’s Dance Barn Studio, is an enthusiastic proponent of the Cultural Crawl.

“It is always a good idea to explore culture, and it is very valuable to explore cultures outside of our own. We are a multicultural country and there is a lot out there to explore, enjoy and experience. I believe we, as Christians, need to create easy access to these experiences of our culture of faith.”

The Dance Barn Studio and Mirror dance program are located on Sandy and (husband) Russ Rosen’s property in the Fraser Valley. As a speaker, dancer, author and musician, she is passionate about seeing Jesus transform nations through creative expressions of the gospel.

The Dance Barn developed out of the Rosens’ desire for their daughters to learn dance in an uplifting, wholesome environment. They had found the local dance studio classes were becoming increasingly sexualized.

Their answer was to invite their friend, local singer and dancer Tracy Rahn (of The Wildings), to teach their daughters hip hop.

Soon the class grew out of the Rosens’ living room and they decided to transform the barn on their property into a dance studio.

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Now in its seventh year, the Dance Barn offers classes in hip hop, ballet, breakdancing and dance foundations (their version of modern dance). Their students of all ages are being trained to change the world through the arts.  

“What has been really exciting about the program is the interdenominational dynamic we have,” Rosen comments. “We are worshipping together. This has been one of the most wonderful and surprising parts of the school.”  

The team at the Dance Barn is clear about who they are. Their vision statement reads:  “We are worshippers of God, intent on equipping a generation of worshippers to more effectively express their love for God to the world. Our expression is culturally connected, celebrative and creative.”

Rosen is convinced the visual arts are the way to reach today’s culture.

“I believe that art is the way for our culture to receive the gospel. We are a culture that doesn’t listen well to the written word anymore. People are captured by art, music and dance. We need stuff that goes straight to the heart – the heart of God pouring into the heart of the individual.”  

Many arts communities throughout the province are organizing local art walks and studio tours – so creating one’s  own cultural crawl has never been easier.

A simple way to start an art-filled adventure is by picking up a free copy of the Arts and Cultural Guide to British Columbia – available at tourist information centres throughout B.C.

 An even quicker way is to visit www.art-bc.com, which contains up-to-date events information, direct links to studios and artist portfolios, and easy-to-use search options – enabling you to create a customized cultural crawl.

Get artsy this August!

August 2007